Monsoon Valley Wines

[st11x]

G'day,

I first came across this wine in the magazine on a SilkAir flight. Thinking that it is locally produced, it should be quite affordable until I saw it for sale at Tesco for 650 THB. That is even more expensive than most of the imports. How is it if you have tried it?

Last time I bought a Thai wine, it tasted like Yomeishu. So far, the locally bottled Peter Vella is the only drinkable wine that I have come across that doesn't cost you an arm and leg here..

Thanks

Matt

[tigerfish]

its likable and pleasant enough on the pallet, but you have to ask yourself the question as you already have.

the first point, what could i get back home for that kind of money. 650baht, in the u.k. that works out at around 13 quid. well i asume, your an aussie from the g day at the start of your post. i can think of numerous amounts of good imported wine from your neck of the woods that i could by and stiil have change to put in my pocket, and im not talking about the wolf basses and hardys of this world. same goes for all the other well known wine producing countries of this world.

the second point is storage. thais do not seem to have managed to get to grip with the concept of the keeping wines in a cool, dry, dark place. hense why risk taking the gamble of paying 500 odd baht on a wine that will resemble in taste, looks and smell some sort of cooking vinegar.

there are some places though that you can find a decent bottle, that store their wines well. theres a chain that has shops on the corner of nana, convent road(silom) and sukumvit 101 and i am sure they have shops in other places, but cant for the hel_l of me think of the chains name. then you can always try the emporium, the mall, and siam paragon, within the gourmet supermarket they have their own temperature controlled sellar shops. mind you prepair to pay for the experience.

saw a bottle of petruvse the other day! 100,000 baht a bottle, nearly choked on the spot when i saw the price. the shop assistant ask, would you care for a bottle sir? to which i replied no!, but i wouldnt mind a glass of water.

p.s. just wondered if you have ever tried out the pullman hotel in bangkok. it has its own wine themed restaurant.

[PattayaParent]

Dalat wine of Viet Nam is much better than the Thai wines and sells for only 150 Baht a bottle.

[JSixpack]

its likable and pleasant enough on the pallet

I guess most wines are pleasant enough on the pallet, unless the packaging is just totally objectionable.

And this one, I think I'll just leave on the pallet, if it doesn't yet reside on the shelf. Much greater bargains to be had.

Edited February 9, 2010 by JSixpack

[Loz]

Tesco keep a white french table wine called Plaisir. It comes in red too but I don't care for that. The white knocks spots of the Peter vella stuff. Mont Clair is also in the Peter Vella range. bit to tart for my taste. Too acidic. THe plaisir is soft and more fruity. like a Chenin Blanc or even a Semillion.

I can't abide Chardonnay so my choice is restricted here in the Kingdom.

[Pakboong]

its likable and pleasant enough on the pallet, but you have to ask yourself the question as you already have.

the first point, what could i get back home for that kind of money. 650baht, in the u.k. that works out at around 13 quid. well i asume, your an aussie from the g day at the start of your post. i can think of numerous amounts of good imported wine from your neck of the woods that i could by and stiil have change to put in my pocket, and im not talking about the wolf basses and hardys of this world. same goes for all the other well known wine producing countries of this world.

the second point is storage. thais do not seem to have managed to get to grip with the concept of the keeping wines in a cool, dry, dark place. hense why risk taking the gamble of paying 500 odd baht on a wine that will resemble in taste, looks and smell some sort of cooking vinegar.

there are some places though that you can find a decent bottle, that store their wines well. theres a chain that has shops on the corner of nana, convent road(silom) and sukumvit 101 and i am sure they have shops in other places, but cant for the hel_l of me think of the chains name. then you can always try the emporium, the mall, and siam paragon, within the gourmet supermarket they have their own temperature controlled sellar shops. mind you prepair to pay for the experience.

saw a bottle of petruvse the other day! 100,000 baht a bottle, nearly choked on the spot when i saw the price. the shop assistant ask, would you care for a bottle sir? to which i replied no!, but i wouldnt mind a glass of water.

p.s. just wondered if you have ever tried out the pullman hotel in bangkok. it has its own wine themed restaurant.

The chain is called "The Wine Connection"

[Pakboong]

I have managed to find a few decent wines here by looking first for an independent tasting review that you find reliable. I use Wine Spectator. They will evaluate the more popular vineyards and in many cases apply a numerical rating. I use the rating compared to the original release price. Chains like Wine Connection can buy in volume and will occasionally offer a wine within reach of the original release price.

A vineyard I have been successful with has been The Chilean Aresti. They are rated in the middle 80s with release prices around $10US. You can get the Blanc for B540 and it is really the best I can find for the money. It is not quite the 200 percent tax markup you find in the food stores.

