Buying a bottle of wine in Hang Dong

[sunoco27]

Where is the cheapest place to buy bottled wine in Hang Dong?

Thank You

[LivinLOS]

299 Makro nasties ??

[STUDMEYER]

Peter Vella and Mont St claire cime in boxes. Same cheap pruce at Rimping in Gad Garang as anywhere else

[MadMac]

Wine connection in Kad Farang or one of the 2 Rimpings (Kad Farang, Mae Hia)

[sharktooth]

Peter Vella and Mont St claire cime in boxes. Same cheap pruce at Rimping in Gad Garang as anywhere else

I thought he wanted wine, as opposed to dog bile in a box...

[MadMac]

Makro has now Brookford, not too bad, easily drinkable. The 2l bottle for 450B.

[PostmanPat]

Word of warning about Wine Connection wines. If you peruse their entire stock you will not find a single label you have ever heard of before. No Hardys, No Marlborough, No Penfolds, literally none of the well known labels you will always see in most Wine Shops or Supermarkets.

Reason for this? A very astute and clever marketting ploy. I am led to believe by a quite reputable source that they bottle most if not all inside Thailand, put posh looking labels on that kind of look good but youve never heard of before, then knock it out at quite high prices, so in fact, a lot of what you are buying is of similar quality to what you can buy in Rimping and Makro for around 300 baht but you might pay double that or more in Wine Connection.

Before anyone disputes this information, count to ten and think about it......have any of you ever, anywhere in the world, be it Australia, USA, GB or France or wherever found yourself in a wine shop and not recognised a single label? ( And by that I dont mean the grape variety, I mean the actual manufacturer!)

[MadMac]

Wine Connection is a gray importer. They do this not only in Thailand but also in Singapore successfully. Nothing wrong with their stock. I also like the all you can drink and eat they have in Ekkamei in BKK. Been there wasted couple of times . Good stuff!

[PostmanPat]

Wine Connection is a gray importer. They do this not only in Thailand but also in Singapore successfully. Nothing wrong with their stock. I also like the all you can drink and eat they have in Ekkamei in BKK. Been there wasted couple of times . Good stuff!

"Gray Importer" ? What does this mean? Does it mean they import wine in big containers and bottle and label it here with labels youve never heard of? Guess if thats the case it confirms what I just reported the post before? Genuinely seeking clarification here, all with good intent, not looking for a disagreement! Thanks !!

[MadMac]

Can't answer this. Obviously they go around the big labels, which may not be a bad thing. For the details one needs to address the tax authorities.

Wine connection nevertheless was one of the market breakers/openers that made wine cheap enough to attract the larger population in the last 10 years.

[Chicog]

Word of warning about Wine Connection wines. If you peruse their entire stock you will not find a single label you have ever heard of before. No Hardys, No Marlborough, No Penfolds, literally none of the well known labels you will always see in most Wine Shops or Supermarkets.

Reason for this? A very astute and clever marketting ploy. I am led to believe by a quite reputable source that they bottle most if not all inside Thailand, put posh looking labels on that kind of look good but youve never heard of before, then knock it out at quite high prices, so in fact, a lot of what you are buying is of similar quality to what you can buy in Rimping and Makro for around 300 baht but you might pay double that or more in Wine Connection.

Before anyone disputes this information, count to ten and think about it......have any of you ever, anywhere in the world, be it Australia, USA, GB or France or wherever found yourself in a wine shop and not recognised a single label? ( And by that I dont mean the grape variety, I mean the actual manufacturer!)

I would suggest the use of the Vivino app to identify the wine and tell you about it just by taking a picture with your smartphone.

iOS: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/vivino-wine-scanner/id414461255?mt=8

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=vivino.web.app&hl=en

I'm not sure but it might tell you what it generally sells for, too.

(And Wine Connection now probably hate me).

Edited November 5, 2015 by Chicog

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Wine Connection is a gray importer. They do this not only in Thailand but also in Singapore successfully. Nothing wrong with their stock. I also like the all you can drink and eat they have in Ekkamei in BKK. Been there wasted couple of times . Good stuff!

"Gray Importer" ? What does this mean? Does it mean they import wine in big containers and bottle and label it here with labels youve never heard of? Guess if thats the case it confirms what I just reported the post before? Genuinely seeking clarification here, all with good intent, not looking for a disagreement! Thanks !!

It means secret plans and clever tricks to reduce duty and taxes. Think about it: not just you have never heard of the label, neither has the customs department. So then they can bring it in for a low-ball price without causing overt suspicion. You can't bring in a Château Lafite Rothschild and claim to customs that you bought it for $2. You CAN bring in a reasonable wine with a label that nobody has heard of and isn't all over the Internet and claim you bought it for $2. Especially if you also grease the right people in the customs department at the same time.

So anyway, in the wine business if you buy enough of something then the winery will do you a custom label. (not just for this reason, also because certain label designs somehow work better in certain markets.)

So in the affordable range, the Thai duty and import laws force us to play at this game, too.

As with so many things in Thailand, the short answer is "incompetent politics & corruption."

