What did you do, Sangsom?

[rott]

On 1/18/2021 at 1:26 PM, Lacessit said:

I only complain when IMO it's justified. I seem to be finding more justifications lately, do you know a good therapist?

He doesn't need one he's dead right. 

[Lacessit]

7 hours ago, rott said:

He doesn't need one he's dead right. 

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[spidermike007]

18 hours ago, Lacessit said:

A great collection, although I can't help thinking with that many bottles you may have a problem with alcoholism. Yes, I'm well off topic.

When I worked in the wine laboratory, one of the perks of the job was free wine. Bottled wine would come in from all over Australia and further afield, because there are only two accredited wine laboratories in Australia, and this one had 70% of the business.

Most testing only involves 5 millilitres of sample, plenty left to take home. Flush the contents with a bit of nitrogen, seal again, as good as new. I had exposure to many varietals.

I did get some fairly dreck wines, which I would usually tip down the kitchen sink after half a glass. I got some pretty good ones too. I can still remember drinking a Heathcote shiraz which was quite stunning. When I looked it up on a site that gave the retail prices of the vineyards, I was enjoying a $400 bottle of wine.

Pinot Noirs in Australia seem to be mostly coming out of the Mornington Peninsula, I tend to favor shiraz and cabernet sauvignon.

$50 US is quite expensive by Australian standards. One can buy good local wine for $15 - $30, that's AUD. The irrigated wines are even less, $8 - $12 a bottle.

I was quite amused many years ago when I flew United from Los Angeles to Melbourne, I think Qantas was on strike or the flight may have been booked out. The mini-bottles on an American airline were all Australian wines.

I tried the offending bottle of Sangsom again last night, the kitchen sink is beckoning.

 

Well, for $50 the bottles border on changing my life, with the degree of inspiration they provide. California offers alot in the $10-20 range that most would consider very good, but not with regard to Pinot. Only a few in the $20 range are really good. Mostly cabs, chardonnay, syrah, zin, etc. 

 

No, I am the opposite of an alcoholic. I go two or three weeks without a single drink, quite often. When I am here. No inspiration. The beers is insipid, and when I do drink, it is mostly tequila, I have at home, that I brought back from Cali. Good wine here is so overpriced, I might drink a bottle once a month. And when I spend 1,300 or more, for a decent bottle of Chianti reserva, I feel a bit put upon, as the same bottle is $18 in Cali. When in Cali, needless to say, I drink wine at least four nights a week! 

 

With regard to Aussie wines, my favorites are the Shiraz from McLaren Vale, such as the Henschke Hill of Grace, the single vineyard Torbrecks, some Hunter Valley Shiraz, and the Grenache, from Clare Valley and Mclaren. They can be sublime. The Aphelion, Thistledown, Hickenbotham Clarendon, Tony Bekkers, John Duval, Kilikanoon Kelly and the Duke, and a few others. Gorgeous wine. But, most are out of my budget, so I tend to drink those only with my wealthy wine collector friends. LOL. I do find some very respectable McLaren shiraz within my price range. If you have any recommendations, for reasonable, but good Shiraz, I am all ears!

[Lacessit]

3 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

 

Well, for $50 the bottles border on changing my life, with the degree of inspiration they provide. California offers alot in the $10-20 range that most would consider very good, but not with regard to Pinot. Only a few in the $20 range are really good. Mostly cabs, chardonnay, syrah, zin, etc. 

 

No, I am the opposite of an alcoholic. I go two or three weeks without a single drink, quite often. When I am here. No inspiration. The beers is insipid, and when I do drink, it is mostly tequila, I have at home, that I brought back from Cali. Good wine here is so overpriced, I might drink a bottle once a month. And when I spend 1,300 or more, for a decent bottle of Chianti reserva, I feel a bit put upon, as the same bottle is $18 in Cali. When in Cali, needless to say, I drink wine at least four nights a week! 

 

With regard to Aussie wines, my favorites are the Shiraz from McLaren Vale, such as the Henschke Hill of Grace, the single vineyard Torbrecks, some Hunter Valley Shiraz, and the Grenache, from Clare Valley and Mclaren. They can be sublime. The Aphelion, Thistledown, Hickenbotham Clarendon, Tony Bekkers, John Duval, Kilikanoon Kelly and the Duke, and a few others. Gorgeous wine. But, most are out of my budget, so I tend to drink those only with my wealthy wine collector friends. LOL. I do find some very respectable McLaren shiraz within my price range. If you have any recommendations, for reasonable, but good Shiraz, I am all ears!

Here, I only share my wine with friends. Had a Torbreck with them a month or so ago. I can't drink a whole bottle anymore, two glasses is my limit.

