Whining About Wine Prices!

[Jockstar]

May I just add.....and as a Brit, it irkes me to say so....very few countries, none actually, can beat Aussie wines for price and quality. Some of their Cabernets are the nuts and at less than half the price of a French equivalent.

Regards

I agree to a point. Ozzie wines are fantastic. But also NZ, South Africa and Chilean wines are also of a high standard and not too pricey. French wine is <deleted> in opinion.Though that doesnt mean i wouldnt drink it. But given a choice its Ozzie, NZ SA or Chilean all the way. French comes about last. I say about last. Have you tasted Thai wine? Too sweet.

[Donnyboy]

No-one has mentioned the best selling wine-style drink - Spy Wine Cooler.

That stuff gives me a headache before I get to the bottom of the first bottle...

Im sure they re-bottle that stuff as brake fluid

[Gary A]

I'm actually kind of fond of Thai Rum (Sang Som). I find it good mixed with soda and Coke. Mixing Coke by itself makes the drink too sweet. The Thais get rip roaring drunk on Lao Kao and NOT Sang Som in this area. Most actually prefer Lao Kao. If I were a die hard alcoholic, I'd quit drinking before I'd drink Lao Kao.

I live in Loei province near the the wine making and vineyard center. I hate to say it but I have NEVER found a decent bottle of wine that is made in Thailand. Most insist on putting herbs in the wine and calling it a health drink. It is awful. I have tried at least a dozen different brands and one or two of them are drinkable but not even as good as the cheap Italian wine in the big bottles. Maybe it's a regional taste thing? I bought a Thai friend an expensive bottle of semi-dry California red wine and she hated it. No problem, I drank it.

[jasreeve17]

I've tried a few Thai wines, they were sweet ones from central areas; Saraburi, Korat etc. Just dessert wines really and totally disgusting.

I got a couple of decent wines from Emporium on a buy 1 get 1 free basis (French table wines worth about 1 euro, very hit and miss), but still over 500 baht each.

When I visit the relatives in Spain I pick up local wines at between 1 and 2 euros each which are very drinkable. I would have brought some back next time but with the heavy duties imposed and recent clampdowns, I don't think I'll bother. I'll stick to the Chang Draft (in bottles), a very nice new beer and only 38 baht for a big bottle.

(I'm still searching out the local shop that has 3 for 100 baht - not found it yet)

I'm not always a cheap charlie, I do like a nice Kruge...

[Old Man River]

There are some good wines produced in Thailand that are from grapes. Thailand is, basically, a consumer of red wines, but Thai wine producers don't produce enough reds to be able to bring prices down. Hence, despite no import taxes, good Thai reds are as expensive as mediocre imported reds. In addition, they will be hurt if the Ministry of Health's ban on alcoholic beverage advertising goes through, as local producers try to make people aware of their products through advertising.

[Meerkat]

Each time we go up to Khao Yai, we pick up a couple of cases of local wine as our "house pour". The reds are still a bit immature, although the PB Valley Shiraz is not bad at all - certainly better than the Jacob's Creek stuff that seems to be all we can find in Tesco.

The wine that IMO really shows some promise is the Chenin Blanc from the GranMonte vineyard, also in KY. GranMonte was named in the top ten emerging vineyards globally in some Wine magazine last year - can't be bothered to search for the publication it's in, but it's there.

There are two major problems though; tax and storage. Tax on wine in Thailand is the second highest in Asia (Thai wines sell for less abroad than they do domestically - go figure). Storage (or bottling of course) is, from experience, pretty bad too. Usually I'd expect a corked wine every one-and-a-half cases. The stuff I buy here runs at more than one bad bottle a case. I pulled GranMonte up about this the last time we were there - they were gracious enough to chuck in a couple of extra bottles, gratis, with our case.

[steppenfaerie]

Why would you want to buy "good" wine under 300b... I dont think there is such a thing... not just in Thailand... anywhere.

I don't even like wine, but I think that you are wrong here. I think that one could do OK for about $10 in California and perhaps Australia.

UG, I think the point is that an AUD $10 bottle of wine is worth up towards 1k baht here.

I also do not like wine, I am a beer man myself

Right - I love how they sell Jacob's Crack (drink of choice back home for starving uni students like myself) for Baht 6 or 7 hundred+ here! I've switched to beer since moving to BKK, it's much more economical.

[rak sa_ngop]

Stop whining about wines and get yourselves down to Foodlands where you can buy a bottle of "Majesty" Thai Sherry for the un-Regal price of 115 baht. It also tastes pretty good!

[Jingthing]

OK, if anyone thinks I was making this up, here is more evidence that the Thai government for apparantly irrational reasons, really hates wine.

Thailand is probably the most expensive country on the planet for wine because of the high duty, and one of the dark clouds lurking in the future is the likelihood of another rise that will mean even steeper prices. Whether this will cause consumers to give up and wine importing companies to go under is a subject of concern.

Unfortunately, it is still classified alongside other alcoholic beverages which may have higher alcoholic content. With an alcoholic strength of 11 to 15 percent per volume, wine pays a higher rate of excise duty than spirits three times as high in alcohol. In most countries, the duty is levied on the amount of alcohol in the bottle, and it would seem only sensible to adopt the practice here. So far, this has not been the case, and it is a source of discomfort to the trade.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/221206_Realtime...006_real001.php

Edited December 23, 2006 by Jingthing

[Boon Mee]

For cheap delicious local wines you might try living in Italy, France or Bakersfield, California. When living abroad it's best to drink the indigenous specialities. The local homebrew rice whiskey has a bouquet that, though harsh on first try, one learns to enjoy in large quanitities - and no taxes!

