What low/medium price wine do you recommend.

[Stocky]

6 hours ago, alien365 said:

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.

 

6 hours ago, Expat68 said:

McGuigans Black from BigC

Agree with both.

 

The McGuigans red is also good, the red label is a red blend, the black label a merlot. Available from Big C.

 

The 19 Crimes shiraz I like, the red blend is good too, not tried the cabernet. Available from Villa Market, Tops and Big C.

[xylophone]

7 hours ago, brianthainess said:

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

Well you are right on the fact that grapes are a fruit, but adding fruit juice to a wine with grapes means that the wine has to be labelled (or have somewhere on the label) "fruit wine". That has been the law with regards to international wine labelling for some time now, and I don't like it so I don't buy it.

 

I am able to buy the "19 Crimes" for under 500 baht so that is my go-to standby, whereas the EagleHawk at 399 baht is far too "thin/insipid" but is good for Thai spicy food IMO.

 

One that has been here for quite a while and can still be gotten for around 400 baht is "Barwang" Cabernet Sauvignon or Shiraz and many of the everyday Australian Reds come from the south-east Australia region and are meant for the lower end of the market and for everyday drinking. Good value IMO.

 

I recently went to Wine Pro and despite trying around 24 bottles of wine, I've only found two which I thought were quite lovely wines, an Italian red (Primitivo or Negroamaro grape) from southern Italy made by the Appasimento method (a slight drying of the grapes before fermentation) which gives the wine good body and alcohol content. I think it was around 750 baht, but an exceptional wine.

 

The other was a French country wine from Languedoc region called, "Mazan", and it was a Cabernet Sauvignon/Syrah blend and it was very good for a country wine (Pays D'Oc). Around 500 baht a bottle as I recall.

 

If you don't have an outlet like that near you, then those I have mentioned and others have mentioned could be worth a try, and you may wish to seek out some McWilliams wines because I noticed that Villa Market had them on special at 400 baht (and Barwang) and for that price they are not bad at all.

 

I've had my fill of drinking top quality wines over the 50 years I have been collecting them, and I now find that these wines are well overpriced here, and have not travelled (or been stored) well, so I seek out the everyday drinkers, as I call them, and I'm always delighted when I find a few good ones, as I did from Wine Pro.

[LatPhrao]

As a 'wine guy' extremely galled by the Thai government's duties and taxes that makes wine, common and grand, preposterously priced in Thailand - I've researched what I call the 399 thb shelves for wine.  It is a cheap exercise you can do on your own with friends - buy a half a dozen bottles or more and conduct your own wine tasting to find one or more that suits you.  They do exist, decent drinking wines at 399 thb or so.  

My pick for red is the 2019 Eclipse Solar Red from Southeastern Australia - a blend of Shiraz and Cabernet that is full bodied, smooth and easy drinking. Do not however recommend their white wine - poured my trial bottle down the drain, undrinkable.      

And, 'a word' about 'fruit' wine. Beyond the perverse prices for wine coming from all parts of the world,  the powers that be in Thailand created a false category of wine, cheap wine, that must suggest on the label, insinuate or state, that the wine is not pure grape wine but includes other fruits. (I don't know if there's a connection but wine in China was intentionally made this way - until they opened their markets and imported wines of the world.)  Wine makers and exporters / importers have been able to get lower taxes/duties on their wines coming into Thailand if the label indicates or suggests 'fruit' added.  

 

THERE IS NO FRUIT ADDED. The text on the label that mentions fruit aromas or flavors is enough to get it into the lower tax class. There is no Thai government definition of how much or any type of fruit added. A drop? A liter? Nothing.   I always imagine a winemaker standing over a 5,000 gallon tank of wine with an eye dropper - dripping in some fruit juice.   Ahhh, fruit blend wine destined for Thailand shelves! Label says 'fruity'.    What this 'fruit' wine idea does do, is to offer the winemaker, exporter, importer, distributor, retailer an avenue to bring in vin ordinaire wines and get them on the shelves for the equivalent of U$10 or so - still twice the price you'd find on a non-asian wine shelf - but cheap enough and there's plenty of good for drinking table wine in the world.     So, eat, drink and be merry! and occasionally spring some baht for a wine of good provenance and quality, so you don't forget they are real and worth the extra to enjoy 'em.  Cheers!

