wine

[paperboy]

i love comming to thailand, the only thing for me. negative is the price of red wine
i know there is about 300% tax on it
but my question is, im comming for the full 30 days, so i want to get some
red wine in me while im there.
should i go to carefore and get some
or use my spanish macro card and get some
its weird for non wine drinkers, but the only thing that spoil thailand
is the lack od red wine.
I remmeber last year seeing a red spanish wine in a supermarket for about 20 euros
whil├▒e here i would not even cook with it, never mind drink it.
so _________ macro carefour or you know some where better
:occasion5: paperboy

[francois]

If in Pattaya, Villa Market has a good selection. Surprising one of the best red wines is served at Cherrys in Pattaya. It is Italian from a 4 L jug. Villa has the same wine but I can't recall the name. Yes, you are correct, Thailand is a wine lover's disaster area.

[Neal]

Yes Villa Market has a great selection! Just the place for many many imported foods from all over the world but remember it ain't for cheap Charlie's!

[Rob33]

Have to laugh about wine in Asia in general. Im surprised wine isn't more popular and cheaply available in Thailand.

Wine buying and drinking has reached such fever pitch hyped by foreign wine dealers it seems to have become the new gold in places like China. Most haven't got a clue but they think if they buy a lot of it stick it under the floor boards for a few years they will get rich, even wines like Beaujolais, Chianti etc. Plus of course there are the knock offs appearing all over the place, vinegar posing as decent vintage.

I was leaving Sabah on the weekend and the lounge the only lounge "Malaysian airways" lounge shared by the two other airlines that actually fly there direct ran out of wine. This is odd because there are bars all over KK and "bottle stores" selling the stuff, its the least Muslim province in Malaysia in fact Muslims are the minority.

I was looking forward to few GTs but there were none and as I went in people were scrambling to empty the last and apparently only daily couple of bottles of white wine left open on the counter.

That was it, there was no more, they apologised and ducked out of site as of course everyone flew into "how can you run out of wine" rants which they must be used to by now.

I had to go all the way back to the single duty free shop at the other end of the airport buy a bottle of extreme overpriced Chilean Merlot or plonk (can be rather nice in fact) smuggle it into the lounge and pour myself a rushed few glasses of pure tannin. Im not sure how I managed but I downed half the bottle in 15 minutes and Im not even a drinker of any note. Probably the prospect of doing Malaysian- Airways again had something to do with it.

When I got up to leave (firing on all six cylinders) there was this mad dash to grab my bottle no joking at least five people at the same time. :rolling:

[lonelywombat]

Here is a quote from a post on Siem Reap and their fantastic wine bar. You may not have made plans yet to visit other places but this is well worth remembering.

Have a look at his wine list. BTW do not forget the various wine night held around Pattaya. I know there is one the last friday night


Over 120 different labels for sale and a large number by the glass, why is something like not available in Pattaya. yes I know there is no sales tax on wine in Cambodia and in Thailand it is a prohibitive 300%

Siem Reap seemed like an extension of Sunee last week with so many faces in Pub Street and the lane. This was certainly one of the highlights of my trip to Cambodia. Wine lovers I commend this bar to you.

http://thestationwinebarsiemreap.com/

The top prices for his top of the range wines were just under $US100 and if available in Thailand would cost more than 3 times that. maybe more.

There is a small drag show now on friday as well as saturday. I am not a fan of drag but I did enjoy this. First the "boys" really enjoyed what they were doing, did not take themselves seriously and laughed with us if they tripped of misssed a step.

The owner was in the wine industry for 13 years but I doubt his qualifications after he tried to persuade me to drink some Napa chardonnay. Wine is served with free cheese and olives, a nice touch.

I wish I wish I wish there was something similar in Pattaya

Several people I have discussed this with since returning have mused--- it might be worth driving the car for a visit and to bring back a bottle or three.

[Rob33]

Ooooooooooh are we sure the wines are all genuine out there???? It might be that your Napa Valley Chardonnay whatever is a job lot from Germany?

Isn't it interesting though how even India is producing wines these days. I mean there is no good reason why not, if the climate is right and they have that. Modern wine making techniques leave very little to chance but takes a bit of time to master.

Biggest plus should be that with eveyone producing good enough wines these days the price should actualy be plummeting, 300% sales tax that must be the highest in the universe.

There is certianly a huge ammount of hype surrounding wines, and even now the French have managed to somehow convince the Chinese and HKers that their wine is the best.

