Red wine

[xylophone]

Have just returned from NZ and luckily enough was able to partake of the Aussie reds on offer in New Zealand supermarkets, and friends bought a Jacobs Creek for under $8 a bottle, whereas over here it is the NZ equivalent of $24.

I'm not saying that this 300% thing is right or wrong, however another very knowledgeable poster, "GrantSmith" has explained the tax and duty situation on wines sold here on the Montclair thread, so this is worth a look (later on in the thread towards the last third).

As for the recommendation I gave another poster, "SooKee" for a wine in the Wine Connection, well I thought it was good drinking at its original price which was around 500 baht a bottle, however I think it's now well into the 600 baht plus a bottle so probably not such good buying.

And the "room temperature" for red wines being quoted by those around the dinner table really is a joke, and for me anywhere around 21° is about right, but when the wine gets up into the late 20s and early 30°, it takes on a whole different perspective and the volatile aromas, as they are called, and the increased presence/nose of alcohol at this temperature really don't do the wine justice.

There is much published as regards the "best temperature" to serve red wine, however most of them will agree on a temperature range of between 18° and 23°. I have a wine chiller and once the wine is taken out and let stand for a while, it drinks just fine – – in fact for the finer wines I take them out a little earlier and decant them so they get the benefit of a little rise in temperature and some breathing, and of course separation of the sediment.

[SooKee]

As for the recommendation I gave another poster, "SooKee" for a wine in the Wine Connection, well I thought it was good drinking at its original price which was around 500 baht a bottle, however I think it's now well into the 600 baht plus a bottle so probably not such good buying.

To a degree it probably still is. But like you say, it's creeping up in price now, 699 last time I bought it. Just using that as an example though really.

I think you're just really lucky to get ANYTHING of even reasonable quality around the 5-600 mark. Plenty in that price bracket around but so much of it is crap. Push up into the 7, 8, 900 mark and it gets a bit better. But even then you'd be getting nothing more than a bog standard supermarket wine if you were buying it in Europe, NZ or Oz, something you'd maybe use at a bbq or whatever but nothing to write home about.

Some of the stuff they bang out here for 1,000 plus I wouldn't pay £5 for tbh. Even less so when the same bottle of crap is marked up another 1-200% to grace a restaurant's 'wine cellar'.

[masuk]

Sorry to disagree, but maybe I enjoy a 'bog standard' wine. I'm still in QLD, Australia: I just bought 2 bottles of Banrock Station red, which a group of us enjoy, and these were $8.00 each, $6 each if I'd bought six. At the current miserable conversion rate, $8.00 is close to 212 THB. For 700THB (AU$27.00) that would be a durned good wine!

My annual Duty Free purchase of 1 litre, will once again be a bottle of Drambui @ AU$40.00 = 1001THB, and no, I won't be sharing it!!

[Lizard2010]

Sorry to disagree, but maybe I enjoy a 'bog standard' wine. I'm still in QLD, Australia: I just bought 2 bottles of Banrock Station red, which a group of us enjoy, and these were $8.00 each, $6 each if I'd bought six. At the current miserable conversion rate, $8.00 is close to 212 THB. For 700THB (AU$27.00) that would be a durned good wine!

My annual Duty Free purchase of 1 litre, will once again be a bottle of Drambui @ AU$40.00 = 1001THB, and no, I won't be sharing it!!

Plus dont forget that the Clean Skins at Dan Murphy

You can get some good wines too

[SooKee]

Sorry to disagree, but maybe I enjoy a 'bog standard' wine. I'm still in QLD, Australia: I just bought 2 bottles of Banrock Station red, which a group of us enjoy, and these were $8.00 each, $6 each if I'd bought six. At the current miserable conversion rate, $8.00 is close to 212 THB. For 700THB (AU$27.00) that would be a durned good wine!

My annual Duty Free purchase of 1 litre, will once again be a bottle of Drambui @ AU$40.00 = 1001THB, and no, I won't be sharing it!!

Oh, I enjoy a bog standard wine, no problem. But preferably at bog standard prices. What I don't like is bog standard at massive mark-up, or even worse, sub bog-standard at 1,000 plus per bottle.