[YorkshireTyke]

4 hours ago, Walker88 said:

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.

Sounds really good but I live in Hua Hin and never heard of Italasia........

[NickyLouie]

12 hours ago, Fat is a type of crazy said:

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.

 

Will second the 19 crimes bottles being a decent grape and price.

[Baht Simpson]

8 hours 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. 

The old saying goes "Wine before beer and you'll feel queer, but beer before wine and you'll feel fine."

[KannikaP]

2 cartons of Merlot from Jamago = Bht 1200. 2 kg sugar = Bht50, 8 litres water, yeast = Bht 70. 

7 days fermenting, 10 days racked, 2 weeks maturing . 10 littres for   Bht 1300.

 

[xylophone]

57 minutes ago, LatPhrao said:

As a 'wine guy' extremely galled by the Thai government's duties and taxes that makes wine, common and grand, preposterously priced in Thailand - I've researched what I call the 399 thb shelves for wine.  It is a cheap exercise you can do on your own with friends - buy a half a dozen bottles or more and conduct your own wine tasting to find one or more that suits you.  They do exist, decent drinking wines at 399 thb or so.  

My pick for red is the 2019 Eclipse Solar Red from Southeastern Australia - a blend of Shiraz and Cabernet that is full bodied, smooth and easy drinking. Do not however recommend their white wine - poured my trial bottle down the drain, undrinkable.      

And, 'a word' about 'fruit' wine. Beyond the perverse prices for wine coming from all parts of the world,  the powers that be in Thailand created a false category of wine, cheap wine, that must suggest on the label, insinuate or state, that the wine is not pure grape wine but includes other fruits. (I don't know if there's a connection but wine in China was intentionally made this way - until they opened their markets and imported wines of the world.)  Wine makers and exporters / importers have been able to get lower taxes/duties on their wines coming into Thailand if the label indicates or suggests 'fruit' added.  

 

THERE IS NO FRUIT ADDED. The text on the label that mentions fruit aromas or flavors is enough to get it into the lower tax class. There is no Thai government definition of how much or any type of fruit added. A drop? A liter? Nothing.   I always imagine a winemaker standing over a 5,000 gallon tank of wine with an eye dropper - dripping in some fruit juice.   Ahhh, fruit blend wine destined for Thailand shelves! Label says 'fruity'.    What this 'fruit' wine idea does do, is to offer the winemaker, exporter, importer, distributor, retailer an avenue to bring in vin ordinaire wines and get them on the shelves for the equivalent of U$10 or so - still twice the price you'd find on a non-asian wine shelf - but cheap enough and there's plenty of good for drinking table wine in the world.     So, eat, drink and be merry! and occasionally spring some baht for a wine of good provenance and quality, so you don't forget they are real and worth the extra to enjoy 'em.  Cheers!

I'm afraid I'm going to have to disagree with some aspects of your post, because the aspect of "fruit wine" is more tightly controlled than you suggest.

 

If any fruit juice is added, and I did post something here a few years ago with regards to the amounts of fruit juice/wine which can be added, to the wine so it falls into the "fruit wine" category.

 

Not only that, on the label it has to state, "fruit wine" somewhere (although I will admit it's never prominent) so imagine that an exporter of wine wanted to send his product to Thailand and produced a label which falsely stated that it was "fruit wine". Should he be found out for this ruse, then he would be subject to huge fines and reputational damage, not to mention probably having the stock destroyed.

 

I've heard this on several occasions and there is nothing to suggest that the Thai authorities will have any bearing on what is on the label, because it will already be stated on the label from the producing country, what it is, so the producer/the producing country would be fraudulently exporting a product.

