Kiss good wines goodbye?

[GMoney2312]

Now that I am retiring in Thailand after being in Southern California, do I just give up the quest to locate any decent wines to enjoy?

Any Thai wineries I need to check out?

[palooka]

You can find good wines but bring your money, tax on imported wines high, yet to find a local dry white wine that isn't full of sugar, or taste like it.  Mind I live rural so expect there is a bigger and better selection in the Expat haunts with golf courses. Have seen Australian wines and even Californian wines but they are expensive (5x) compared to origin country.  You can buy a bottle of Scotch Whiskey bottled in Scotland for less than a bottle of wine.

[Faraday]

There are a few vineyards producing decent wine, but they are exorbitantly expensive.

Naturally, most wine is available, but again it's expensive.

Can't  get any Mad Dog though....! 

 

https://www.hotels.com/go/thailand/best-thailand-vineyards-wineries

I'd like to try some Thai wine, the only ones I've seen are 2000 bt & more, but wouldn't want to risk it, as they might not be so good.

Have you made the move here yet?

 

 

[9S_]

You’re from Southern California and you’re worried about wine….and not craft beer?

Just joking  

The Japanese bosses I used to work with raved about Monsoon Wine. Personally not a fan nor a fan of Thai craft beer. 

[GMoney2312]

3 hours ago, Faraday said:

Have you made the move here yet?

Yes, we have been here a week now.

[GMoney2312]

2 hours ago, 9S_ said:

You’re from Southern California and you’re worried about wine….and not craft beer?

I love bold red blends. I guess those days are over now here in Thailand.

[JamesE]

One thing of note is that they grow grapes here in temperatures that are not dissimilar to the sunny side of Mercury. The terroir is terrible and making anything decent out of that is going to be a challenge. It's not California. Plus they serve red wine cold enough to frost the glass. Barbarians.

[Marc26]

8 minutes ago, JamesE said:

 Plus they serve red wine cold enough to frost the glass. Barbarians.

I had a nice bottle of Caymus I took on a trip to drink on a nice night

We went to Vietnam, and I didn't drink it, then Phuket didn't drink it

We ended up in Bangkok and I went out for the day, my Thai wife invited her friends over and said, screw him, I am drinking the wine

 

I had no issues with her drinking the wine but her 2 friends were drinking it with ice in their glass!

$100 bottle of wine......  :(

[Bob20]

5 minutes ago, Marc26 said:

I had a nice bottle of Caymus I took on a trip to drink on a nice night

We went to Vietnam, and I didn't drink it, then Phuket didn't drink it

We ended up in Bangkok and I went out for the day, my Thai wife invited her friends over and said, screw him, I am drinking the wine

I had no issues with her drinking the wine but her 2 friends were drinking it with ice in their glass!

$100 bottle of wine......  :(

Only ice?

The nouveau riche Chinese mix more expensive (red) wine with coca cola to "improve" the taste

[JamesE]

14 minutes ago, Marc26 said:

I had no issues with her drinking the wine but her 2 friends were drinking it with ice in their glass!

I went out to a restaurant in Samui last February and the server asked if I wanted ice in my beer. Yuck.

[Marc26]

30 minutes ago, Bob20 said:

Only ice?

The nouveau riche Chinese mix more expensive (red) wine with coca cola to "improve" the taste

Wow

I do like the beer with Sprite/Ginger Ale from time to time if we are out at Japanese yakitori

[Marc26]

19 minutes ago, JamesE said:

I went out to a restaurant in Samui last February and the server asked if I wanted ice in my beer. Yuck.

My wife drinks beer with ice a lot........

 

I hate it, waters it down so much

[stuhan]

On 9/30/2021 at 5:44 PM, GMoney2312 said:

Yes, we have been here a week now.

Make your own wine, not the same but with a little effort you can make very passable good wines,check out my topic under hobbies, plenty of people to help you.

[GMoney2312]

On 9/30/2021 at 11:19 PM, Marc26 said:

My wife drinks beer with ice a lot........

I know, it is hard to watch, isn't it!