[xylophone]

Just noticed that Big C has dropped the price of "Taylors Promised Land" to 660 baht.........that is a respected Aussie wine, a couple of notches up from Banrock Station/Bushmans Gully type wines, and by comparison is priced at just over twice the retail in NZ.

Best value (IMO) is "Barwang The Wall" Shiraz or CS for 529 baht.

[stephenterry]

30- mile Australian shiraz at 650 baht from wine connection is good. For home consumption a box of Mar de sol red is quaffable at around 790 at Tesco and bigc

[SooKee]

Just noticed that Big C has dropped the price of "Taylors Promised Land" to 660 baht.........that is a respected Aussie wine, a couple of notches up from Banrock Station/Bushmans Gully type wines, and by comparison is priced at just over twice the retail in NZ.

Best value (IMO) is "Barwang The Wall" Shiraz or CS for 529 baht.

How peppery is that one? I find some Shiraz way to peppery / spicy.

[LannaGuy]

I'm a big red wine drinker and never seen a real red under 650 and standard is 700+ all of the others are 'fruit wines' with fruit mixed in to lower taxes. For everyday drinking i do drink the fruit wine Mar Sol which most wine bars, restaurants sell as the 'glass wine' and it's the best of a bad lot with Mont Clair the worst being found, allegedly, in Loi Khro etc.

[neilrob]

I'm a big red wine drinker and never seen a real red under 650 and standard is 700+ all of the others are 'fruit wines' with fruit mixed in to lower taxes. For everyday drinking i do drink the fruit wine Mar Sol which most wine bars, restaurants sell as the 'glass wine' and it's the best of a bad lot with Mont Clair the worst being found, allegedly, in Loi Khro etc.

Real red wines under 650B are quite easy to find. For example, I recently bought a bottle of Los Tilos Cabernet Sauvignon at Rimping for 459B. This is not a fruit wine. It comes from Chile and is sold in many countries. It is not great, but is quite a drinkable Cabernet, and is good value (for Thailand) at that price.

There is also a Merlot, but personally, I do not like that so much. If you shop around, you can find decent wines without spending a fortune, particularly if you avoid some of the overpriced big names, such as Yellow Tail. In my experience, Chilean wines offer the best values here.

[xylophone]

I'm a big red wine drinker and never seen a real red under 650 and standard is 700+ all of the others are 'fruit wines' with fruit mixed in to lower taxes. For everyday drinking i do drink the fruit wine Mar Sol which most wine bars, restaurants sell as the 'glass wine' and it's the best of a bad lot with Mont Clair the worst being found, allegedly, in Loi Khro etc.

Have to agree with "neilrob" on the as there are plenty of "real reds" under 660 baht and I've already named one a few posts previously and you could include the Taylors "Promised land" as it is on the price cusp so to speak.

Again there are a few decent Chilean reds under or around 500 baht from different producers (Santa Rita 120, being one) and as "neilrob" has said, they do offer good value.

I've also found good everyday drinking Italian reds (Sangiovese) at 460 baht as well as specials at the likes of Villa Maria, all around the 500 baht mark, so whilst I can buy these I will not contemplate any wine with fruit juice added, cask or otherwise.

[xylophone]

I'm a big red wine drinker and never seen a real red under 650 and standard is 700+ all of the others are 'fruit wines' with fruit mixed in to lower taxes. For everyday drinking i do drink the fruit wine Mar Sol which most wine bars, restaurants sell as the 'glass wine' and it's the best of a bad lot with Mont Clair the worst being found, allegedly, in Loi Khro etc.

Sorry, double post......internet problems!

Edited March 21, 2016 by xylophone

[xylophone]

Just noticed that Big C has dropped the price of "Taylors Promised Land" to 660 baht.........that is a respected Aussie wine, a couple of notches up from Banrock Station/Bushmans Gully type wines, and by comparison is priced at just over twice the retail in NZ.

Best value (IMO) is "Barwang The Wall" Shiraz or CS for 529 baht.