That's right!

But lao kow & mekhong get a bit rough after a few sessions...

[astral]

The local "moonshine" out the villages is even better........

[ilyushin]

They love wine. You provide it and they consume it. The tax is your problem.

Foodland or most package store, I find fair bottles of wine 300-500 baht per bottle. Not too much really. I prefer wines in the 600-1,200/bht bottle range though, but tread in the lower priced wines and find some good ones very often. Not just the price, but of course the quality and origin.

Last week in Pattaya, I saw a bottle of Boones farm for 800 baht/bottle.

[robint]

yes i realy miss a nice wine, well out of my budget (also cheese , more expensive than fillet steak)

yet In vientian great stuff available at affordable prices

[robint]

yes i miss wine and cheese, cant afford either, but you can have a first class french style dinner with wine in vientian for around 1000 baht. I know people who go there specially just for a taste of the old country which still flourishes over there in such a poor country surprisingly

Well why not make your own, thats what we did in Saudi, not half bad plonk either. All the ingredients are in a upermarket near you. Only draw back is the need for cool storage for fermentation. Anyone want to start a wine club

[ronw]

yes i miss wine and cheese, cant afford either, but you can have a first class french style dinner with wine in vientian for around 1000 baht. I know people who go there specially just for a taste of the old country which still flourishes over there in such a poor country surprisingly

Well why not make your own, thats what we did in Saudi, not half bad plonk either. All the ingredients are in a upermarket near you. Only draw back is the need for cool storage for fermentation. Anyone want to start a wine club

I make my own,and have done for years....even when i lived in Sumatera....the quality obviously varies...but when it is good....it is very good.....and when it is bad.....it makes a really good toilet cleaner.

The best bit is that it is fun to make....requiring no hard labour....and is CHEAP!

some of my friends have been known to go legless after a glass or three....

[beammeup]

One reason for high taxes on imported wines could be to protect the growing Thai wine industry. A smart move in my opinion. Having tried a few Thai wines over the last 3 years, my opinion would be that they have a way to go yet.

Rumania and bulgaria, about 15 years ago, employed Australian winemakers and their knowhow and achieved quantum leaps in a very few years. Maybe Thailand could do the same.

May I just add.....and as a Brit, it irkes me to say so....very few countries, none actually, can beat Aussie wines for price and quality. Some of their Cabernets are the nuts and at less than half the price of a French equivalent.

Regards

Naw South African wines kick @ss!! I usually go for the 2L Italian table wine at home, It goes down pretty good, or SA Pinotage if I go out. I do really wish it was cheeper though

[Jingthing]

They love wine. You provide it and they consume it. The tax is your problem.

Not exactly.

Of course, many Thai PEOPLE enjoy nice wines (those that can afford to have such experiences).

I am not saying Thai PEOPLE hate wine.

I am saying the Thai GOVERNMENT hates wine, as evidence by irrationally high duties, making wine in Thailand the most expensive in the world.

The tax is not my problem. It is everyone's problem who wants to drink wine in the Thailand. The tax is part of the TOTAL PRICE of the wine in Thailand. You can't ask to buy the wine and not pay the tax, now can you?

Perhaps it is time for a Bangkok Wine Party in the spirit of the Boston Tea Party of the American revolution. Thai wine merchants and wine lovers could assemble at a major port and dump cases of wine into the harbour!

I have to think a moment or two on what that would accomplish ...

Edited December 24, 2006 by Jingthing

[robint]

Stop press

Red wine from the Shiraz grape, 140 baht in Friendship (13.5%)

Its mixed with roselle fruit and has a fair bucket. Provided you are pissed you wont notice the taste of diesel

go seek but leave me some for new years eve.

btw, the cheapo 3L box of white Sicilian wine is ABSOLUTE <deleted> at 745 baht

[In the Rai!]

I am not saying Thai PEOPLE hate wine.

I am saying the Thai GOVERNMENT hates wine, as evidence by irrationally high duties, making wine in Thailand the most expensive in the world.

I think the govermant hates alcohol in general now and soon I think that wiskey and beer will go up alot higher as well. Who knows maybe with higher beer and wiskey prices, it may just make paying alot for wine a little more reasonable.

1 can only hope

[LomSak27]

As some posters have mentioned the big tax was slapped on during the 97 economic meltdown and remains

"I think the govermant hates alcohol in general now and soon I think that wiskey and beer will go up alot higher as well."

The may say that but does anyone believe it ? The thai goverment has had a long, cosy and profitable relationship with the Thai whiskey industry. It was their revenue bread and butter for decades. The goverment has a long history of manipulating the local alcohol market for this very reason. The goverment with their interest in whiskey sales and profits slapped taxes on beer because they were scared people might drink it and not booze on the hard stuff if they did not. Better keep the price of BEER high and they did for decades. You could buy a ban of whisky cheaper than a Singha or Kloster, quart yai. The crackdown on bootleg lao khao was undoubtedly for the same reason. Yes they may blather they are concerned about the chao baan and drinking but that is just public realations hoo haw. It was always in the goverments interest that thais booze and buy from certain companies instead of drinking Lao Khao, beer or for that matter wine.

Thais will certainly drink win even the rotgut they produce here, it is not and never has been in the goverments interest to encourage it.

[astral]

Remember a glass of red wine, per day, is good for the health,

according to the latest research.