Wine has now become a real luxury in Thailand

[webfact]

File photo for reference only

 

ANALYSIS

 

International tourists and new arrivals into Thailand are usually shocked by how much more expensive wine is in Thailand compared with their home country. 

 

It is typically sold in supermarkets and wine stores at a local equivalent retail price range of 300 baht (c. US$10) to 600 baht (c. US$20) – and upwards.

 

When ordered in a restaurant these retail prices can be more than doubled. 

This is almost entirely due to Thailand's heavy and complex alcohol excise and tax regime.

In Thailand for wine there is a tariff of 60 percent on imports. 

 

All other taxes compound off from the imports cost, insurance, and freight (CIF) plus the tariff cost. 

 

Domestic wine taxes are calculated just on the cost and not the remaining values of the CIF and import tariff.

 

Although some local wines are drinkable of course imported wines are hard to beat.

 

With people’s budgets being hit by the cost of living and as we are still experiencing high freight costs it is not surprising that bringing in a crate of imported wine is expensive even before the wholesale must add the high Thai taxes.

 

Of course, if you are flying into Thailand, you could bring your friends some wine from Australia or Europe however you can only bring in 1 litre tax free.

How much is tax and duty on wine?

According to online figures the Wine Duty and VAT is £2.23 per 75cl bottle of still wine. £2.86 per 75cl bottle of sparkling wine. £2.89 per 75cl bottle of fortified Port wine.

 

One of our AseanNow viewers posted this comment recently, “I think in general it is clear that Thailand is not a traditional wine drinking culture and most wine is imported, so it is in the country's interest to tax it heavily as a luxury to discourage more foreign debt. 

 

Also, perhaps, it is seen as a farang thing and a way to soak farangs, who when push comes to shove, will buy wine when they need it, no matter the ridiculous price.”

 

I think he has a fair point as most Thais would prefer a bottle of whisky rather than a good bottle of wine as a birthday gift.

 

Useful tip

According to a wine expert if you understand and appreciate wine and live in Thailand, you would most likely buy imported labels mostly available in supermarkets or even 7-11 stores across the country. 

These imported wines are on supermarket shelves with a blue excise stamp on the cap. 

Your choices are abundant with wines from Australia, France, South Africa and other countries. 

If you are a tourist coming to visit this country on a tight budget and would like a cheap bottle for lunch you would invariably go for those local blends with an orange excise stamp sticking across the top of the cap.

A keen eye can tell you which one is imported and which is a local blend. 

Although most of you might not know that local blends are made from about half real wine (in international terms of wine that is made from Vitis vinifera) and the other half fruit wine in order to reduce the tax from 60 % to 25 %.

The reason that you didn’t know is that on the label nothing is written in English to inform you about this.

 

Only the word FRUIT WINE at the back with a small font-size that aroused your suspicion.

Legally the label must state the fruit to which the wine is blended and this is actually written in Thai so as to conform to the law perfectly.

So many of us will just have to buy a decent bottle of wine to drink for a special occasion or hope that all their mates coming over to the Land of Smiles soon will include a decent litre bottle of a good vintage.

 

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[lexxy]

I stumbled across a wine shop in thailand and the owner told me smaller obscure brands from Europe or Australia they under declare hence reducing the tax. This cannot be done on larger brands such as penfolds etc. 

 

There are some deals and I picked up a nice bottle for only 350b which is more than I usually pay locally in sydney but acceptable.

 

just to note they are cheaper than the big c 711 prices 

[whiteman]

they under declare  what does that mean in laymen's terms???

[futsukayoi]

7 minutes ago, whiteman said:

they under declare  what does that mean in laymen's terms???

They declare that a bottle that cost maybe 20 dollars actually only cost 5 dollars and therefore only pay a quater of the tax due.

 

[Orinoco]

Gave up on wine years back.

They just take the piste. on cost here. 

Went back to beer and 100 pipers with a splash of soda.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Henryford]

"has now become" ? wasn't it always a luxury.

[ChrisY1]

~700 Thb for Australian (Jacobs Creek) cooking wine is outrageous......

[tingtongfarang]

surprised anyone would buy wine in thailand at these prises

[Excel]

1 minute ago, tingtongfarang said:

surprised anyone would buy wine in thailand at these prises

Many of us do otherwise there would be no need for wine retail outlets.