How peppery is that one? I find some Shiraz way to peppery / spicy.

Hmmm, hard to answer that one, however I find it nowhere near as "peppery" as many other OZ reds, but try the Cab Sauv and let it breathe a while, nice black fruits and soft tannins, but without the "blockbuster" OZ alcohol content.

[LannaGuy]

I'm a big red wine drinker and never seen a real red under 650 and standard is 700+ all of the others are 'fruit wines' with fruit mixed in to lower taxes. For everyday drinking i do drink the fruit wine Mar Sol which most wine bars, restaurants sell as the 'glass wine' and it's the best of a bad lot with Mont Clair the worst being found, allegedly, in Loi Khro etc.

Have to agree with "neilrob" on the as there are plenty of "real reds" under 660 baht and I've already named one a few posts previously and you could include the Taylors "Promised land" as it is on the price cusp so to speak.

Again there are a few decent Chilean reds under or around 500 baht from different producers (Santa Rita 120, being one) and as "neilrob" has said, they do offer good value.

I've also found good everyday drinking Italian reds (Sangiovese) at 460 baht as well as specials at the likes of Villa Maria, all around the 500 baht mark, so whilst I can buy these I will not contemplate any wine with fruit juice added, cask or otherwise.

hmm ok I'll hunt them down... still hate paying 15 dollars for a 4 dollar bottle though! cheers

[xylophone]

I'm a big red wine drinker and never seen a real red under 650 and standard is 700+ all of the others are 'fruit wines' with fruit mixed in to lower taxes. For everyday drinking i do drink the fruit wine Mar Sol which most wine bars, restaurants sell as the 'glass wine' and it's the best of a bad lot with Mont Clair the worst being found, allegedly, in Loi Khro etc.

Have to agree with "neilrob" on the as there are plenty of "real reds" under 660 baht and I've already named one a few posts previously and you could include the Taylors "Promised land" as it is on the price cusp so to speak.

Again there are a few decent Chilean reds under or around 500 baht from different producers (Santa Rita 120, being one) and as "neilrob" has said, they do offer good value.

I've also found good everyday drinking Italian reds (Sangiovese) at 460 baht as well as specials at the likes of Villa Maria, all around the 500 baht mark, so whilst I can buy these I will not contemplate any wine with fruit juice added, cask or otherwise.

hmm ok I'll hunt them down... still hate paying 15 dollars for a 4 dollar bottle though! cheers

Yes, it does grate a little doesn't it.

My apologies about the Santa Rita 120 wine because it now appears to be over 600 baht a bottle, whereas before I was buying it for a lot less.

Others to try if you have a Big C near you: –

– Benchmark (Grant Burge) at 599 a bottle and an Aussie wine which should be better than it is given its winemakers reputation.

– Gossips at 514 baht a bottle and an okay drinker from the region in Australia which produces vast quantities of bulk wine, with a few better vineyards scattered in amongst the region.

– Eaglehawk by Wolf Blass at 550 baht a bottle, from a winemaker with a good reputation, but this is one of the wines at the bottom end of the hierarchy.

– The Pump at 529 baht a bottle and one which I used to buy for 285 baht a bottle. Again an everyday drinker.

–Caminos (Chile) at 499 a bottle and a wine with more body and tannins than those above although still in the everyday drinker category.

– Vina Maipo (Chile) at 479 baht a bottle and the same goes with this one as for the other Chilean wine above, good value for money considering the price.

Apart from the two wines from Chile, I will add that the others are/seem to be subject to fast ageing as they were not initially made for keeping, instead everyday drinking, and of course no one knows quite how they've been stored here. The few times I have tried them, some have been past their "best" (not that this was ever that good!) so take a good look at the year on the bottle and stay away from anything prior to 2013 and even that year could well be a push for some of the wines.

With the Aussie wines mentioned above I would suggest that none of them have seen any oak which can add a little body and complexity to the wine, this for reasons of cost, although one wine I did see around the place called "Taras" and priced under 500 baht at one time, did say on the label, "aged with oak", and I would suggest that the wine had seen oak by means of wooden staves or oak chips being added to the process, and for what it's worth, it was probably the pick of the wines mentioned above.