You might like to check out the reds of Rutherglen, Stanton and Killeen, Brown Bros and Morris all make hearty shiraz.

https://www.morriswines.com/

https://stantonandkilleen.com.au/

https://www.brownbrothers.com.au/

Don't know if any of them are available here.

 

This is the last bottle I have brought to Thailand from Australia, a $30 syrah. It would probably be 1500 - 2000 baht here, wine prices are a ripoff. I have a very knowledgeable wine merchant in Australia who can pick wines that travel well. Hasn't let me down yet.

[spidermike007]

6 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Here, I only share my wine with friends. Had a Torbreck with them a month or so ago. I can't drink a whole bottle anymore, two glasses is my limit.

You might like to check out the reds of Rutherglen, Stanton and Killeen, Brown Bros and Morris all make hearty shiraz.

https://www.morriswines.com/

https://stantonandkilleen.com.au/

https://www.brownbrothers.com.au/

Don't know if any of them are available here.

 

This is the last bottle I have brought to Thailand from Australia, a $30 syrah. It would probably be 1500 - 2000 baht here, wine prices are a ripoff. I have a very knowledgeable wine merchant in Australia who can pick wines that travel well. Hasn't let me down yet.

 

Nice. Thanks for the recommendations. But you cannot have them shipped here, without paying exorbitant taxes, right? Thanks for the list. Could possibly access some of them in Cali. 

Edited January 21, 2021 by spidermike007

[Lacessit]

4 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

 

Nice. Thanks for the recommendations. But you cannot have them shipped here, without paying exorbitant taxes, right? Thanks for the list. Could possibly access some of them in Cali. 

Sshh, I was bringing them in two at a time in my hold luggage from Oz.

The Thais tax imported wine to the hilt, ostensibly to protect their wine industry. They don't realize the smoke pollution they have every year like clockwork makes any wine made here undrinkable, so there is nothing to protect. And they won't import cellarmasters to help them with what good grapes they do have. Good old xenophobia.

I may be a pleb drinking Sangsom and Coke, but there's no way I would pollute my palate with Thai wine.

Edited January 21, 2021 by Lacessit

[spidermike007]

23 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Sshh, I was bringing them in two at a time in my hold luggage from Oz.

The Thais tax imported wine to the hilt, ostensibly to protect their wine industry. They don't realize the smoke pollution they have every year like clockwork makes any wine made here undrinkable, so there is nothing to protect. And they won't import cellarmasters to help them with what good grapes they do have. Good old xenophobia.

I may be a pleb drinking Sangsom and Coke, but there's no way I would pollute my palate with Thai wine.

 

Absolutely spot on. No doubt the wine duty was about a small lobby, that paid a senator to pass anti farang wine legislation, to promote a handful of very inferior domestic wineries. A myopic policy, that staggers the imagination. To think of the hundreds of billions of baht the country is losing every year. If the duty was only 100%, the wine industry here would explode. It would benefit tourism, but attracting a far higher level of tourist, the hotel industry, restaurants, and the people, and ex-pats, who could choose from good wine, at fair prices. As it stands now, a decent bottle here costs in excess of 1,000 baht. And at the restaurants, the prices of good wine is downright silly. I have seen house wines, that cost 1,500 baht, that are available in Los Angeles for $4. Good wines that I pay $30-40 for in LA, cost 6,000 baht here, if you can find them. And who is going to pay that kind of money for a wine that is 80% less overseas?

 

It is a bit like as ignorant as a hi-so guy paying 15,000,000 baht for a Porsche 911 here, that cost $120,000 in the US.

 

As I have been saying, if the brain dead leaders really wanted to attract the wealthy tourists they claim to want, they need to make sacrifices to get them. One place to start is to lower luxury taxes to 20%, and wine taxes to 70%. Wine sales here would go up 10x, more than making up for the shortfall in revenue, and they would be able to attract more deep pocket tourists, who demand wine with dinner, and will not pay stupid money for a mediocre bottle.  

[terminatorchiangmai]

On 1/18/2021 at 11:57 AM, Speedhump said:

Thanks I never thought to try it. I get through a bottle of Sangsom a week, so it'll be nice to have a change! 

Always give it a try , if not good use it for cooking or give it away. Nice Vodka also for only 260.-  named Bezo , Kulov vodka also nice and dirt cheap but a bit sweeter.

 

Cheers.

[Speedhump]

1 hour ago, terminatorchiangmai said:

Always give it a try , if not good use it for cooking or give it away. Nice Vodka also for only 260.-  named Bezo , Kulov vodka also nice and dirt cheap but a bit sweeter.

 

Cheers.

I've bought two bottles. Will be giving it a bash this week. Thanks