[HaoleBoy]

Many Thais are starting to drink wine now (imported not local).  This can be seen at Wine Bars cropping up in BKK and CM ... of course these Thais have some money.

 

I like a good bottle of red wine, but don't know French wines and California wines are hard to come by (something decent).

[Thechook]

2 hours ago, ChrisY1 said:

~700 Thb for Australian (Jacobs Creek) cooking wine is outrageous......

Saw Riverside Landing on the shelf in Chiang Mai selling for 650 Baht and nearly past out.  It retails in Australia for $4 and definately not drinkable.

 

[lujanit]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

Although some local wines are drinkable

I tried some of the local wine years ago and it was definitely not drinkable.  I then gave up on local wine, I wouldn't drink it if was free.  Paying 350 baht for a wine that would sell in Aus for $3 is beyond a joke.

[seajae]

we have a couple of shops where we go to get some decent wine at reasonable prices but you do have to search around, many of the bottles we buy have been sitting in the shelves for a few years so the shop has reduced the price to sell them. Have found some good french, aussie and south american bottles amongst them

[xylophone]

4 hours ago, tingtongfarang said:

surprised anyone would buy wine in thailand at these prises

I love my wine far too much to not buy it here, so I do seek out wines which are not too expensive (although the occasional one is great to taste) and which suit my palate.

 

I'm not a beer drinker, nor do I like spirits, so wine it has to be and as long as I can still find a few reasonable Aussie wines in shops here, then I'm happy, although I have just ordered six bottles of Appassimento (from Veneto) by way of a change.

 

One can still find reasonable bottles of Aussie wines in certain shops and a favourite of mine at the moment is the "19 Crimes" red blend which I can buy here at 480 baht a bottle. Then there is the Barwang range which can still be bought for 399 baht (although I've seen the price of this shoot up by 100 baht a bottle just recently in some shops). Then of course there is the Wolf Blass Eaglehawk range which sells for 399 baht, and although it is the lowest wine in their range, it's an okay wine with Thai food or pizza, but not one that I buy.

 

I get the occasional very good wine from an importer/distributor here who sometimes has a clear out of his slow-moving wines and have paid 600 baht for a wine that was retailing at twice that amount, and it was fabulous.

 

The bargains are out there, but beware, so is the rubbish wine, and it doesn't hurt to buy the occasional good wine just to break the monotony – – and for the record, I wouldn't touch Jacob's Creek anyway, and especially not at the price quoted by another poster!

[KhunLA]

Just happy I was never a wine drinker, as they are silly priced here.

 

Just which craft beers were cheaper.   Thailand is expensive for Alkys with good taste ????

[proton]

How is fruit juice added without watering down the strength of the wine?

[ourmanflint]

2 hours ago, lujanit said:

I tried some of the local wine years ago and it was definitely not drinkable.  I then gave up on local wine, I wouldn't drink it if was free.  Paying 350 baht for a wine that would sell in Aus for $3 is beyond a joke.

Monsoon Valley are very drinkable I think. As good as most cheap supermarket plonk in UK.

[proton]

6 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

Just happy I was never a wine drinker, as they are silly priced here.

 

Just which craft beers were cheaper.   Thailand is expensive for Alkys with good taste ????

Spain has to be the best place for wine, under one euro or if you want to splash out 2-3 Euros ????

[jaywalker2]

Thailand isn't a wine drinking culture only because wine costs so much. I remember when Thailand wasn't a coffee drinking culture and you could only find coffee at the international hotels or when McDonald's first appeared and was predicted to fail becaue Thais don't eat hamburgers.

 

Lower the duty, liberalize the market, and I'll bet you'll see wine drinking take off. That's what happened in Japan and the Japanese supposedly weren't a wine drinking culture either.  But everybody loves wine when it's affordable.

[hotandsticky]

6 minutes ago, jaywalker2 said:

Thailand isn't a wine drinking culture only because wine costs so much. I remember when Thailand wasn't a coffee drinking culture and you could only find coffee at the international hotels or when McDonald's first appeared and was predicted to fail because Thais don't eat hamburgers.