[Konini]

Just noticed that Big C has dropped the price of "Taylors Promised Land" to 660 baht.........that is a respected Aussie wine, a couple of notches up from Banrock Station/Bushmans Gully type wines, and by comparison is priced at just over twice the retail in NZ.

Best value (IMO) is "Barwang The Wall" Shiraz or CS for 529 baht.

For the last 15 years, Taylors Promised Land has been Mr K's favourite tipple after Jacobs Creek Special Reserve, both the Shiraz and Cab Sav. He bought 2 bottles of Promised Land a couple of weeks ago in Big C when he saw the price, unfortunately one of them was bad - it made a bit of a pop when opened and he said it tasted bad and he didn't drink it. The other bottle was fine, just one of those things. We didn't bother going back with it, probably should have but meh. It retails at AU$10 ish in a case, been the same price for at least 15 years. Works out at 500 baht, so nobody can complain about the price at 660 baht.

I'll grab Barwang next time I'm in for him to try, never heard of it but I'm just the buyer, I don't care for red wine at all.

[xylophone]

Just noticed that Big C has dropped the price of "Taylors Promised Land" to 660 baht.........that is a respected Aussie wine, a couple of notches up from Banrock Station/Bushmans Gully type wines, and by comparison is priced at just over twice the retail in NZ.

Best value (IMO) is "Barwang The Wall" Shiraz or CS for 529 baht.

For the last 15 years, Taylors Promised Land has been Mr K's favourite tipple after Jacobs Creek Special Reserve, both the Shiraz and Cab Sav. He bought 2 bottles of Promised Land a couple of weeks ago in Big C when he saw the price, unfortunately one of them was bad - it made a bit of a pop when opened and he said it tasted bad and he didn't drink it. The other bottle was fine, just one of those things. We didn't bother going back with it, probably should have but meh. It retails at AU$10 ish in a case, been the same price for at least 15 years. Works out at 500 baht, so nobody can complain about the price at 660 baht.

I'll grab Barwang next time I'm in for him to try, never heard of it but I'm just the buyer, I don't care for red wine at all.

Yes, why not give it a try and report back on what Mr K thinks about it – – if he likes the Promised Land, you may be best getting the Barwang Cabernet Sauvignon for him to try.

I've also mentioned a few other wines on the post before yours which may be worth looking at??

Sad to say that I think the Promised Land at Australian $10 a bottle equates to around 270 baht at this moment in time, so 660 baht is still a high price!!

[LannaGuy]

I'm a big red wine drinker and never seen a real red under 650 and standard is 700+ all of the others are 'fruit wines' with fruit mixed in to lower taxes. For everyday drinking i do drink the fruit wine Mar Sol which most wine bars, restaurants sell as the 'glass wine' and it's the best of a bad lot with Mont Clair the worst being found, allegedly, in Loi Khro etc.

Have to agree with "neilrob" on the as there are plenty of "real reds" under 660 baht and I've already named one a few posts previously and you could include the Taylors "Promised land" as it is on the price cusp so to speak.

Again there are a few decent Chilean reds under or around 500 baht from different producers (Santa Rita 120, being one) and as "neilrob" has said, they do offer good value.

I've also found good everyday drinking Italian reds (Sangiovese) at 460 baht as well as specials at the likes of Villa Maria, all around the 500 baht mark, so whilst I can buy these I will not contemplate any wine with fruit juice added, cask or otherwise.

hmm ok I'll hunt them down... still hate paying 15 dollars for a 4 dollar bottle though! cheers

Yes, it does grate a little doesn't it.

My apologies about the Santa Rita 120 wine because it now appears to be over 600 baht a bottle, whereas before I was buying it for a lot less.

Others to try if you have a Big C near you: –

– Benchmark (Grant Burge) at 599 a bottle and an Aussie wine which should be better than it is given its winemakers reputation.

– Gossips at 514 baht a bottle and an okay drinker from the region in Australia which produces vast quantities of bulk wine, with a few better vineyards scattered in amongst the region.