 

You may also wish to peruse the information on this link......
https://www.the-londoner.com/blog/ordering-and-buying-wine-in-thailand/

I also remember speaking to one of the hierarchy of the Wine Connection chain in Thailand when they were selling wine which was fruit wine, although not that you could see it on the label, but it was inexpensive, hence the reason it was done, to get through Thai excise duty. This wine was produced in Vietnam and the white wine had juice from passionfruit and pineapple (I think it was) whereas the red wine was mixed with juice from "black fruits" as the person said (blueberry, blackberry, plum et cetera).

 

So fruit wine is a reality.
 

[scubascuba3]

1 hour ago, LatPhrao said:

As a 'wine guy' extremely galled by the Thai government's duties and taxes that makes wine, common and grand, preposterously priced in Thailand - I've researched what I call the 399 thb shelves for wine.  It is a cheap exercise you can do on your own with friends - buy a half a dozen bottles or more and conduct your own wine tasting to find one or more that suits you.  They do exist, decent drinking wines at 399 thb or so.  

My pick for red is the 2019 Eclipse Solar Red from Southeastern Australia - a blend of Shiraz and Cabernet that is full bodied, smooth and easy drinking. Do not however recommend their white wine - poured my trial bottle down the drain, undrinkable.      

And, 'a word' about 'fruit' wine. Beyond the perverse prices for wine coming from all parts of the world,  the powers that be in Thailand created a false category of wine, cheap wine, that must suggest on the label, insinuate or state, that the wine is not pure grape wine but includes other fruits. (I don't know if there's a connection but wine in China was intentionally made this way - until they opened their markets and imported wines of the world.)  Wine makers and exporters / importers have been able to get lower taxes/duties on their wines coming into Thailand if the label indicates or suggests 'fruit' added.  

 

THERE IS NO FRUIT ADDED. The text on the label that mentions fruit aromas or flavors is enough to get it into the lower tax class. There is no Thai government definition of how much or any type of fruit added. A drop? A liter? Nothing.   I always imagine a winemaker standing over a 5,000 gallon tank of wine with an eye dropper - dripping in some fruit juice.   Ahhh, fruit blend wine destined for Thailand shelves! Label says 'fruity'.    What this 'fruit' wine idea does do, is to offer the winemaker, exporter, importer, distributor, retailer an avenue to bring in vin ordinaire wines and get them on the shelves for the equivalent of U$10 or so - still twice the price you'd find on a non-asian wine shelf - but cheap enough and there's plenty of good for drinking table wine in the world.     So, eat, drink and be merry! and occasionally spring some baht for a wine of good provenance and quality, so you don't forget they are real and worth the extra to enjoy 'em.  Cheers!

Fruit wine seems to have a lower alcohol % so something must be going on

[partington]

46 minutes ago, xylophone said:

I'm afraid I'm going to have to disagree with some aspects of your post, because the aspect of "fruit wine" is more tightly controlled than you suggest.

 

If any fruit juice is added, and I did post something here a few years ago with regards to the amounts of fruit juice/wine which can be added, to the wine so it falls into the "fruit wine" category.

 

Not only that, on the label it has to state, "fruit wine" somewhere (although I will admit it's never prominent) so imagine that an exporter of wine wanted to send his product to Thailand and produced a label which falsely stated that it was "fruit wine". Should he be found out for this ruse, then he would be subject to huge fines and reputational damage, not to mention probably having the stock destroyed.

 

I've heard this on several occasions and there is nothing to suggest that the Thai authorities will have any bearing on what is on the label, because it will already be stated on the label from the producing country, what it is, so the producer/the producing country would be fraudulently exporting a product.

 

You may also wish to peruse the information on this link......
https://www.the-londoner.com/blog/ordering-and-buying-wine-in-thailand/

I also remember speaking to one of the hierarchy of the Wine Connection chain in Thailand when they were selling wine which was fruit wine, although not that you could see it on the label, but it was inexpensive, hence the reason it was done, to get through Thai excise duty. This wine was produced in Vietnam and the white wine had juice from passionfruit and pineapple (I think it was) whereas the red wine was mixed with juice from "black fruits" as the person said (blueberry, blackberry, plum et cetera).

