I'm not a wine buff by any means but I do like a bottle every couple of weeks when I'm fed up with beer.

 

Up to now I've been on a tight budget so the only wines I have been buying are the cheapest non fruit wines, the Vineyard brand sold at Lotus only for around 389 Baht. Red and White, Cabernet, Shiraz and Merlot, Chardonnay and I think Sauvignon Blanc before but my local one only stocks the Chardonnay now.

Now I don't need wine snobs to tell me it's p*ss and only good for cooking, as I've explained I've been on a budget.

 

Now I have more regular disposable income and I would like to buy better wines, red and white, let's say 500-700 Baht, what brands would you recommend please?

At Lotus I found Eaglehawk @399B better then those higher priced.

At Makro I like Laughing Bird 1.5L .

 

 

Install the Vivino app on your phone and check wines there, usually it is pretty good to find a good one. Also it will show median price for the wine.

I tried many reds around 400 and all bar 1 was average which was disappointing i.e. might as well just pick any at that price and it will be similar, so yes need to pay more, maybe will help

I opened a 19 Crimes Cab Sav last night and it is pretty good for a cheaper wine. Saw Xylophone recommend the brand and it is not too expensive in Thailand at 600 baht. Half decent Australian wine at the lower end. It is 300 in Australia but that’s how it is. 

Sold widely in the United States too. I like a YouTube channel Gas Station Encounters where this guy catches thieves at his service station and they always have a prominent stand selling it there. Last point irrelevant but fun fact.

Try Holla wine ... Makro.... is a table wine but not bad.

Wolf Blass and Jacob's Creek are within the OP's budget. IIRC 500 - 700 baht.

 

Unless I go to a premium wine - say 4000 baht/bottle, the difference between a 700 baht bottle and a 2000 bottle is indistinguishable to me.

19 crimes is my wine of choice for 600. The cabarnet is nicer to drink than the Shiraz in my opinion. I had it in the UK this year in a 3 for 18 deal I think. My next choice would be the McGuigans black at 500.

Eagle Hawk either Shiraz or cabernet both nice red from lotus

McGuigans Black from BigC

Wine in BigC (forget name)???????? Italian sounding 450 bhat

 

 

 

Not much of a wine drinker, but while visiting Chiang Rai bought a delicious bottle of Black Sticky Rice Wine. Took it in a backpack on the plane forgetting the rules, and watched it being poured down the drain….bummer! It was only 180 baht if you have friends up in that area.

I buy the 3l box wines, all OK, at Lotus and Big C. Can never remember the name though.

11 hours ago, YorkshireTyke said:

only wines I have been buying are the cheapest non fruit wines,

Just a heads up for all the wine buffs grapes are a fruit. Nowt wrong with a good fruit wine.

9 hours ago, Thailand J said:

At Lotus I found Eaglehawk @399B better then those higher priced.

At Makro I like Laughing Bird 1.5L .

 

 

Agree with Eaglehawk. I keep a bottle os Cab, Shiraz and Merlot at hand.

Lotus's's's's' do a Penfold's (Koonunga Hill) Shiraz for less than 700 Baht. It's the only time I bother shopping there, tbh.

 

A local mom 'n pop shop has started selling a range of wines. Usually a bit hit 'n miss obviously for any wine under 500-, but the missus struck lucky with a bottle of dry red named "Knight Black Horse" which was actually very good for a paltry 290 Baht. Certainly avoided it's normal fate as a boeuf bourguignon ingredient, anyway. ????

1 hour ago, Lacessit said:

Wolf Blass and Jacob's Creek are within the OP's budget. IIRC 500 - 700 baht.

 

Unless I go to a premium wine - say 4000 baht/bottle, the difference between a 700 baht bottle and a 2000 bottle is indistinguishable to me.

I'm lucky enough to not be able to tell cheap from expensive. I once attended a gathering in Melbourne sponsored by Jacob's Creek and mentioned this to the chap serving up the wine, so he gave me three to try. I picked the cheapest as my favourite. Being a non-connoisseur has saved me a fortune.

I find after about 3 or 4 bottles of Leo even a cheap bottle of wine goes down really well.

 

Saying that the next day hangover is nasty but I find white white is less severe than with the red wine cocktail. 

1 hour ago, brianthainess said:

Just a heads up for all the wine buffs grapes are a fruit. Nowt wrong with a good fruit wine.

I presumed every would know I meant a wine with fruit juice added.

 

But yes, Apricots, peaches etc make a nice tasting wine.

3 hours ago, Lacessit said:

Wolf Blass and Jacob's Creek are within the OP's budget. IIRC 500 - 700 baht.

 

Unless I go to a premium wine - say 4000 baht/bottle, the difference between a 700 baht bottle and a 2000 bottle is indistinguishable to me.

I second both these brands.  Been my go-to's for a long time.

2 hours ago, wwest5829 said:

Agree with Eaglehawk. I keep a bottle os Cab, Shiraz and Merlot at hand.

+1 for the Eaglehawk Merlot.... 399 at most places (e.g. Family Mart) and IMHO nicer than the 5-700b bottles. 

 

I do miss a bloody good Barolo though.... 