[RickSee]

Dalat wine of Viet Nam is much better than the Thai wines and sells for only 150 Baht a bottle.

Is this available in Thailand/Bangkok?

[st11x]

Hmm ... there's really no incentives to buy a locally made product like this unless you are a Thai and feeling patriotic! I was looking at some macadamia nuts and it's the same. The locally grown ones are more expensive (or equally so) than the imports.

[Loz]

The way they transport stuff as if it were not, sensitive to heat leads me to avoid pricey wines. But every now and then you get a welcome surprise. I bought the Paul Masson White Zinfandel at the Mall Korat recently. It was not half bad. Normally a brand I wouldn't entertain but as I have not found White Zin in Thailand for years, I thought I had better get it quick!

Also the Jacobs Creek Pinot Noir Chardonnay sparkling wines are not too pricey and drink very nicely.

[Eff1n2ret]

Weekend before last I paid a visit to the Silverlake vineyard near Pattaya. For the first time in several that I've passed that way over the last couple of years they actually had wine on sale. There was a 2007 Chenin blanc at 450baht, a Shiraz at around 750, and something else at even higher cost.

I bought a bottle of the white, which was very pleasant without being anything special, but at roughly double what I would pay for an equivalent in UK it will be nothing more than an occasional treat. As for the red, the range of Australian wines in Tesco offers a better choice and prices, but again, drinking wine in Thailand is never likely to become an everyday habit as it is in most of Europe, simply because of price.

[PattayaParent]

Dalat wine of Viet Nam is much better than the Thai wines and sells for only 150 Baht a bottle.

Is this available in Thailand/Bangkok?

Unfortunately not.

I bring it in from Viet Nam.

But with these supposed new free trade agreements between ASEAN countries I'm hoping.

[jfchandler]

The Mont Clair 5L boxes of red and white (supposedly South African grapes made into wine here in Thailand) are quite acceptable, easy to find at Villa, Carrefour and elsewhere, and usually priced at just under 1,000 baht (for 5 liters).

The other nice thing about those boxes, which hold the wine in an air-tight plastic-type bag with a built-in spigot, is that they'll tend to keep the wine, once opened, fresh a fair bit longer than re-corking a bottle or other means...

[sabaijai]

I prefer the Peter Vella box wine to the Mont Clair, but don't mind the latter either.

Monsoon Valley has had one really good vintage so far, the 2003 premiere shiraz. As good as any imported wine at a similar price on the shelves in Thailand at the time. Unfortunately they haven't quite hit that mark again. Gran Monte is the best Thai-made wine IMO but it's almost impossible to find in Bangkok.

My favourite bargain imported wine is Chile's Santa Alicia Reserve, around 650B a bottle. My favourite in this line is the carmenere.

Any problems re transport and storage of wine in Thailand apply to both domestic and imported. If anything the imported wines will have been exposed to more environmental and handling stress. Likewise both imported and domestic wines get hit with exorbitant excise taxes. Domestic wines are fairly limited in production, so the don't enjoy the economy of scale of the larger imports.

Asking yourself what the equivalent price would be 'back home' is a pastime only worthwhile for the masochist.

[jfchandler]

I toured and tasted at the Gran Monte Winery a few months back...

Didn't care at all for their various lower priced wines, as I recall, maybe starting at 600 up to 1,000+ per bottle at the winery.

But by the time you got up into the 1,500+ range, they were tasting OK...

But then I asked myself, do I really want to pay close to $50 U.S. for a bottle of Thai wine...

Sticking with the Mont Clair or Vella...

[sabaijai]

I'm reluctant to pay that price for any wine - whether it was Thai or French or Australian or whatever - except for a special occasion. Doesn't make any difference where it comes from

[sabaijai]

Monsoon Valley had a good showing at the Decanter World Wine Awards this year (2010). The Colombard 2009 and Cuvee de Siam Blanc each earned bronze medals, while the Shiraz 2008 and Cuvee de Siam Rouge 2008 grabbed 'Commended' status.

http://www.decanter.com/worldwineawards/2010/dwwa_search.php?qsearch=anuk

And at the International Wine Challenge (IWC) this year Monsoon Valley has won three commended awards for its Colombard 2009, Cuvée de Siam Blanc 2009 and Monsoon Valley Cuvée de Siam Rouge 2008 against thousands of competitors representing 46 wine-producing nations.

http://www.internationalwinechallenge.com/

[JusMe]

Mont Clair isn't bad for a boxed wine, but I prefer Cantine Ronco, both red and white. Imported Italian, at 950 baht per 5 litre box.

I get it at a local import store, so don't know where it might be available in Bangkok.