Phu Quoc is famous for fish sauce and pepper. However, a third specialty is equally unique. Sim wine is made from the wild rose myrtle berry that grows only on this island. Sim Sơn Winery Phu Quoc is one of the most respected producers, with over 14 years of experience and a commitment to preserving the island’s sim forests.
This isn’t just a souvenir shop — it’s a place where you can taste a piece of Phu Quoc’s history and see how a wild jungle fruit becomes a world-class product. If you’re visiting Hon Thom Island, Sunset Town, or Grand World, Sim Sơn is a short drive away and makes a perfect stop for a unique cultural experience. This guide covers the history, the production process, the free tasting, and why this wine matters.
📜 The Story Behind Sim Sơn — From Jungle Berry to Award‑Winning Wine
Sim Sơn was founded by Trịnh Công Phát, a former teacher and military man who came to Phu Quoc in the 1980s and never left. What began as a few fruit trees — guava, plum, apple — grew into a popular garden restaurant called Vườn Táo (Apple Garden). The shift to sim wine came naturally — Phu Quoc’s hills are covered in wild sim bushes, and the berries were being harvested by local farmers and sold to winemakers. Phát saw an opportunity not just to make wine, but to preserve the sim forests and create a sustainable livelihood for the island’s farmers.
His vision earned support from Professor Võ Tòng Xuân, one of Vietnam’s most respected agricultural scientists, who helped him develop a conservation plan to protect Phu Quoc’s sim forests while turning them into a source of income for local communities. Today, Sim Sơn has become one of the most respected sim wine brands on the island, known for combining traditional fermentation methods with modern technology to create over 10 different wine varieties.
🍇 What Is Sim? The Berry That Only Grows Here
Sim (Rhodomyrtus tomentosa, or rose myrtle) is a wild berry that grows across tropical Asia, but Phu Quoc’s sim is different — it’s more aromatic and produces better wine than varieties found elsewhere in Vietnam. Sim berries are deep purple when ripe, with a sweet‑tart flavour that locals have been turning into wine for generations. The wine has a distinctive magenta colour, a floral aroma, and a taste that’s often compared to a fruity cocktail — sweet, slightly tannic, and surprisingly easy to drink.
🏆 What Makes Sim Wine Special — Value & Recognition
Sim wine isn’t just a novelty — it has real cultural and nutritional value:
- Health benefits: Sim wine is known to aid digestion, especially after a seafood-heavy meal. It’s also said to nourish the blood, improve circulation, and help with sleep. Elderly locals drink it to ease back pain and joint stiffness.
- Cultural significance: Sim wine is Phu Quoc’s answer to grape wine. Just as Nha Trang has its fish sauce and Hoi An has its cao lầu, Phu Quoc has sim wine — it’s a genuine local specialty that you can’t find anywhere else.
- Awards: Sim wine has been recognised by Vietnam Record Books (Vietking) as one of the top 10 most unique wines in Vietnam.
For tourists, sim wine is one of the most popular souvenirs from Phu Quoc — it’s a piece of the island that you can take home, and Sim Sơn even wraps bottles securely for flights.
🍷 The Tasting Experience — Free Samples & Factory Tour
The main reason to visit Sim Sơn is the free tasting. You walk into the showroom, and you’re immediately offered samples of different sim products. The staff let you try:
- Sim wine — in different alcohol levels (from 5% to 39%)
- Sim syrup — sweet, concentrated, good for mixing
- Sim jam and candies — the candy is especially popular with kids
- Mat Sim — a particularly popular drink that visitors often recommend
The tasting is completely free, and there’s no pressure to buy. If you do want to purchase, bottles range from 140,000 to 270,000 VND. They also have a chocolate version and honey‑based products.
You can also walk through the sim garden behind the factory, see the fermentation tanks, and watch the production process. The garden is clean, well‑kept, and also features a beautiful orchid collection.
📌 Practical Tips for Visiting Sim Sơn
- 📍 Location: tổ 1 Ấp Cửa Lấp, xã Dương Tơ, Phú Quốc
- 🕒 Open: 7:00 AM – 6:00 PM daily
- 🎟️ Entry: FREE — you only pay if you buy something
- 📞 Contact: 0297 3847 008 | simsonco.ltd@gmail.com
- 🌅 Best time to visit: Early morning, when it’s cooler and the garden is at its best
- ✈️ Flying home? Ask them to wrap your bottle securely for the flight — they do this regularly
- 🌿 Garden highlights: The sim bushes, the orchid collection, and the beautiful open space
💎 Final Verdict
Sim Sơn is not a place where you spend hours — 30–45 minutes is plenty. But it’s a genuinely unique stop that adds cultural depth to any Phu Quoc itinerary. You’ll learn about a fruit that grows only here, taste something you can’t find anywhere else, and support a business that’s actively working to preserve Phu Quoc’s forests. Plus, it’s completely free. If you’re in the area — whether you’re heading to Sunset Town, Hon Thom Island, or Grand World — it’s an easy stop that’s well worth your time.
🏨 Where to Stay & What to Pair It With
Sim Sơn is on the main road between the airport and Duong Dong town. You’ll find everything from budget guesthouses to luxury resorts nearby — check hotels in Phu Quoc to compare prices and read guest reviews. For a broader overview, I’ve put together guides to the best hotels on Phu Quoc, beachfront resorts, and luxury stays if you’re still deciding where to base yourself.
Pair the winery with a visit to Ngoc Hien Pearl Farm for a full morning of Phu Quoc’s unique local products — pearls and sim wine make a perfect combination. Then continue to Sunset Town for the shows or Hon Thom Island for the cable car.