 

So fruit wine is a reality.
 

A perennial debate, but one which I still am sceptical about. 

 

In my view "fruit wine" is wine fermented from a mixture of grape juice and the juice of other fruits, which are mixed before fermentation starts, and not finished wine made from grapes, to which raw fruit juice is then added before bottling.

 

I think anyone with even moderately functional taste buds could tell if what they are drinking is finished grape wine that has subsequently had raw fruit juice added to it.

 

 I could be wrong, of course, but have never seen definitive evidence that convinces me that the raw fruit juice interpretation is true.

[moogradod]

14 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

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 am not a wine snob - but as well not someone drinking wine from cartons and having tasted some at the very top of the Parker list, visited Burgundy myself twice and had some fun there, so at least I can contribute just a little bit.

 

And you have obviously not yet tried

 

"Williams - Shiraz Carbernet" at a mere 399.--.

 

And this is a very very surprizingly good wine - for the price and even far beyond.

 

 

[DJ54]

Great thread .. enjoyed reading.. Thanks all.

[kwak250]

3 hours ago, KannikaP said:

2 cartons of Merlot from Jamago = Bht 1200. 2 kg sugar = Bht50, 8 litres water, yeast = Bht 70. 

7 days fermenting, 10 days racked, 2 weeks maturing . 10 littres for   Bht 1300.

 

Bet that tastes like cat pizz

[scubascuba3]

2 hours ago, moogradod said:

I am not a wine snob - but as well not someone drinking wine from cartons and having tasted some at the very top of the Parker list, visited Burgundy myself twice and had some fun there, so at least I can contribute just a little bit.

 

And you have obviously not yet tried

 

"Williams - Shiraz Carbernet" at a mere 399.--.

 

And this is a very very surprizingly good wine - for the price and even far beyond.

 

 

Williams from where?

[GammaGlobulin]

Gallo Red. 

 

Gallon Jug.

 

Two Dollah. 

 

Similar to James Michener's character... Two Dollah. 

 

South Pacific. 

 

 

Sometimes, I wonder, if, besides drinking wine, anybody here has read a book. 

 

 

 

 

[Gaccha]

A good choice would be White Zinfandel.

 

If you ordered it at a good bar, they'd probably smile, fall to their knees, choking back tears and offer you a free wine of your choice. 

 

The young ladies would enjoy it since the sugar propping up its flavour goes well in their still immature taste buds.

 

Also, you'll find ants stay away from it, and it also acts as a general surfactant. 

 

Presumably, it would get through Thai customs without paying the wine duty because on a metaphysical level, certainly the German Idealist period of Fichte, it could not be construed as a wine, as such. 

[GammaGlobulin]

Just one cask of Poe.

 

Give me just one cask. 

 

Wall me up. 

 

Good Cognac is to die for. 

[moogradod]

1 hour ago, scubascuba3 said:

Williams from where?

New South Wales Australia.

Not to be confused with the Williams Shiraz - also at 399.--. It must be the Shiraz Cabernet.

Availabe at Friendship (if it is available). And here is how the bottle looks:

 

 

 

Treat the wine like you would treat a much more expensive one and it will reward you with a full bodied flavour amazing for the price.

Cheers.

[GammaGlobulin]

23 minutes ago, moogradod said:

New South Wales Australia.

Not to be confused with the Williams Shiraz - also at 399.--. It must be the Shiraz Cabernet.

Availabe at Friendship (if it is available). And here is how the bottle looks:

 

 

 

Treat the wine like you would treat a much more expensive one and it will reward you with a full bodied flavour amazing for the price.

Cheers.

Treat your GF like you would treat a more expensive one, and she will reward you, full body.

Girls here are amazing for the price.

 

Treat women like fine wine.

 

 

 

[moogradod]

29 minutes ago, GammaGlobulin said:

........................................

 

Good Cognac is to die for. 

