Just been to my local booze shop, a 2 litre bottle of Castle Creek red was priced at around 430 baht only a few months back, then the price was increased to 540 baht about 2 months ago, today it is 670 baht which is ridiculous for what it is, quality they couldn't give away in Australia. I just had a look, a 4 litre cask of Stanley red (no fruit juice added) is around A$12 or 290 baht, that's half as much for twice as much. I know it's pointless to complain, but I refused to buy today just out of principle. I might add that the Montclair 2 litre bottles seem to have disappeared altogether. https://www.danmurphys.com.au/product/DM_901253/stanley-shiraz-cabernet-cask-4l

The price of unadulterated (fruit juice free) wine in Thailand is far too high. I just go without. When I visit Vietnam I buy a 5 litre box of reasonable quality 13% Chilean red or white for the equivalent of 560 baht. The difference in price between the two countries is called GREED.

It would seem as if the tax increases are now fully biting on even the wines with added fruit juice, albeit after a bit of an hiatus.

 

If you work it out, this new price equates to around 250 baht for normal 750 mL bottle of the stuff, so in relative terms is not that expensive. But of course it is expensive if you are paying for a mixture of wine and fruit juice!

 

I've given up trying to compare the price of wine here with the prices back in Australia and New Zealand, because it's a thankless task, and depressing at that!!!

 

Luckily I'm still sourcing Australian wines here at around 369 baht a bottle (The Lyrup) although one has to look at the smaller outlets for this and others like it.

And I thought you were talking about price of wine?

Could you just not add a drop of vodka to some fruit juice ? 

If you're on a budget, wine in Thailand is just out.

I would list that on the CON sides of living in Thailand.

I bought 5 litres of Mont Clair for a tad over 1000 baht, there are nearly 7 bottles in a 5 litre box, which would work out at about 150 baht a bottle. When I look at it that way, I find it quite drinkable.

For me I'd rather drink nothing than PLONK. 

I'm no wine snob but there are limits.

7 minutes ago, vogie said:

I bought 5 litres of Mont Clair for a tad over 1000 baht, there are nearly 7 bottles in a 5 litre box, which would work out at about 150 baht a bottle. When I look at it that way, I find it quite drinkable.

The price would be reasonable if it was 100% real wine. Still more than double what 5 litres of real wine should cost.

Just posted on an expat forum for my Viet city, a bottle of Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon is 200,000VND or 270 baht. A few months ago I was able to buy fine California red wines for 400,000 or 540 baht. The wine bar  (not in HCMC) held a wine tasting to celebrate the arrival of many US wines at great prices. 

 

FWIW, I bought a 750 ml JW Black Label for 900 baht. Could have got it cheaper at 465,000/630 baht. In Thailand it's over 1300 baht but for only a 700 ml bottle. Not missing Thailand too much. Sorry. 

It's one of the most utterly stupid things in Thailand. Powered by protectionism for local alcoholic drink producers. Somebody should start a heavy duty trade war with Thailand to make them yield.

28 minutes ago, DrTuner said:

It's one of the most utterly stupid things in Thailand. Powered by protectionism for local alcoholic drink producers. Somebody should start a heavy duty trade war with Thailand to make them yield.

And the local wine is undrinkable unless you like excess aldehydes. Are these tax increases on wine proportional with other alcohol beverages.  If not its a foreigners tax. By the way they are even complaining about this on reddit,  r/thailand

2 hours ago, vogie said:

bought 5 litres of Mont Clair for a tad over 1000 bah

That must be either ages ago or very old stock. 3 litres of mont clair is now 1115 baht.

6 minutes ago, tomas557 said:

That must be either ages ago or very old stock. 3 litres of mont clair is now 1115 baht.

It was yesterday.

There are now newish cheap end brands that has fully imported no-fruit juice (non-orange tax lable) wines from Australia and France that works out at sub 300 baht per bottle, some even have big 2 litre size bottle too, works out cheaper than the likes of Mont Claire now

 

Looks like the wines with fruitjuice loopholes is closed for good

 

Still wondering if Thai authorities will consider wine with added 'grape juice' as one of the fruit wine category ?

11 minutes ago, vogie said:

It was yesterday.

Old stock?

18 minutes ago, vogie said:

It was yesterday.

That mean it is old stock or do you think different shops have different price for mont clair?

9 minutes ago, digbeth said:

There are now newish cheap end brands that has fully imported no-fruit juice (non-orange tax lable)

Color of the tax label has nothing to do with fruit juice added. Import is blue. Those cheap bottles have also fruit juice added and are still old stock price. Wait until new stock arrives

13 minutes ago, giddyup said:

Old stock?

