fresnoboy Posted October 5, 2008 Share Posted October 5, 2008 My apologies if this has been asked before. Why does wine cost so much here ? Even Thai wine, which is barely palatable, has what I consider to be an enormous price. Table wine available in California costs from $2-$10. Prices here are 2 1/2 times that. All the doctors want you to drink wine but I think that they haven't seen the price. Anyway, just a little 'moan & groan' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highlander76 Posted October 5, 2008 Share Posted October 5, 2008 The thai goverment put a high tax on it best to buy in Laos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beardog Posted October 6, 2008 Share Posted October 6, 2008 I'd stick to rum & coke or beer- rather than drink the overpriced pig swill they serve here. Even a trip to Indonesia you will be able to find wines from Australia that are not factory seconds that no country will by. Even the Siraz from OZ are the worst of the worst here. Forget about A good California wine from the U.S. or a decent wine from France. It is easier to change your type of alcohol here rather than hunt for something palatable in LOS! Good luck on your hunt. I gave up after the first 3 years of wine that makes your skin crawl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MMR Posted October 6, 2008 Share Posted October 6, 2008 My apologies if this has been asked before. Why does wine cost so much here ? Even Thai wine, which is barely palatable, has what I consider to be an enormous price. Table wine available in California costs from $2-$10. Prices here are 2 1/2 times that. All the doctors want you to drink wine but I think that they haven't seen the price. Anyway, just a little 'moan & groan' I think that is being generous. I have had very little success with Thai wines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samuian Posted October 6, 2008 Share Posted October 6, 2008 My apologies if this has been asked before. Why does wine cost so much here ? Even Thai wine, which is barely palatable, has what I consider to be an enormous price. Table wine available in California costs from $2-$10. Prices here are 2 1/2 times that. All the doctors want you to drink wine but I think that they haven't seen the price. Anyway, just a little 'moan & groan' I think that is being generous. I have had very little success with Thai wines. Got a prescription? just joking - it' s a so called luxury tax (2++%) which is slapped on this kind of products, even cheese is considered a "luxury item", not an agricultural product! Thai "Wine" is some brew which they call "Wine"... it's not anywhere near it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gennisis Posted October 6, 2008 Share Posted October 6, 2008 My apologies if this has been asked before. Why does wine cost so much here ? Even Thai wine, which is barely palatable, has what I consider to be an enormous price. Table wine available in California costs from $2-$10. Prices here are 2 1/2 times that. All the doctors want you to drink wine but I think that they haven't seen the price. Anyway, just a little 'moan & groan' Yes,I have to agree with you,a bottle of wine in LOS is a luxury.I did find this boxed wine.. Mont Clair..which is S.African blend of Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvigon...not too bad at 5 litres for 994 baht. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gumballl Posted October 6, 2008 Share Posted October 6, 2008 I was at Big-C the other day (in Korat)... 600 baht for a 750ml bottle of Bacardi, and if memory serves me right, 800 baht for a 750ml bottle of Malibu Rum. Oh, what the h*ll I thought.... the prices are ripoffs, but I could use a decent/different drink. Beer Chang is getting awfully boring. I went to the checkout, with my other groceries as well, and the cashier attendant said that it was not yet 5pm, thus I could not buy the alcohol. So in the end, I spent nothing on booze and Big-C/Thailand lost out on some revenue. Upon returning to the village, I immediately procured some Beer Chang (and it was not after 5pm). Thai regulations seem to serve no purpose. Back in 2004, I used to drink palatable wines (from Oz) when I went out to the bars in Bkk. The cost was about 400-600 per bottle. Not bad when the exchange rate was 40 baht to a US dollar. I also recall Bacardi costing about 400 baht (if not less) at the corner mini-mart (in Bkk). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmart Posted October 6, 2008 Share Posted October 6, 2008 Not bothered with it much ever since, ever since they refused to serve me with a couple of bottles of expensive (very-bloody-expensive) Chianti in Foodland; due to prohibition time at the checkout.... Like I'm going to remove my shirt and start swigging it on the steps outside or something? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaza Posted October 6, 2008 Share Posted October 6, 2008 come on....... I have a feeling this thread will develop to (Let's drink wine and whine about the price of it) one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samuibeachcomber Posted October 6, 2008 Share Posted October 6, 2008 maybe we should all hassle our local thai MP to get tariffs reduced Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
syd barrett Posted October 6, 2008 Share Posted October 6, 2008 There is a certain irony here in the LOS regarding the cost of a bottle of wine. Indeed the Thai government do add a luxury tax to the cost, but this is only noticed when trying to buy a bottle of 'cheap' wine. If you purchase a 'good' bottle of wine from the supermarket (by that I mean a bottle costing around 2,000 Thai baht) then the price is very reasonable when compared to the retail price in Australia, USA or the United Kingdom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdinasia Posted October 6, 2008 Share Posted October 6, 2008 4 liters of decent Chilean red wine in a box (yes a box .. do a little research on the cost of bottling wine) for 1300 baht doesn't strike me as outrageous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonobo Posted October 6, 2008 Share Posted October 6, 2008 I both drink and cook with wine, so I try to bring in as much as possible on each trip. Thai wine is pretty bad, and the Aussie, American, Chilean, etc wine here is pretty weak and overpriced. Luckily I have a friend who thinks nothing of spending exorbinate amounts on drinkable wine, so I drink at his place when we have a dinner, but other than that, it is what I manage to carry in with my luggage. (I am a United 1K, so I can carry three bags at 32 kg each. On my last trip, about 15 or 20 kg was for clothes--the rest was all foodstuffs and books.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fresnoboy Posted October 6, 2008 Author Share Posted October 6, 2008 4 liters of decent Chilean red wine in a box (yes a box .. do a little research on the cost of bottling wine) for 1300 baht doesn't strike me as outrageous. Thanks for all your replies ! JD, $40 for 4 liters of Chilean sounds expensive to me. I must not have had the right job ? Those of you from Europe are probably more used to the idea of paying a LOT for booze and food but for we 'colonials' this is a more recent experience. Anyway, it's nice to know that I'm not the only one with a gripe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdinasia Posted October 6, 2008 Share Posted October 6, 2008 $10 a bottle for a decent red? (not a 'table wine' but something actually fit for human consumption) That's pretty cheap! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fresnoboy Posted October 6, 2008 Author Share Posted October 6, 2008 (edited) $10 a bottle for a decent red? (not a 'table wine' but something actually fit for human consumption) That's pretty cheap! Charles Shaw which is sold in Trader Joe's is a very palatable wine and in California it costs $2 a bottle plus tax of 7.85%. In Nevada it's $3 a bottle. I don't know how they do it but, they do it. There are other prices to suit every wallet but you can see that it CAN be done. Edited October 6, 2008 by fresnoboy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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