Thread: Fine Wine Recommendations

Choosing wine is always a mess, above all when it comes to choosing French wines, too many names, too many choices and a few bad surprises.

I have just opened a nice "Rose D'Anjou 2003" I bought in Laos about 5 years ago and I was expecting the worse.

It turned out to be a pleasant surprise, sweet, nice feeling, and quite strong.

what's your favorite wine ?

"It turned out to be a pleasant surprise, sweet, nice feeling, and quite strong".

Hmm. Are you talking about wine, or a Windows XP wielding Ladyboy?

Actually, in all seriousness, my favourite wine (red) is Ribera del Duero from Spain. Rioja is more well known of course, and the good is very good, but doesn't have the consistency or quality that I've experienced from every Ribera del Duero that I've had. That said, here in Thailand, having bought some 'classic' wines, the adage that wine doesn't travel well is really brought home. For value, with reasonable quality and taste, Mont Clair boxed wine is pretty hard to beat.

finding good wine is Thailand is quite challenging,

found a nice California Borhinger or some other name, in TESCO, for 600 THB, quite a good deal, and very good

Blake7 is the wine expert, he got a lot of good names, hopefully he will find this thread

I recently thought I found a decent Californian wine here. Was about 600 baht so I wasn't expecting anything that great although it was drinkable and didn't give you the instant heartburn most wines under 1000 baht do. Anyway I went ahead and checked the online prices for it..... Turns out it can be bought stateside for 100 baht!

Made the thought of drinking it again quite disappointing.

They serve a fantstic red wine in the Amari watergate, Ozzie one called Peddlers Creek, been looking for it but cannot find. They charge 400 baht a glass so have not had any for a long time.

I wouldnt buy any wine here in thailand.
Hong Kong is a good place to buy as is Japan

Originally Posted by crazy dog

They serve a fantstic red wine in the Amari watergate, Ozzie one called Peddlers Creek, been looking for it but cannot find. They charge 400 baht a glass so have not had any for a long time.

That's where it get's slightly obscene here, on a 'per glass' basis for what is undoubtably a house wine, regardless of the surroundings. Do agree though, for consistency of flavour, New World wines (and particularly Australian) are very hard to beat. Think my all time favourite Australian red, came from the Brown Brothers label. Not in the same popular category as say Wolf Blass, Hardy's, Jacobs Creek etc, but well worth the effort if ever you come across it.

Some NEw world wine is ok - Marlborough in New Zealand or Napa Valley from the US. However, Australian wine is lamentable as a rule. Too many additives and unnatural flavourings - a completely artificial taste. Would rather drink Ribena.

Easy to say that but it blind tests many of these new world wines have beaten French ones, lot of snobbery about in the wine world still.

Originally Posted by crazy dog

lot of snobbery about in the wine world still.

Bloody right there mate.

I always get a throbbing hangover with Ozzie wine apart from Penfold's and that brand with the yellow kangaroo on the label.

The French keep all the good cheap wine to themselves. Have to pay a fortune for a decent wine in England unless you are very lucky. Better to buy in France.

Better to stick with white wines. Less risk and less hangover.

In Thailand! I refuse to pay 1,000 baht for bottle of undrinkable 'vin de pays' or a 2 quid bottle of Jacob's Creek.

Penfolds at the duty free in Malaysia is OK, but I really don't fancy drinking red wine in a hot climate.

Chassagne-Montrachet for me. Lovely stuff. I dread to think how much it would cost here. 3,000 B? 7 quid in England.

Thailand is a lamentable place to buy wine.

The Jacobs Creek shiraz grenache is, at around 700 bht, a surprisingly decent wine for the price- but I'd leave their cabernet's on the shelf.

I wouldn't even bother buying a 'good' wine here. They've not been handled well, and of course are appallingly overpriced to begin with. Bordeaux- forget about it. The decent ones you'll find in France, the rest is mostly absurdly overpriced and utterly mediocre.

ozzie Chardonnay Pinnacle is excellent but don't know the cost as it was a present, from a mer baan to the mrs, Indians must pay their staff well.

Wine importers are making a fortune, everytime you have import restrictions, it's a profit making business for the importer

I'm a Rioja man myself. never had a decent bottle here unless I've brought it myself.

Gonna drink lots of it in the next two weeks at home.

Here I drink penfolds 389 but I haven't had a glass of wine at home for a year now, tried to give up 'Booze in the Baan'

Originally Posted by sabang

Thailand is a lamentable place to buy wine.

The Jacobs Creek shiraz grenache is, at around 700 bht, a surprisingly decent wine for the price- but I'd leave their cabernet's on the shelf.

I wouldn't even bother buying a 'good' wine here. They've not been handled well, and of course are appallingly overpriced to begin with. Bordeaux- forget about it. The decent ones you'll find in France, the rest is mostly absurdly overpriced and utterly mediocre.

Just back from Village Market, and spotted Jacobs Creek Grenache Shiraz in the shelf. On your recommendation, got 2 bottles (495 baht each, which surprised me).

Originally Posted by Butterfly

Wine importers are making a fortune, everytime you have import restrictions, it's a profit making business for the importer

Butterfly you just buy the wine because of how the bottle looks

Actually Thailand is not a very good place for enjoying wine, even if it gets served at the correct temp. (which hardly ever happens) it's impossible to sit and enjoy your glass for very long you have to get it down quick before it gets to hot, there is no real wine culture here, and most farangs seems to just want beer which makes it hard to arrange a wine night with a nice cheese table.

At the moment I drink a very cheap concentrated Italian wine for dinner, "Vino de tavolo rosso" that comes in a 5 litre bottle, I mix it with half and half sparkling water and ice, that makes it a quite nice refreshing drink for a meal.

But I do miss drinking fine wine until the wee hours of the morning, in company off good friends, used to do that all the time while living in Spain.

butterfly - if you are looking for somefink not too expensive you could do a lot worse than the Chateau La Domeque (Corbiers) which they have at carrefour for 800 baht. Of course it'd be cheaper in France or the Uk but for Thai prices it is a good deal. They also have half bottles of Cotes De Rhone for 375 baht which is also good.
just pray the cork hasnt dried out.,...

Originally Posted by larvidchr

I mix it with half and half sparkling water and ice, that makes it a quite nice refreshing drink for a meal.

Thank fok you don't drink Nam Katoeys when we are out and about mate!

I would have to sit on the other end of the bar.

Originally Posted by Butterfly

Blake7 is the wine expert, he got a lot of good names, hopefully he will find this thread

I look forward to his views....

Originally Posted by Blake7

Australian wine is lamentable as a rule. Too many additives and unnatural flavourings - a completely artificial taste. Would rather drink Ribena.

I take that back - he obviously knows nothing about real wine.

Originally Posted by MeMock

Quote: Originally Posted by Blake7 View Post Australian wine is lamentable as a rule. Too many additives and unnatural flavourings - a completely artificial taste. Would rather drink Ribena.

I take that back - he obviously knows nothing about real wine.

Agreed. a savage.

Originally Posted by PAG

Mont Clair boxed wine is pretty hard to beat.

Considering it works out at around 35 - 40 baht for a 'standard' glass the red Mont Clair is very very good, leave the white alone.

Sabang, this is what you were drinking at my place in our super sized glasses!

oh oh a few tasteless australians here