 

 

3 hours ago, easydoor said:

Try Holla wine ... Makro.... is a table wine but not bad.

Worst one surely, tastes like alcohol with added fruit juice and not real wine at all

1 hour ago, kwak250 said:

I find after about 3 or 4 bottles of Leo even a cheap bottle of wine goes down really well.

 

Saying that the next day hangover is nasty but I find white white is less severe than with the red wine cocktail. 

You would have to have something before the leo though to get that down well ????

3 hours ago, brianthainess said:

Just a heads up for all the wine buffs grapes are a fruit. Nowt wrong with a good fruit wine.

Nowt but its taste. How about just pouring half a shot of Red Cock white spirits into a glass of grape juice? 

13 hours ago, Thailand J said:

At Lotus I found Eaglehawk @399B better then those higher priced.

At Makro I like Laughing Bird 1.5L .

 

 

Laughing Bird is a fruit wine but is drinkable and is the most popular wine drank by many ex-pats in my wife's restaurant . Certainly makes them all jolly .

Wolf Blass Cabernet Sauvignon Yelliow Label is a decent entry level. You can find it for 599 Thb at Macro.

 

Anything below that is hardly wine. Don't forget that wine sold at 400 Bahts here would be sold for 3 or 4 Euros back home, hence plonk.

14 hours ago, Thailand J said:

At Lotus I found Eaglehawk @399B better then those higher priced.

At Makro I like Laughing Bird 1.5L .

 

 

Wolf Blass wines are ok

3 hours ago, Bangkok Barry said:

I'm lucky enough to not be able to tell cheap from expensive. I once attended a gathering in Melbourne sponsored by Jacob's Creek and mentioned this to the chap serving up the wine, so he gave me three to try. I picked the cheapest as my favourite. Being a non-connoisseur has saved me a fortune.

There are some very good wines in Australia, it's a matter of getting friendly with a guy who owns his own wine shop, and letting him choose. Usually $20 - $30 a bottle.

 

I only drink reds. It's near impossible to adulterate red wine, the colloid that gives a red wine its color precipitates out. Whereas one can put almost anything into white wine, some German producers were sweetening their whites with glycerol and glycol.

 

The best wine I have ever had was Booth's Premium Shiraz 1990, $15 a bottle. It was only sold from the cellar door, because it didn't need any retail outlet. Booth's were usually out of stock about 6 weeks after vintaging, people would drive from Melbourne to load up with 2 or 3 dozen.

The guy who made it, Cliffy Booth, died in the 90's. His secrets of winemaking died with him. The vineyard still made a good wine, but it was no match in hypnotic persuasion.

10 minutes ago, Sparktrader said:

Wolf Blass wines are ok

Wolf Blass wines are not a single vintage. They are usually a blend of wines coming from half a dozen vineyards.

Having said that, the vintners at Wolf Blass are pretty good at blending to produce palatable and affordable wines.

52 minutes ago, superal said:

Laughing Bird is a fruit wine but is drinkable and is the most popular wine drank by many ex-pats in my wife's restaurant . Certainly makes them all jolly .

Excellent info thanks, will try. As you mentioned your wife's restaurant I couldn't help thinking of when in Portugal I always ask for a jug of white house wine with my meals. Sometimes it's cloudy with objects floating in it but tastes just fine and I'm never ill. I was looking in the window of a small shop in Portugal where they had five litre containers of wine for 3 Euros. I guess that's the sort of stuff they use when you ask a bar/restaurant to make you a jug of Sangria. I paid a dollar for a litre bottle around the same time in Brasil.    

I would probably be classified as a wine snob (but I'm not). I have---perhaps to my detriment---knocked back enough bottles so that I can tell plonk from drinkable. If I had to limit myself to two wines for the rest of my life, I would choose a 1997 Elio Altare Barolo or a 1996 Uccilliera Brunello di Montalcino....so that is where my tastes lie (for reference). I prefer Italian to French or any other. I'm not a fanatic wine snob, but I do enjoy it enough to have learned more than is necessary.

 

I have one wine to recommend that falls within your price range: Gran Sasso Montepulciano d'Abruzzo. It's made from grapes very similar to sangiovese, but drink enough and you can distinguish between sangiovese and montepulciano (probably doing liver damage along the way). You can find it at Italasia outlets and it runs 595 baht, at least if you buy in bulk. If your really buy in bulk, you can get it for even less. It's great to sip, but also matches well with lots of Italian foods. It tastes well above its pay grade. Your bottle will disappear quite quickly.

18 minutes ago, The Fugitive said:

Excellent info thanks, will try. As you mentioned your wife's restaurant I couldn't help thinking of when in Portugal I always ask for a jug of white house wine with my meals. Sometimes it's cloudy with objects floating in it but tastes just fine and I'm never ill. I was looking in the window of a small shop in Portugal where they had five litre containers of wine for 3 Euros. I guess that's the sort of stuff they use when you ask a bar/restaurant to make you a jug of Sangria. I paid a dollar for a litre bottle around the same time in Brasil.    

Years ago in Spain , before  massive tourism , wine was literally as cheap as a bottle of water from the local corner shop . Poured straight from a vat into your provided bottle .