Grapestomping In The Los

[The Gentleman Scamp]

I was having a drink with some local Thai expats last night who had been hosting a wine evening in the restaurant that adjoins the local pub.

Wine is the last thing you would associate with Thailand, but it was actually very good... Don't really know why this was a surprise.

I'm no connesseur and I only tried the red but I know a decent wine from a bargain basement bottle of plonk.

Nan, the head chef told me that Thailand has a number of vinyards and is slowly making it's way onto the wine producing map.

I can't remember the name of the stuff but the label featured a waterfall.

I only had a couple of glasses, but unfortunatly this was on top of three and a half pints of Carlsberg Export so today I'm nursing a hangover of apocolyptic proportions... I feel like a worm in bleach.

Has anybody else come across Thai wine either at home or over there?

*Staggers off to kitchen to make bloody Mary*

[simon43]

Well, the area around Chiang Mai is actually quite well-known for producing good wine-making grapes! The climate is cooler and similar to France.

Back in the UK I had about 2 acres of wine-producing vines. Although the UK is colder than France, you can still grow decent grapes if you chose the right variety.

Now that I'm in BKK and Phuket, it would be good fun to 'grow some wine'. But somehow I think Phuket would be just a little too hot

[Pepe']

I sampled several Thai wine at a kiosk in Pattaya last year. They were all really bad.

I nderstand though that there are a few OK ones to be had.

Did someone comepare the clmate in Chang Mai to France?

I've spent alot of time in both places. Sure Chang Mai can get a little cooler some time but nonothing like the Girande region around Bordeaux that I remember.

I haope they start producing better wines soon as i will be moving to Bangkok within the year.

I've gotten quite spoiled living in California. Especially on the Napa valley wines.

[p_brownstone]

There are some quite large vinyards in the Khao Yai area, plus others in the North East.

Charoen Pokephand - "the chicken people" - have been producing Wine here for several years under the delightful name "Chateau de Loei" (I kid you not!).

I have only tried the white wines and they are actually quite nice, a light but fresh flavour.

Not to be confused with the "Sato" "wines" mainly produced under the OTOP "initiative" - most are very sweet and very strong, but at Baht 30 or so a bottle ......

[Up2U]

I can give you some recipes for rice wine ......

But you only drink them for the alcohol content, not the taste.

[Pepe']

Yes those sweet strong ones were the ones I tasted. They were more like liquers

[NedKelly]

Yet to taste a decent Thai wine. Mostly serious crap. tried a strawberry wine in the North which was actually more like a beer.......i added some soda and lime and it made quite a refreshing drink. But it was not wine as we know it.