– Eaglehawk by Wolf Blass at 550 baht a bottle, from a winemaker with a good reputation, but this is one of the wines at the bottom end of the hierarchy.

– The Pump at 529 baht a bottle and one which I used to buy for 285 baht a bottle. Again an everyday drinker.

–Caminos (Chile) at 499 a bottle and a wine with more body and tannins than those above although still in the everyday drinker category.

– Vina Maipo (Chile) at 479 baht a bottle and the same goes with this one as for the other Chilean wine above, good value for money considering the price.

Apart from the two wines from Chile, I will add that the others are/seem to be subject to fast ageing as they were not initially made for keeping, instead everyday drinking, and of course no one knows quite how they've been stored here. The few times I have tried them, some have been past their "best" (not that this was ever that good!) so take a good look at the year on the bottle and stay away from anything prior to 2013 and even that year could well be a push for some of the wines.

With the Aussie wines mentioned above I would suggest that none of them have seen any oak which can add a little body and complexity to the wine, this for reasons of cost, although one wine I did see around the place called "Taras" and priced under 500 baht at one time, did say on the label, "aged with oak", and I would suggest that the wine had seen oak by means of wooden staves or oak chips being added to the process, and for what it's worth, it was probably the pick of the wines mentioned above.

thank you so much for this great info - I'll print out your list and get down to Big C which, I must say, I had not really considered before

[SooKee]

Just noticed that Big C has dropped the price of "Taylors Promised Land" to 660 baht.........that is a respected Aussie wine, a couple of notches up from Banrock Station/Bushmans Gully type wines, and by comparison is priced at just over twice the retail in NZ.

Best value (IMO) is "Barwang The Wall" Shiraz or CS for 529 baht.

For the last 15 years, Taylors Promised Land has been Mr K's favourite tipple after Jacobs Creek Special Reserve, both the Shiraz and Cab Sav. He bought 2 bottles of Promised Land a couple of weeks ago in Big C when he saw the price, unfortunately one of them was bad - it made a bit of a pop when opened and he said it tasted bad and he didn't drink it. The other bottle was fine, just one of those things. We didn't bother going back with it, probably should have but meh. It retails at AU$10 ish in a case, been the same price for at least 15 years. Works out at 500 baht, so nobody can complain about the price at 660 baht.

I'll grab Barwang next time I'm in for him to try, never heard of it but I'm just the buyer, I don't care for red wine at all.

Yes, why not give it a try and report back on what Mr K thinks about it – – if he likes the Promised Land, you may be best getting the Barwang Cabernet Sauvignon for him to try.

I've also mentioned a few other wines on the post before yours which may be worth looking at??

Sad to say that I think the Promised Land at Australian $10 a bottle equates to around 270 baht at this moment in time, so 660 baht is still a high price!!

Is Barawang widely available or is it chain specific (Wine Connection or whatever)? Tried to find it at Central Festival yesterday. No joy [emoji23]

[Konini]

I'll grab Barwang next time I'm in for him to try, never heard of it but I'm just the buyer, I don't care for red wine at all.

Yes, why not give it a try and report back on what Mr K thinks about it – – if he likes the Promised Land, you may be best getting the Barwang Cabernet Sauvignon for him to try.

I've also mentioned a few other wines on the post before yours which may be worth looking at??

Sad to say that I think the Promised Land at Australian $10 a bottle equates to around 270 baht at this moment in time, so 660 baht is still a high price!!

Oops! Got it quite badly wrong. Still, not a bad price for something he really enjoys. We were in Cambodia last week and saw a bottle of Jacobs Creek Special reserve for US30, still a bit too much.

EDIT: (Personally, I'm quite happy with Chateaux Cardboard - any dry white, whichever one is on sale, and if it isn't so good, a bit of Ribena in it makes it yum).

[xylophone]

Just noticed that Big C has dropped the price of "Taylors Promised Land" to 660 baht.........that is a respected Aussie wine, a couple of notches up from Banrock Station/Bushmans Gully type wines, and by comparison is priced at just over twice the retail in NZ.