Edited November 5, 2015 by WinnieTheKhwai

[bangmai]

I'd rather buy the local BiB a box of hallow points than pay 300%+ tax on a box of wine. Someone would be more likely get what they deserve.

7762 wineries in the US; most you haven't heard of. I doubt any add pineapple juice. There is such a thing as "virtual wineries" that are just a label put on bottles filled elsewhere.

Edited November 5, 2015 by bangmai

[WinnieTheKhwai]

^ Right, though if you mix in a small percentage of roselle juice with your grape juice and then do everything else the same as you normally would (fermenting, aging by whatever means, etc.) then you end up with something that still tastes like any other cheap bottom-shelf table wine, but you attract less tax because you can now call it a fruit wine. This is the Mont Claire model. (As well as everything else that costs 299 Baht at Makro)

One research paper has it that:

Wine was produced from roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa) calyx extract
using strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and subjected to
physico-chemical analyses using standard analytical methods.
Imported commercial red wine was used as the reference for
sensory evaluation. The results showed that ameliorated roselle
calyx extract (must) had 4.21% protein, 0.69% titratable acidity,
and 21°Brix total soluble solids. The roselle calyx wine had a
pH value of 3.43, a titratable acidity of 0.75%, and an alcohol
content of 10.8% (w/v), which were all within values for grape
wine. Total anthocyanin (TACY) content and total colour density
(TCD) of the wine was 22.26 abs/mL and 25.20 abs/mL,
respectively. The sensory properties of the roselle wine showed
no significant difference with those of the imported red wine and
it appears that roselle calyx could be used to produce acceptable
coloured wine.

So when you blend some of that in with grape based wine from various sources, then you avoid a lot of tax, without too big of a penalty in taste compared other low quality wine that is 100% grape based. (As Mont Claire demonstrates; I've had a lot worse that was 100% grape based.)

Edited November 5, 2015 by WinnieTheKhwai

[Thailand]

Peter Vella and Mont St claire cime in boxes. Same cheap pruce at Rimping in Gad Garang as anywhere else

I thought he wanted wine, as opposed to dog bile in a box...

I like the white PV bile and the wife likes the red PV bile, many of our friends like them also.

Funny old world is it not?

[LivinLOS]

Word of warning about Wine Connection wines. If you peruse their entire stock you will not find a single label you have ever heard of before. No Hardys, No Marlborough, No Penfolds, literally none of the well known labels you will always see in most Wine Shops or Supermarkets.

Reason for this? A very astute and clever marketting ploy. I am led to believe by a quite reputable source that they bottle most if not all inside Thailand, put posh looking labels on that kind of look good but youve never heard of before, then knock it out at quite high prices, so in fact, a lot of what you are buying is of similar quality to what you can buy in Rimping and Makro for around 300 baht but you might pay double that or more in Wine Connection.

Before anyone disputes this information, count to ten and think about it......have any of you ever, anywhere in the world, be it Australia, USA, GB or France or wherever found yourself in a wine shop and not recognised a single label? ( And by that I dont mean the grape variety, I mean the actual manufacturer!)

Very easy to see.. The color coded strips shows local bottling (and the fruit blending done for tax reduction) and bottles imported.. Orange v blue..

The one trip up is vietnam applies the same tax game, so your still buying shit even tho its technically not bottled here.. I cant remember which way they get labelled on the tax strip.

For me the wines (which is now almost all boxes) which they fruit blend, give me shocking hangovers..

[LivinLOS]

^ Right, though if you mix in a small percentage of roselle juice with your grape juice and then do everything else the same as you normally would (fermenting, aging by whatever means, etc.) then you end up with something that still tastes like any other cheap bottom-shelf table wine, but you attract less tax because you can now call it a fruit wine. This is the Mont Claire model. (As well as everything else that costs 299 Baht at Makro)

One research paper has it that:

Wine was produced from roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa) calyx extract

using strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and subjected to

physico-chemical analyses using standard analytical methods.

Imported commercial red wine was used as the reference for

sensory evaluation. The results showed that ameliorated roselle

calyx extract (must) had 4.21% protein, 0.69% titratable acidity,

and 21°Brix total soluble solids. The roselle calyx wine had a

pH value of 3.43, a titratable acidity of 0.75%, and an alcohol

content of 10.8% (w/v), which were all within values for grape

wine. Total anthocyanin (TACY) content and total colour density

(TCD) of the wine was 22.26 abs/mL and 25.20 abs/mL,

respectively. The sensory properties of the roselle wine showed

no significant difference with those of the imported red wine and

it appears that roselle calyx could be used to produce acceptable

coloured wine.

So when you blend some of that in with grape based wine from various sources, then you avoid a lot of tax, without too big of a penalty in taste compared other low quality wine that is 100% grape based. (As Mont Claire demonstrates; I've had a lot worse that was 100% grape based.)

Bingo.. this is what I was saying.. the fruit blended wines have an orange strip, the real imports a blue one..

That is if my brain hasnt gone to mush... Probably from drinking fruit blended wine.. might be vice versa..

[MESmith]

Word of warning about Wine Connection wines. If you peruse their entire stock you will not find a single label you have ever heard of before. No Hardys, No Marlborough, No Penfolds, literally none of the well known labels you will always see in most Wine Shops or Supermarkets.

