Mont Clair Box Wine

[jaideeguy]

I never drank wine out of a box until I moved here as wine was so expensive and seldom paid over 400thb for a bottle of swill. But in the last couple pf years 'Mont Clair' box wine @ 880thb/5lt has showed up and it is a decent wine. I see it is made from South African grapes, but where is it fermented/boxed?? SA or BKK [keeping the price so low]?? Or maybe it is shipped in 500 gal tanks and boxed in BKK??

Anyone know the answer??

[antony77]

I never drank wine out of a box until I moved here as wine was so expensive and seldom paid over 400thb for a bottle of swill. But in the last couple pf years 'Mont Clair' box wine @ 880thb/5lt has showed up and it is a decent wine. I see it is made from South African grapes, but where is it fermented/boxed?? SA or BKK [keeping the price so low]?? Or maybe it is shipped in 500 gal tanks and boxed in BKK??

Anyone know the answer??

It is shipped in the box. Probably the best of the cheap boxed wine. But like all cheap wine, more than two or three glasses gives me a headache!

[Daren]

I never drank wine out of a box until I moved here as wine was so expensive and seldom paid over 400thb for a bottle of swill. But in the last couple pf years 'Mont Clair' box wine @ 880thb/5lt has showed up and it is a decent wine. I see it is made from South African grapes, but where is it fermented/boxed?? SA or BKK [keeping the price so low]?? Or maybe it is shipped in 500 gal tanks and boxed in BKK??

Anyone know the answer??

It is shipped in the box. Probably the best of the cheap boxed wine. But like all cheap wine, more than two or three boxes gives me a headache!

[Gippy]

Is this stuff actually quite drinkable? Is it a red or white? Where can you get it from in Bangkok? I like the odd glass of wine but the price of bottles is a bit prohibitive here. How long does it keep in the box once you start drinking it? (As in before it goes bad, not how quick you can drink it )

[Jingthing]

Montclair in the bottles isn't bad either. About 300 baht for a large bottle, also sold for 150 baht in half bottles at 7-11 of all places. Not as cheap as the box but I still am resisting boxes. These wines are decent in that they are drinkable but they are ONE NOTE wines, no complexity.

Edited September 21, 2009 by Jingthing

[Daren]

I find the white drinkable but the red is some of the worst ripple eva'!

[metisdead]

Is this stuff actually quite drinkable? Is it a red or white? Where can you get it from in Bangkok? I like the odd glass of wine but the price of bottles is a bit prohibitive here. How long does it keep in the box once you start drinking it? (As in before it goes bad, not how quick you can drink it )

Yes, it is drinkable, and I yes they do a white as well. From the box, no air gets in while pouring so it doesn't off, you'll more likely finish the box before it goes off. Take the bag out of the box when empty and then you'll see the bag all sucked up tight from dispensing the wine and that no air has gotten in.

[Jingthing]

Nah, nobody is saying they are great, but the worst, not even close.

[angiud]

Like a average wine connoisseur, I can say the white is palatable, much better than many (also italian) 2/3/5 litre wines.

On the other side, the red is almost disgusting...

[sabaijai]

I prefer the Peter Vella box reds (available at Villa) to the Mont Clair. Both are imported and distributed by Siam Winery.

[MeMock]

The red is very good, the white ok but after just a few glasses It seems to pack a punch.

[jfchandler]

As to the question about how Mont Clair is produced.... I believe I was reading the label of one of their bottles or boxes lately in Villa...

Unless I'm confusing it with another brand, the label said the grapes were from South Africa but that it was bottled and produced here in Thaland... can't recall where exactly... Samut Sakhon... or something like that...

Can anyone with a bottle/box at home confirm that??? I have none in stock at the moment....

[rabcbroon]

Trouble with these 5 ltr boxes is that one can lose track of how much you are drinking. However, on the plus side - when the bag is empty it can be removed and inflated by blowing in the nozzle then used as a nice pillow to sleep of the affects

[eeeya]

Trouble with these 5 ltr boxes is that one can lose track of how much you are drinking. However, on the plus side - when the bag is empty it can be removed and inflated by blowing in the nozzle then used as a nice pillow to sleep of the affects

Im pretty sure the "Cask" is an Australian invention and refered to by many budget minded university students as the "Space Bag"

One drinking game we used to play was to tie the bag up on the clothes line (hills hoist) poke a hole in it and drink it like that. Often some one would spin the clothes line and you'd be chasing the spinning bag around the back yard.

Imagine the looks you would get attempting that in Thailand!

[DannyS1951]

As to the question about how Mont Clair is produced.... I believe I was reading the label of one of their bottles or boxes lately in Villa...

Unless I'm confusing it with another brand, the label said the grapes were from South Africa but that it was bottled and produced here in Thaland... can't recall where exactly... Samut Sakhon... or something like that...

Can anyone with a bottle/box at home confirm that??? I have none in stock at the moment....

Yes, just had a look - blended and bottled by Siam Winery in Samut Sakhon. I suspect this means the wine is coming to Thailand in bulk rather than the grapes but I could be wrong.

[madmitch]

I'm pretty sure it is sent here in casks and bottled here, hence the taxation is different and the price cheaper.

I too think the boxed red is pretty awful but the standard sized bottles are as good as I've had for the price in Thailand (usually 285 baht). Beware the 3 litre bottles as well, same stuff as in the box.

[sabaijai]

As to the question about how Mont Clair is produced.... I believe I was reading the label of one of their bottles or boxes lately in Villa...

Unless I'm confusing it with another brand, the label said the grapes were from South Africa but that it was bottled and produced here in Thaland... can't recall where exactly... Samut Sakhon... or something like that...

Can anyone with a bottle/box at home confirm that??? I have none in stock at the moment....

Yes, just had a look - blended and bottled by Siam Winery in Samut Sakhon. I suspect this means the wine is coming to Thailand in bulk rather than the grapes but I could be wrong.

It's also possible Siam Winery is buying wine grape concentrate from South Africa and California to make Mont Clair and Peter Vella respectively.

[jaideeguy]

It says 'blended and bottled' by siam winery. I admit that the red is 'mono-tone' in that it is not very complex and totally consistent in taste, but much more drinkable than the other box wines for twice the price. Also the alcohol content is 12.5%.....much higher than other box wines that are 11%.

Makes me a little suspicious that it may be blended and boosted with grain alcohol and chemical flavor additives. I still drink it because of the price because the dr ordered it.

[sceadugenga]

We had a cheap plonk topic in the Chiang Rai forum a while back, mainly directed at visa runners to Tachilek in Burma.

There's a few international wine bargains to be had rummaging around the grog shops there.