Best value (IMO) is "Barwang The Wall" Shiraz or CS for 529 baht.

For the last 15 years, Taylors Promised Land has been Mr K's favourite tipple after Jacobs Creek Special Reserve, both the Shiraz and Cab Sav. He bought 2 bottles of Promised Land a couple of weeks ago in Big C when he saw the price, unfortunately one of them was bad - it made a bit of a pop when opened and he said it tasted bad and he didn't drink it. The other bottle was fine, just one of those things. We didn't bother going back with it, probably should have but meh. It retails at AU$10 ish in a case, been the same price for at least 15 years. Works out at 500 baht, so nobody can complain about the price at 660 baht.

I'll grab Barwang next time I'm in for him to try, never heard of it but I'm just the buyer, I don't care for red wine at all.

Yes, why not give it a try and report back on what Mr K thinks about it – – if he likes the Promised Land, you may be best getting the Barwang Cabernet Sauvignon for him to try.

I've also mentioned a few other wines on the post before yours which may be worth looking at??

Sad to say that I think the Promised Land at Australian $10 a bottle equates to around 270 baht at this moment in time, so 660 baht is still a high price!!

Is Barawang widely available or is it chain specific (Wine Connection or whatever)? Tried to find it at Central Festival yesterday. No joy [emoji23]

Not seen it in Central but is in Big C and Villa Market ..........VM have the version at around 529 b a botte and another a little more expensive, but same stable.

[Konini]

Last night he couldn't find Barwang in Big C (superhighway). Only the Promised land Merlot at 660 now, and he doesn't really like it- the CS has gone up to 710 so he went into cheap charlie mode and got Eaglehawk CS which was declared drinkable at 550 baht. For 50 baht I would have just grabbed the Taylors CS, but I sent him to the bottleshop whilst I was grabbing munchies.

[xylophone]

Last night he couldn't find Barwang in Big C (superhighway). Only the Promised land Merlot at 660 now, and he doesn't really like it- the CS has gone up to 710 so he went into cheap charlie mode and got Eaglehawk CS which was declared drinkable at 550 baht. For 50 baht I would have just grabbed the Taylors CS, but I sent him to the bottleshop whilst I was grabbing munchies.

Understand that as I'm not a fan of plain Merlot and also understand Mr K's liking for the Taylors CS, because it is a well made wine which shows up the black fruit characteristics of CS well.

Keep looking for the Barwang or alternatively the Taras Bin 383 (Aussie wine) as the Taras esp has more of the CS fruit evident, with a little oak, and was retailing around the 500 b mark.

[Konini]

Thanks for the tip-off's. When he first started drinking red wine about 17 or 18 years ago (we're from the north east of England, Boro Boys drink beer or they are a girl and that continued on when we moved to Australia) the first couple of months were hit and miss apart from establishing in the first week that he didn't like whites, and not long after that he didn't like merlot or anything mixed with merlot, so I suggested keeping a log - he would have a bottle every Friday and Saturday night, one around $10 and one around $20 and I kept a fairly detailed writeup of what he thought about them then a score out of 10. Most info came from the first glass as the effects can make everything seem much better as the alcohol kicks in.

We did this for 2 years, missing it only when he was sick or when we were away. We would buy when it was 20% off for buying a mixed bag of 6 at Safeway or Coles (no Dan Murphy anywhere near us then) and he once scored a bottle of Cab Sav that was half price at $30 and then another $7 with the discount so worked out at $23. Over budget, but he got 2 because it was such a bargain and if it cost $60 a bottle it had to be really, really good. He didn't particularly like it, if I remember rightly, it only got a 6.5 out of 10. It wasn't a bad bottle because the other was the same, he said it was OK, but he'd never buy it again. He also tried other expensive ones that were hugely discounted, but none of them scored much higher. The only ones that got 10/10 in 2 years of constant testing were Jacobs Creek SR Cab Sav and SR Shiraz which were about $17 before specials and discounts at the time and Taylors Promised Land. Which is still apparently the same price, even though now it has won loads of awards.

