There is a Korean wine company that has participated in various events representing Korea for more than 20 years. This is the world’s only persimmon wine produced by Cheongdo Persimmon Wine Co., Ltd. which specializes in persimmon fermentation. The wine was selected as the banquet drink for the APEC Summit in Busan in November 2005. In 2007, it was featured at the “Korea, Sparkling in New York” event hosted by the United Nations and selected as a Chuseok gift by the Blue House. It also served as the toast drink at the presidential inauguration ceremonies in 2008 and 2013. Further cementing its status, it was selected as the toast drink at the 2010 FAO Asia-Pacific Regional Conference, the G20 Finance Ministers’ Meeting and the 2011 UNWTO World Tourism Organization General Assembly. The wine was also featured at the 2014 Heads of Embassy Meeting, the UN Public Administration Forum Welcome Ceremony, the 2015 Inter-American Development Bank Annual Meetings Closing Ceremony, and the Daegu-Gyeongbuk World Water Forum Dinner.

The company’s red wine products include regular and special wines, available in 375ml and 750ml bottles with an alcohol content of 12%. The regular wine, which has a golden color and a sweet, refreshing taste, is aged in a wine tunnel for more than two years and pairs well with fish and cheese. The special wine, fermented and aged at low temperatures below 15 degrees Celsius, is a dry, full-bodied, premium wine that pairs well with meat and fish. In addition, the company produces ice wine made from persimmons, which is sweet and has a honey scent. This wine is fermented and aged at low temperatures below 10 degrees Celsius. With an alcohol content of 10% and available in 375ml bottles, it pairs well with fruit-based desserts. The company also offers persimmon vinegar in 500ml bottles. There are two types: one for cooking, which is three times more concentrated and made with 100% Cheongdo Banshi (rounded persimmon), and one for drinking, which is five times more concentrated and made with 50% persimmon vinegar and 50% persimmon concentrate.

Persimmon wine is made from Cheongdo Banshi persimmons, harvested between October and November each year. The persimmons are first crushed and pressed to extract the juice. The juice is then inoculated with yeast and fermented at low temperatures for 15 to 30 days. After fermentation, the wine is aged to enhance its flavor and aroma. Only the clear wine at the top, free of sediment, is transferred from the fermentation tank to a micro-filtration tank where sediment is removed. Stabilization and filtration follow to remove solids and microorganisms, and the aged wine is then bottled. A key factor in the process is the use of a 105-year-old wine tunnel, a one-kilometer-long abandoned tunnel completed in 1904 that maintains a constant temperature of 15 degrees Celsius year-round. This tunnel is used to age the company’s persimmon wine and vinegar products.
Originated in the 16th century, Cheongdo Banshi is the only seedless persimmon variety in Korea, officially recognized by the South Korean government in 2010. In Cheongdo-gun, you can still find persimmon trees that are over 150 years old. Cheongdo-gun harvests 60,000 tons of astringent persimmons annually, accounting for about 30% of domestic production. Cheongdo Persimmon Wine, an agricultural corporation established in March 2003, uses these persimmons to produce persimmon wine and vinegar. Persimmons are rich in nutrients, making them a complete source of nutrition and an effective fruit for dieting due to their low calorie content. They are rich in vitamins A and C, containing five times more vitamin C than grapes and six times more than apples. Persimmons also have excellent anti-inflammatory, cholesterol-lowering, and antioxidant properties.

Persimmons are considered the quintessential Korean fruit, and Cheongdo Banshi is a local specialty of Cheongdo-gun. Cheongdo Persimmon Wine aims to create a world-class, premium wine using Cheongdo Banshi persimmons. Rich in tannins, persimmons are beneficial for stroke prevention and skin care. Persimmon wine is rich in tannins and has a clean taste with no hangover. When persimmons are fermented with alcohol, they become wine; when they are fermented with acetic acid, they become persimmon vinegar. Cheongdo Persimmon Wine Co., Ltd. has a capacity of 500,000 bottles of persimmon wine and vinegar.