For me I like discovering a wine. The most recent fab absolutely fabulous wine is a Marks & Sparks special Merlot x Cabernet Sauvignon blend, smooth as silk.

[pong]

Rob-get back to basics:
No, that 300% tax is not the highest in this world-thats more in various islamic countries.
No-those wines in Khmerland, laos etc come from the old occupying forces, aka here as la douce France. yes, they also produce some vile red stuff there-and loads of gulpers for plain dinner. WHY do Americans/Ozies always think this world is no bigger as between their own borders?

[Rob33]

Rob-get back to basics:
WHY do Americans/Ozies always think this world is no bigger as between their own borders?

No idea Im neither American nor Australian. Could it get any more "back to basics" than Marks & Spencer in the wine department?

For years Marks and Sparks have been selling New World wines, this is probably a Common Wealth thing, but they have been correct on this as French wines have long lapsed into the rubbish bins of history, they still use corks for gods sake!!!!! Little secrete cork never added anything positive to wine at all in fact it turned it well um as they say "corked" at best!

As far as Cambodia is concerned maybe the French are indeed flooding it with their crap excess plonk due to some distant colonial connection (no one else is interested) this hardly adds up to a cheese and wine extravaganza of fine wines? I mean has the market had a sudden shift Cambodiawards?

I love and I mean I adore the moment (j'adore) when In a blind wine testing Californian (yes the ignominy) wine beat the French, and yes the tasters were all indeed French.

[Manforallseasons]

WHY do Americans/Ozies always think this world is no bigger as between their own borders?(quote)pong

Well isn't it?

[lonelywombat]

To both Pong and manofallseasons stop the bullshit.

Go to the stocklist of the wines he has in stock before you make any further comment.

[paperboy]

hi
thanks, so far, im not looking for the top range wines, just a nice good price red,
would prob buy a case or 2 while im staying in thailand to last me, i will be mostly based in patatya.

I mentioned before macro, but nobody has mentioned it in responce here. :?:
maybe any bar owners know a good dealer, could order me 2 cases
when i come

sorry ive caused so much bother

[kjun12]

Does anyone know (Not Guess) why there is such a heavy duty on wine?

[Khor tose]

Does anyone know (Not Guess) why there is such a heavy duty on wine?

Yes, everything you have ever wanted to know about wine and Thailand is in this report, including the why and how of custom duties. It is rather long, so I am on;ly posting the link. Must read way down for reasons for import duties and amounts.

http://www.calwinexport.com/files/Wine% ... 1-2009.pdf (http://www.calwinexport.com/files/Wine%20Market%20in%20Thailand_Bangkok_Thailand_8-21-2009.pdf)

[kjun12]

Thanks Khor tose. That article answered my question.

[kjun12]

Interesting report. I suppose the fact that America itself is not so popular amongst the Thais cant help their wines either.
What is your basis for this comment?

[lonelywombat]

Usually when you dine out you are served Mont Clair wine, which is apparently [reported] imported without duty. Its wet.

One thing you should try is the Amari wine tasting, served in the gardens of Amari Hotel. The 750 baht donation goes nowhere near the value of wines you get to taste.

You might be able to buy from them, but I would not guarantee.

Amari is the last friday of the month, starts at 6pm and goes almost to 9pm. If it rains it is moved inside. The hot and cold food are always very good.

[Manforallseasons]

Interesting report. I suppose the fact that America itself is not so popular amongst the Thais cant help their wines either.
What is your basis for this comment?


There is no basis! In 1966 The U.S.-Thai Amity agreement was implemented giving U.S. citizens and companys special status in the kingdom.

[francois]

Usually when you dine out you are served Mont Clair wine, which is apparently [reported] imported without duty. Its wet.
.

My understanding is Mont Clair from South Africa is first condensed at it's source and shipped in bulk to Thailand. Then reconstituted with water, alcohol and Thai wine. Thus avoiding some taxes. Wet it is, wine it isn't.

[francois]

The report posted by Khortose contains the real reason for excessive taxes on imported wine:

"In reality, the Government manipulates this tax as a device to generate revenue".

[Rob33]

My understanding is Mont Clair from South Africa is first condensed at it's source and shipped in bulk to Thailand. Then reconstituted with water, alcohol and Thai wine. Thus avoiding some taxes. Wet it is, wine it isn't.

This is a recipe for disaster one mistake and we all get alcohol or rat poisoning :crazy: