The person who revived traditional craft villages in Nghi Duc

When mentioning Nghi Duc sticky rice wine and the wine making village in Xuan Trung hamlet, Nghi Duc commune (Vinh city) which has just been recognized by the Provincial People's Committee, everyone knows Mr. Nguyen Hong Ngan - Director of Duong Binh Linh Joint Stock Company, who has made great contributions in restoring a traditional profession of his ancestors.

Mr. Nguyen Hong Ngan checks the furnace before putting yeast into the wine.

Being the youngest in a family of 12 siblings, after finishing high school, due to difficult economic circumstances, Nguyen Hong Ngan did not have the opportunity to go to school and had to stay home to earn a living. Born and raised in a village famous for wine making, Ngan realized that this was a valuable asset passed down from her grandparents and needed to be promoted.

With that in mind, during his trips and sightseeing, he always tries to visit famous wine-making villages in the country such as Van village (Bac Giang), Bau Da (Binh Dinh), Duc Tho (Ha Tinh), corn wine (Ha Giang)... to observe and learn.

The fermentation stage is prepared very carefully by the people of Nghi Duc commune. Photo: Nguyen Hai.

From the study trips, Ngan discussed with his wife and borrowed money from friends to upgrade the production facility according to new processes.

By 2009, through many channels of research, Mr. Ngan approached and bought a wine distillery in Bac Can, made by a French engineer using modern technology. This is a rare wine distillation technology in our country because it not only brings efficiency but more importantly, ensures the production of quality wine products that are safe for users.

Mr. Ngan added: After being brewed, the wine is put into a specialized tank for filtering and then distilled in a ceramic jar, ensuring it takes at least 6 months before being released to the market. To ensure the wine product is always safe, the family absolutely chooses a traditional yeast source with quality and clear origin for soaking and aging.

The family's wine yeast is naturally formed yeast produced by a business in Bac Giang, which supplies yeast for Lang Van wine and has been granted a certificate of intellectual property rights by the Department of Intellectual Property.
Through observation and research, we realized that Nghi Duc wine making has a great advantage of having a very good underground water source. The above factor, along with closely monitored production, ensuring clean and safe wine, has gradually helped Nghi Duc sticky rice wine of Mr. Ngan's family find a place in the market. In particular, thanks to Mr. Ngan's success, many families have also restored the traditional profession. From only five or seven families brewing, there are now 126 households brewing with over 135 workers, accounting for nearly 60% of the hamlet's labor force. Thanks to the restoration of the traditional profession, the livestock farming profession has also developed, bringing stable income to the people.

Nghi Duc wine-making village is recognized as a traditional craft village. Photo: Nguyen Hai.

Based on the review of the documents, in 2017, the Provincial People's Committee recognized the traditional wine-making village for Xuan Trung hamlet, Nghi Duc.

Therefore, in the near future, along with contacting reputable establishments to supply sticky rice to people, the commune will have a plan to strictly control product output in order to develop Nghi Duc sticky rice wine products sustainably in the market.