I honestly do not know, I never asked and he didn't tell me the history of the box, suffice to say it tastes as good as Mont Clair is going to taste. But on my next visit I will ask him.

Even the best red wines in bottles will be degraded by the time they get to Thailand by heat and travel. The flavour congeners don't like it.

I drink Thai beer, which I quite like, and whisky such as Bell's or 100 Pipers because they are cheap compared to Australia. I drink good reds when I am in Australia. I don't waste my time with wine here. Cask wine is known as two-buck chuck in other countries.

If the Thais want to make their wines competitive, they desperately need to import some cellarmasters, and found a modern wine laboratory for quality control. Not going to happen, so they'll keep on producing the same dreck.

Even then, the smoke season which affects all of Asia every year compromises wine flavour and quality.

Every time, when I see some expensive Italian wine I wouldn't even clean my shoes with, I could cry and I really miss what I was used to a long time ago.

 

It now seems that it had been in another life, living here so long.....

 

I'm from an area where some of the best wines are being produced. A few years back, I was trying to import high-quality wine from friends I could have gotten very cheap. 

 

 

But there's no way to get high-quality wine into Thailand without stepping on the alcohol mafia's toes. What about a 1979 Iphofer Kronsberg, Scheurebe Auslese?  

 

1 hour ago, digbeth said:

There are now newish cheap end brands that has fully imported no-fruit juice (non-orange tax lable) wines from Australia and France that works out at sub 300 baht per bottle

As another poster has said, the blue sticker means nothing other than the fact that this could well be wine with fruit juice added and which originates in the likes of Australia, as many do these days.

 

There are some from France in bottles and boxes/casks, so the wine plus fruit juice roundabout/rort goes on and you will even see some bottles with words, "Aromatised Alcoholic Beverage" or similar on the back label and that means ostensibly the same thing as adding fruit juice or similar.

 

42 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Even the best red wines in bottles will be degraded by the time they get to Thailand by heat and travel. The flavour congeners don't like it.

Don't want to have to disagree with you Lacessit, but I'm going to have to on this point!

 

Most wines are shipped these days in air-conditioned containers, with some of the better wines exported in the belly of an aeroplane and given top treatment. 

 

I have imported wines from France to NZ on many occasions and the wine is perfect, as it has to be, otherwise the reputation of the producer and the country suffers.

 

There is possibly one exception and that could well be with the cask/box wines in as much as nobody knows for quite how long they could sit on a dock or similar, whereas the better wines and even those shipped by reputable companies usually get preferential treatment to ensure that they are not sitting in a hot warehouse somewhere!

 

If a producer and shipper/freight forwarder know their stuff, wine should not suffer when travelling distance, not more so than a few days rest wouldn't cure (the purists suggest that wine "bruises" or words to that effect when subjected to travel – – unproven as yet).

A troll post and all the replies to it have been removed

2 hours ago, giddyup said:

Old stock?

 

1 hour ago, vogie said:

I honestly do not know, I never asked and he didn't tell me the history of the box, suffice to say it tastes as good as Mont Clair is going to taste. But on my next visit I will ask him.

I've just checked the date on my 5 litre MC Red which I bought for 1005 Baht on Buddha Day/Tuesday - MFD 04-09-17

I also noticed Cedar Creek 4.5 litre at Tesco Lotus is less than 1,000 Baht so when my "secret" place runs out , that is where I will be heading..(I hope Vogie doesn't use the same offie and run the stock down!!!!)

7 minutes ago, Jeremia Juxtaposed said:

 

I've just checked the date on my 5 litre MC Red which I bought for 1005 Baht on Buddha Day/Tuesday - MFD 04-09-17

MFD 08-08-17. My offie is twixt Sattahip and Bangsare.

1 minute ago, vogie said:

MFD 08-08-17. My offie is twixt Sattahip and Bangsare.

Wooohooo - We are safe from each other!!!

 

But it goes to show there are places out there with "old stock" and cheap prices.... .....

18 minutes ago, Jeremia Juxtaposed said:

Wooohooo - We are safe from each other!!!

 

But it goes to show there are places out there with "old stock" and cheap prices.... .....

Old stock will run out quickly.

1 minute ago, giddyup said:

Old stock will run out quickly.

Bloody right it will - Pension day next Thursday..!!

 

6 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

Could you just not add a drop of vodka to some fruit juice ? 

Yeeeeh! I know tomato is not a fruit but a Bloody Mary with white pepper and a touch of Worcestershire sauce is heaven.

Yes this is geting silly, in Malaysia last week in a department store I bought a bottle of nice French wine for 28 Ringit (225 THB) and in the Tax free shop on Langkawi a 1Ltr bottle of Jonnie red was 38 Ringit (305 THB) and Malaysia is a muslim country!!!