Absolutely......and good Rhum......and good Whisky. In the most upper class where the extremely smooth varieties are found for a fortune the differences vanish. What remains is the smoothness of the experience. I heard of someone who lost a bet being able to distinguish Cognac from Rhum and Whiskey in that class blindfolded.

 

Once in my life I bought myself a really phantastic bottle of Rhum while I was still in Switzerland. Here I would not even know where to go to buy one.

 

I know this is a thread about cheap but good wine but I cannot help to recommend another beverage that offers exeptional value for a (relatively) low budget (still over 2K  I think though). But it is more than worth it and especially: it is available here. This is the Whisky "Cardhu". Here we are talking price-performance.

[GammaGlobulin]

10 minutes ago, GammaGlobulin said:

 

 

 

[GammaGlobulin]

Spill the wine, take that pearl
Spill the wine, take that pearl
Spill the wine, take that pearl
Spill the wine, take that pearl

[moogradod]

7 minutes ago, GammaGlobulin said:

Treat your GF like you would treat a more expensive one, and she will reward you, full body.

Girls here are amazing for the price.

 

 

Know my wife for about 18 years and she has rewarded me more than I could ever pay back in the few years that are left for me in this existence. So I paid back the most I could on any occasion there was and will be.

 

From wild times before I know however that nothing has escaped inflation........ ???? I came here for the first time in 1975.

[GammaGlobulin]

26 minutes ago, moogradod said:

Absolutely......and good Rhum......and good Whisky. In the most upper class where the extremely smooth varieties are found for a fortune the differences vanish. What remains is the smoothness of the experience. I heard of someone who lost a bet being able to distinguish Cognac from Rhum and Whiskey in that class blindfolded.

 

Once in my life I bought myself a really phantastic bottle of Rhum while I was still in Switzerland. Here I would not even know where to go to buy one.

 

I know this is a thread about cheap but good wine but I cannot help to recommend another beverage that offers exeptional value for a (relatively) low budget (still over 2K  I think though). But it is more than worth it and especially: it is available here. This is the Whisky "Cardhu". Here we are talking price-performance.

In China, the Commies swill the most expensive Cognac, while not appreciating it. 

 

Commies are barbarians. 

 

Fine Cognac is always wasted on Commie barbarians. And also, they love to swill it. 

 

 

[GammaGlobulin]

34 minutes ago, moogradod said:

Know my wife for about 18 years and she has rewarded me more than I could ever pay back in the few years that are left for me in this existence. So I paid back the most I could on any occasion there was and will be.

 

From wild times before I know however that nothing has escaped inflation........ ???? I came here for the first time in 1975.

As you say, my friend... 

 

And, as we all know, the vast majority of Thai women are wonderful, beautiful, kind, and precious. So true. 

 

I don't hang out with bar girls. 

Thus, I have a much more valid perspective concerning the blessedness of 99 percent of Thai women. 

 

I know what I know. 

 

Thai women are no less than very fine wine. 

 

Maybe most guys, here, can't afford the better vintages, and so settle for less. 

 

 

[GammaGlobulin]

… I was once out strolling one very hot summer's day
When I thought I'd lay myself down to rest
In a big field of tall grass
I laid there in the sun and felt it caressing my face
As I fell asleep and dreamed
I dreamed I was in a Hollywood movie
And that I was the star of the movie
This really blew my mind''

 

… There was long ones, tall ones, short ones, brown ones
Black ones, round ones, big ones, crazy ones
Out of the middle, came a lady
She whispered in my ear
Something crazy
She said...

 

---For me, it sounds like ...QUEBEC CITY, ... back in the day!

So good.

So fine, 

 

 

FINE WINE..

 

One more time:

 

 

 

Wine tastes best when one is young.

 

 

[GammaGlobulin]

[GammaGlobulin]

[GammaGlobulin]

By the GALLON:

 

 

[GammaGlobulin]

Made and Bottled BY:

 

Ernest & Julio Gallo....

 

Dew of the gods.....