[GMoney2312]

On 9/30/2021 at 10:39 PM, Marc26 said:

I had a nice bottle of Caymus

Great wine!

2 hours ago, stuhan said:

Make your own wine, not the same but with a little effort you can make very passable good wines,check out my topic under hobbies, plenty of people to help you.

Sounds like a plan!

[Freeduhdumb]

Bangkok... And have other locations/offices throughout Thailand.

https://www.vinumlector.com/our-wines/

Edited October 9, 2021 by Freeduhdumb
Grammar correction additional content.

[WilliamG]

1 hour ago, GMoney2312 said:

Great wine!

Sounds like a plan!

Do it! You can be tasting a reasonable glass in 4 - 6 weeks, depending on how patient you are. Stuhan's tips are invaluable.

[WilliamG]

On 9/30/2021 at 10:47 PM, Bob20 said:

Only ice?

The nouveau riche Chinese mix more expensive (red) wine with coca cola to "improve" the taste

I was working with my band in Munich a while back (1984) and a Chinese man invited us all over to his table where there was a bottle of Remy Martin...............and a litre of Coke!

[GMoney2312]

3 hours ago, WilliamG said:

I was working with my band in Munich a while back (1984) and a Chinese man invited us all over to his table where there was a bottle of Remy Martin...............and a litre of Coke!

That is a crime!

[Faraday]

5 minutes ago, GMoney2312 said:

That is a crime!

Yup, should have been lime juice instead....

[Saltire]

Before I moved to SE Asia the only alcohol I drank (in the UK) was white wine. Never was a man for beer or spririts.

Now sadly I am a Leo drinker (with ice if the beer gets too warm too quickly, I blame all the large bottles) and haven't had a decent wine in a long time. Zero local availability and extortionate prices in the nearest city 3 hours away.

I sometimes slum it a little and buy a bottle of Jacobs Creek Unoaked Chardonnay from a 7/11 which is quite palatable if it's ice cold and you're already drunk.

Good luck.

 

 

 

[gummy]

2 hours ago, Saltire said:

Before I moved to SE Asia the only alcohol I drank (in the UK) was white wine. Never was a man for beer or spririts.

Now sadly I am a Leo drinker (with ice if the beer gets too warm too quickly, I blame all the large bottles) and haven't had a decent wine in a long time. Zero local availability and extortionate prices in the nearest city 3 hours away.

I sometimes slum it a little and buy a bottle of Jacobs Creek Unoaked Chardonnay from a 7/11 which is quite palatable if it's ice cold and you're already drunk.

Good luck.

In my opinion the only good wines are the ones that are palatable to you. So called wine experts for me are not worth a jot as all they are just influencers to the snobbery of this world.  Now does Thailand have good wines ? Well again it is an individualistic taste. To the average who can afford then of course Thailand has good wines simply because to them it is palatable and gives them satisfaction to drink. That is all that matters, now what is wrong with that ? Just because some bunch of snobbish Europeans or Americans turn up to declare their wine is crap because it does not suit their palates is ridiculous. Chilean wines are good for some, along with many others so the subject matter "kiss  good wines goodbye" is a bit of a misnomer as  what is good for some is not considered good for others. Perhaps the better title would have been " kiss the wines I like goodbye".  From a personal point of view the Thai wines I have tasted from  what is suggested are the top vineries here I would not use for cooking as to my tastes they are unpalatable. But it would be very wrong for me or anybody else to say that they were not good wines. I was on business once in China a few years back and the hosts were proud of their wine they had.  Let's just say it had an "interesting" flavour. But for them they thoroughly enjoyed drinking it so hence was considered a good wine. Again purely a matter of what people become accustomed to.

[JamesE]

11 hours ago, Saltire said:

I blame all the large bottles

When I lived in Venezuela they served a local beer, Polar, in 250s at about -2. Pop the top and the whole bottle would ice up. Very refreshing.

[Vince]

On 10/8/2021 at 2:07 PM, stuhan said:

Make your own wine, not the same but with a little effort you can make very passable good wines,check out my topic under hobbies, plenty of people to help you.

Nice