At least you've given him a couple of different ones to try - he's gone back to beer most of the time because of the price, he feels guilty drinking wine, but I never feel guilty when I throw a bar of 128baht Lindt white chocolate into the shopping trolley, so why should he.

(Once we were out for a drive on a Sunday and on the way home stopped in Ballarat for something to eat. Over the road was a Dan Murphey's and Mr K was by that time buying his 3 tipples by the case and he was due to buy another one. Jacobs Creek SR Cab Sav was there at $7.99 a bottle, with the usual case deal of buy 11 get one free. The SR Siraz was $16.50, the Jacobs Creek ordinary Cab Sav about $6, both pretty normal prices. We joked with the salesman about how we should be so lucky. He said no, that's the price. I asked him to check, and we went to the register and he checked and it was correct, $7.99. I said 'We're going to buy up big if we can get it for $8, I really think you should check properly because I don't want you to get into trouble tomorrow, so he did a bit more checking on inward stocks etc and told us nope - $7.99. We bought 10 cases. I like to think of myself as an honest person, and always point out to people if they give me too much change. However, I don't feel even the slightest tinge of guilt about it because I had not once but three times indicated that it was way too cheap and got him to check the price twice. I think we used up all of our luck that day.)

[JaseTheBass]

Thanks for the tip-off's. When he first started drinking red wine about 17 or 18 years ago (we're from the north east of England, Boro Boys drink beer or they are a girl and that continued on when we moved to Australia) the first couple of months were hit and miss apart from establishing in the first week that he didn't like whites, and not long after that he didn't like merlot or anything mixed with merlot, so I suggested keeping a log - he would have a bottle every Friday and Saturday night, one around $10 and one around $20 and I kept a fairly detailed writeup of what he thought about them then a score out of 10. Most info came from the first glass as the effects can make everything seem much better as the alcohol kicks in.

We did this for 2 years, missing it only when he was sick or when we were away. We would buy when it was 20% off for buying a mixed bag of 6 at Safeway or Coles (no Dan Murphy anywhere near us then) and he once scored a bottle of Cab Sav that was half price at $30 and then another $7 with the discount so worked out at $23. Over budget, but he got 2 because it was such a bargain and if it cost $60 a bottle it had to be really, really good. He didn't particularly like it, if I remember rightly, it only got a 6.5 out of 10. It wasn't a bad bottle because the other was the same, he said it was OK, but he'd never buy it again. He also tried other expensive ones that were hugely discounted, but none of them scored much higher. The only ones that got 10/10 in 2 years of constant testing were Jacobs Creek SR Cab Sav and SR Shiraz which were about $17 before specials and discounts at the time and Taylors Promised Land. Which is still apparently the same price, even though now it has won loads of awards.

At least you've given him a couple of different ones to try - he's gone back to beer most of the time because of the price, he feels guilty drinking wine, but I never feel guilty when I throw a bar of 128baht Lindt white chocolate into the shopping trolley, so why should he.

(Once we were out for a drive on a Sunday and on the way home stopped in Ballarat for something to eat. Over the road was a Dan Murphey's and Mr K was by that time buying his 3 tipples by the case and he was due to buy another one. Jacobs Creek SR Cab Sav was there at $7.99 a bottle, with the usual case deal of buy 11 get one free. The SR Siraz was $16.50, the Jacobs Creek ordinary Cab Sav about $6, both pretty normal prices. We joked with the salesman about how we should be so lucky. He said no, that's the price. I asked him to check, and we went to the register and he checked and it was correct, $7.99. I said 'We're going to buy up big if we can get it for $8, I really think you should check properly because I don't want you to get into trouble tomorrow, so he did a bit more checking on inward stocks etc and told us nope - $7.99. We bought 10 cases. I like to think of myself as an honest person, and always point out to people if they give me too much change. However, I don't feel even the slightest tinge of guilt about it because I had not once but three times indicated that it was way too cheap and got him to check the price twice. I think we used up all of our luck that day.)

Totally understand not drinking beer in Australia.