Reason for this? A very astute and clever marketting ploy. I am led to believe by a quite reputable source that they bottle most if not all inside Thailand, put posh looking labels on that kind of look good but youve never heard of before, then knock it out at quite high prices, so in fact, a lot of what you are buying is of similar quality to what you can buy in Rimping and Makro for around 300 baht but you might pay double that or more in Wine Connection.

Before anyone disputes this information, count to ten and think about it......have any of you ever, anywhere in the world, be it Australia, USA, GB or France or wherever found yourself in a wine shop and not recognised a single label? ( And by that I dont mean the grape variety, I mean the actual manufacturer!)

Very easy to see.. The color coded strips shows local bottling (and the fruit blending done for tax reduction) and bottles imported.. Orange v blue..

The one trip up is vietnam applies the same tax game, so your still buying shit even tho its technically not bottled here.. I cant remember which way they get labelled on the tax strip.

For me the wines (which is now almost all boxes) which they fruit blend, give me shocking hangovers..

Try drinking just half the box in one evening, then work down from there

[Beng]

Word of warning about Wine Connection wines. If you peruse their entire stock you will not find a single label you have ever heard of before. No Hardys, No Marlborough, No Penfolds, literally none of the well known labels you will always see in most Wine Shops or Supermarkets.

Reason for this? A very astute and clever marketting ploy. I am led to believe by a quite reputable source that they bottle most if not all inside Thailand, put posh looking labels on that kind of look good but youve never heard of before, then knock it out at quite high prices, so in fact, a lot of what you are buying is of similar quality to what you can buy in Rimping and Makro for around 300 baht but you might pay double that or more in Wine Connection.

Before anyone disputes this information, count to ten and think about it......have any of you ever, anywhere in the world, be it Australia, USA, GB or France or wherever found yourself in a wine shop and not recognised a single label? ( And by that I dont mean the grape variety, I mean the actual manufacturer!)

Very easy to see.. The color coded strips shows local bottling (and the fruit blending done for tax reduction) and bottles imported.. Orange v blue..

The one trip up is vietnam applies the same tax game, so your still buying shit even tho its technically not bottled here.. I cant remember which way they get labelled on the tax strip.

For me the wines (which is now almost all boxes) which they fruit blend, give me shocking hangovers..

Try drinking just half the box in one evening, then work down from there

[Torrens54]

Peter Vella and Mont St claire cime in boxes. Same cheap pruce at Rimping in Gad Garang as anywhere else

Makro has both of the above varieties. Go for whichever has the best price....but still #*!* Expensive.

[LivinLOS]

Word of warning about Wine Connection wines. If you peruse their entire stock you will not find a single label you have ever heard of before. No Hardys, No Marlborough, No Penfolds, literally none of the well known labels you will always see in most Wine Shops or Supermarkets.

Reason for this? A very astute and clever marketting ploy. I am led to believe by a quite reputable source that they bottle most if not all inside Thailand, put posh looking labels on that kind of look good but youve never heard of before, then knock it out at quite high prices, so in fact, a lot of what you are buying is of similar quality to what you can buy in Rimping and Makro for around 300 baht but you might pay double that or more in Wine Connection.

Before anyone disputes this information, count to ten and think about it......have any of you ever, anywhere in the world, be it Australia, USA, GB or France or wherever found yourself in a wine shop and not recognised a single label? ( And by that I dont mean the grape variety, I mean the actual manufacturer!)

Very easy to see.. The color coded strips shows local bottling (and the fruit blending done for tax reduction) and bottles imported.. Orange v blue..

The one trip up is vietnam applies the same tax game, so your still buying shit even tho its technically not bottled here.. I cant remember which way they get labelled on the tax strip.

For me the wines (which is now almost all boxes) which they fruit blend, give me shocking hangovers..

Try drinking just half the box in one evening, then work down from there

So that is how they make that mythical 'leftover wine' that chefs suggest to use !!

[STUDMEYER]

Peter Vella and Mont St claire cime in boxes. Same cheap pruce at Rimping in Gad Garang as anywhere else

Makro has both of the above varieties. Go for whichever has the best price....but still #*!* Expensive.

You and I clearly have different ideas on what 'expensive' is.

AFAIK PV and MSC in a box is the cheapest drop for drop of any wine.

Under 30$ for 5L? C'mon - What's cheaper than that?

[chiang mai]

I see for the first time that Rimping now sells cooking wine, it's very clearly labelled as such and comes in a plastic bottle to deter would be imbibers. But if the boxed wines and many bottled wines are so bad, which they are, can you imagine how absolutely dreadful the cooking wine must be and on that basis, would you dare put it in food - maybe useful as a rust remover or similar perhaps!

I did buy a 2 litre bottle of the Brookfords red from Makro and was pleasantly surprised, the first glass was quite good. But something happens when you unscrew the cap, it must release the lighter than air good taste molecules because the second glass was not far removed from sulfuric acid.

There's a lot to be said for being teetotal in Thailand, especially if you like wine and are not a multi USD millionaire.