 

Lower the duty, liberalize the market, and I'll bet you'll see wine drinking take off. That's what happened in Japan and the Japanese supposedly weren't a wine drinking culture either.  But everybody loves wine when it's affordable.

 

 

Wine isn't expensive but, as you inferred, the duty is.

 

 

Look at Cambodia as an example where wine can be retailed at sensible prices.

 

 

Spot on re duty reductions and liberalisation  -  surely to God wine is a better prospect than lao khao. Most Thais are mao after 2/3 glasses of anything so at least make it more palatable/healthy.

[SidJames]

Why is this news in Thailand?

They might as well say that the sun is hot & water is wet in Thailand.

[xylophone]

31 minutes ago, proton said:

How is fruit juice added without watering down the strength of the wine?

I have tried to find out from various friends who work in the industry, but it seems to be a closely guarded secret?? 

 

So it is either added at the beginning of the fermentation process so that it ferments along with the grape crush, or it is fermented separately and the resulting alcoholic fruit liquid is then added to the finished grape wine. For red wines only dark fruits are used, and for white wines then white fruit – – and I do know that passionfruit is used in the mix, along with a few others which I can't recall right now.

 

Either way, for whatever reason, it gives me a headache, so I don't touch the stuff. 

[Denim]

5 hours ago, tingtongfarang said:

surprised anyone would buy wine in thailand at these prises

Everything comes to him who waits and sniffs around Tescos.

 

 

[xylophone]

1 minute ago, Denim said:

Everything comes to him who waits and sniffs around Tescos.

 

 

Yes there are a few bargains out there, and I went hunting for those you had mentioned in your previous post, however couldn't find any in Patong or Phuket, although I have found some heavily reduced wines here in the past, so I keep hunting!

 

Keep up the good work!

[Denim]

3 minutes ago, xylophone said:

I have found some heavily reduced wines here in the past, so I keep hunting!

Perseverance pays off. I am beginning to see a pattern at this particular Tesco. Discounted wine appears , gets snapped up , then nothing at all for 3 months.....not a sausage. Then , after three month mark .....they pop up again and disappear. So now , I am keeping the dates in my diary so that I know when some is due.

 

I am ashamed to say that although on the first occasion I decided not to be greedy , and only tooe 2 bottles ( allowing others a chance ) , I subsequently thought ' Oh to hell with considering others richer than myself ' and just grabbed all 4 bottles on display. Still not opened any yet as waiting for my other half to recover from Covid ( which passed me by ).

[proton]

26 minutes ago, Denim said:

Everything comes to him who waits and sniffs around Tescos.

 

 

If they are paying a lot of tax how can they make a profit at these prices, sadly we do not get to Lotus's very often

[Walker88]

Depending on the type of wine one drinks, prices are not necessarily higher in Thailand. I pay the same price in the US as I do in Thailand for specific wines like Le Volte (about $30/1100 baht) and il Bruciato (about the same). For Barolos and Barbarescos in the $50-100 range, prices are also about the same. Ditto for Super Toscanas

 

For higher end Italian wines like Sassicaia and Solaia, Tignanello, Guado al Tasso and that ilk, prices are lower in Thailand than the US (because importers under declare the cost and most Customs officials are unfamiliar with these wines).

 

if one buys in bulk, discounts are available from major importers. I enjoy a good wine with a meal, so I load up on favorites.

 

Where the price impact is felt the most is with less expensive wines, as their price is low enough that true price is declared and the tax/duty is added on. The wines at Wine Connection tend to be cheap wines, so the full markup is felt in Thailand.

[proton]

Does the fruit wine have different coloured tax stickers? Just opened a Nadin 777 red that is fruit wine, yesterday at wine connection a bottle of French wine there was fruit wine, almost all of it is. Nadin has a blue tax sticker

[Klonko]

Rule of thumb: wine retail prices in Thailand = restaurant prices in Europe. I buy wine in the 1000-3000 THB range, but spend less money than my beer drinking buddies, because a bottle lasts 3-4 days maintaining the quality with the Coravin system.

[Speedhump]

7 hours ago, Orinoco said:

Gave up on wine years back.

They just take the piste. on cost here. 

Went back to beer and 100 pipers with a splash of soda.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sadly me too.