[xylophone]

Quote Konini: ".............he once scored a bottle of Cab Sav that was half price at $30 and then another $7 with the discount so worked out at $23. Over budget, but he got 2 because it was such a bargain and if it cost $60 a bottle it had to be really, really good. He didn't particularly like it, if I remember rightly, it only got a 6.5 out of 10. It wasn't a bad bottle because the other was the same, he said it was OK, but he'd never buy it again".

I like the idea of keeping a diary/record of the wines you buy and try and I did much the same some 45 years ago when I was first starting out, only then I would soak the labels from the bottles and put them into a scrapbook with tasting notes alongside, needless to say this became a bit of a hobby as well as the wine collecting and drinking!

Regarding the quote above, it is quite possible that the very expensive wine you purchased (albeit half priced) was still in its infancy, so to speak, and would really not show its best until a few years later, which is quite often the case with the more expensive Aussie reds (many examples, with Penfolds Grange, 389, and a few from the McLaren Vale and Hunter Valley, plus some heavily extracted Shiraz wines from around the place). Whereas the Jacobs Creek is made for drinking the moment it hits the shelves.

A friend of mine seeks out the heavily extracted wines from Australia and loves to drink them as soon as he finds them– – far too closed for my liking, showing very little in the way of any fruit, extremely high alcohol content, with the tannins being almost bitter. Those are the wines that I will keep for at least another five years before I even try a bottle, but there again everyone to their own.

I do hope Mr K finds an alternative wine or two so that he has a choice, not only in wines, but also in prices.

[bamboozled]

Had a bottle of Mont Clair Bin 9 Reserve red the other night bought from Macro for 279 or 299 baht. Chilled it a bit as the temp is so high these days. I was surprised and delighted to find it perfectly enjoyable. I even swished it around in my wine glass to give myself the impression that I had to let it breathe.

I won't wax poetic about it but I will buy it again, no worries. Tasted like a typical run-of-the-mill house red wine. There is also a Bin 7 I think which I'll also give a try.

[JaseTheBass]

Had a bottle of Mont Clair Bin 9 Reserve red the other night bought from Macro for 279 or 299 baht. Chilled it a bit as the temp is so high these days. I was surprised and delighted to find it perfectly enjoyable. I even swished it around in my wine glass to give myself the impression that I had to let it breathe.

I won't wax poetic about it but I will buy it again, no worries. Tasted like a typical run-of-the-mill house red wine. There is also a Bin 7 I think which I'll also give a try.

Mont Clair use buckets rather than bins.

[MadMac]

If you drink a few beers or that occasional Sangsom before Mont Clair it certainly will be completely enjoyable. No questions asked.

[Saan]

Just noticed that Big C has dropped the price of "Taylors Promised Land" to 660 baht.........that is a respected Aussie wine, a couple of notches up from Banrock Station/Bushmans Gully type wines, and by comparison is priced at just over twice the retail in NZ.

Best value (IMO) is "Barwang The Wall" Shiraz or CS for 529 baht.

For the last 15 years, Taylors Promised Land has been Mr K's favourite tipple after Jacobs Creek Special Reserve, both the Shiraz and Cab Sav. He bought 2 bottles of Promised Land a couple of weeks ago in Big C when he saw the price, unfortunately one of them was bad - it made a bit of a pop when opened and he said it tasted bad and he didn't drink it. The other bottle was fine, just one of those things. We didn't bother going back with it, probably should have but meh. It retails at AU$10 ish in a case, been the same price for at least 15 years. Works out at 500 baht, so nobody can complain about the price at 660 baht.

I'll grab Barwang next time I'm in for him to try, never heard of it but I'm just the buyer, I don't care for red wine at all.

I spent many a happy day at Barwang where a dear friend, Peter Robertson, pioneered the wine industry in the Hilltop Region near Young in NSW. Peter was a superb winemaker. Towards the end of his life he sold the property to McWilliams.

A little trivia for Australian readers. His next door neighbours were the Humes, direct descendants of explorer Hamilton Hume whom the Human Highway, the road that links Sydney and Melbourne, is named after. And in true rural tradition Peter's daughter married Stan, the Hume boy next door.

So that is why I like Barwang Wine apart from it being bloody good.