Decent good value red wine

[oval]

I want to start drinking more red wine (ie. a glass of wine in the evening rather than a bottle of Leo), but have had little experience in the Bangkok wine market. 

 

Does anyone have any recommendations on places to buy and good brands? Which red offers the best bang for your buck?

 

Cheers!

[smokie36]

Tops have a good selection.

[funandsuninbangkok]

British Club has wine tasting last Friday of the month. Good opportunity to taste before buying and good values available. 

 

I think it is open to non non members but call ahead to check

[xylophone]

2 hours ago, RonniePickering22 said:

Tops have a good selection.

Yes it does and Tesco Lotus has a lovely, fruity Italian red called Montepulciano d'Abruzzo at 549 baht a bottle and a few others, but watch out for those with fruit juice added, unless you like them of course.

[Khamtam Sutyoddi]

The other day I saw some wine from Australia at 199thb sold at Villa... Has anybody tried it?

[xylophone]

Just now, Khamtam Sutyoddi said:

The other day I saw some wine from Australia at 199thb sold at Villa... Has anybody tried it?

For that price it will have had fruit juice added, quite possibly at the source of origin, Oz.

[rjbangkok]

tesco has some great wines on the bottom shelf....look for wines that have a DOC or DOCG designation...you can google those terms...the odd lots and the last of the case gems are there...great value....

[Shaunduhpostman]

Though they seem to be drinkable, tho not really that great, you ought to be aware that the cheaper wines in Thailand are not technically wine as they are made with a mixture of pomegranite and grape juice. Apparently this allows them to get around a tax and the cheaper wine price is passed on to you. If you look on the backside label, and in one of the corners of the label you see "fruit wine" that means it is not 100% grape juice. I feel it is also deceptive to the customer, because unless you are lucky enough to find out, you won't know that you are not drinking 100% grape wine, so I don't buy the stuff any more. 

 

But as for real wine, I really like the 300 baht+ per bottle stuff offered by TESCO, it is surprisingly good usually, it is some kind of Australian wine with a Kangaroo on the label. I know there are many Australian wines with a kangaroo on the label, but it is the only one that is under 400 baht. They have a number of different varieties as well. For red they have Cabernet, Shiraz and Merlot. To me, these wines are a no-brainer when wines that taste can taste worse are difficult to find for less than 500 baht these days. 

Edited March 7, 2017 by Shaunduhpostman

[yellowboat]

Cambodia

[KKr]

21 hours ago, Khamtam Sutyoddi said:

The other day I saw some wine from Australia at 199thb sold at Villa... Has anybody tried it?

 

21 hours ago, xylophone said:

For that price it will have had fruit juice added, quite possibly at the source of origin, Oz.

more likely a box of grapes was standing next to the machine where this was concocted.

[smotherb]

I've mentioned this before--if you're having a party or can drink that much yourself; Tesco, and Makro at times, has a five liter glass jug of red or white Italian Table wine at about B980--there are two or three different names, but same Italian winery. It's just table wine, but it is tolerable.

[KKr]

shop cum restaurant "Wine Selection" (if I am not mistaken in the name) in Central have a few nice wines, and sometimes good offers (also here, beware of the fruit juice stuff).
Tops, BigC and Tesco also, but as mentioned before, read the labels first.
By the way, if the wine doesn't contain Sulphites, I wonder how it was stabilized on the way to Thailand.
Kangaroo, in different colors, as mentioned above is drinkable. 

However, even for prices above 600 B don't expect a Chateau Petrus.

[smotherb]

35 minutes ago, yellowboat said:

Cambodia

Yeah, in Sihanoukeville I saw a good selection of South American and French wines for $3 to $6 a bottle.

[Zenwind]

Anyone know if Lambrusco is available here? 

[just bob]

Highly recommend.  Not as sweet ass a cab or pinot and more complex.  Very clean finish.  At Top's Market.

Zuccardi Serie A Malbec 75cl.

Product ID 7791728021301

 

799.00 /btls

[xylophone]

1 hour ago, Shaunduhpostman said:

Though they seem to be drinkable, tho not really that great, you ought to be aware that the cheaper wines in Thailand are not technically wine as they are made with a mixture of pomegranite and grape juice. Apparently this allows them to get around a tax and the cheaper wine price is passed on to you. If you look on the backside label, and in one of the corners of the label you see "fruit wine" that means it is not 100% grape juice. I feel it is also deceptive to the customer, because unless you are lucky enough to find out, you won't know that you are not drinking 100% grape wine, so I don't buy the stuff any more. 

 

But as for real wine, I really like the 300 baht+ per bottle stuff offered by TESCO, it is surprisingly good usually, it is some kind of Australian wine with a Kangaroo on the label. I know there are many Australian wines with a kangaroo on the label, but it is the only one that is under 400 baht. They have a number of different varieties as well. For red they have Cabernet, Shiraz and Merlot. To me, these wines are a no-brainer when wines that taste can taste worse are difficult to find for less than 500 baht these days. 

I agree with you about the wine from Tesco and I believe it's called "Vineyards – World Wines" and at 349 baht a bottle, with no fruit juice added, it has to be some of the best value drinking wine around.

 

As for your comment regarding "the cheaper wines in Thailand" being a mixture of pomegranate and grape juice, well almost right (although I'm sure pomegranate juice could be added, if a little light) because the stuff put out by Siam winery is actually grape juice with hibiscus juice added, whilst some of the red wines from the Wine Connection (from both France and Australia) have juice of "dark fruits" added, with the white wines having passionfruit juice.

 

Also much of the cheap wine these days, especially in casks, comes from Australia and has fruit juice added there, and again it is juice of "dark fruits" (e.g., mulberry, blackberry, blackcurrant et cetera). At least these wines have it clearly stated on the cask/boxes and the bottles, that the wine is mixed with fruit juice, whereas the stuff from Siam winery has "fruit wine" almost hidden on the cask/label and I agree with you it is an effort at deception.

[DonaldBattles]

If we did not have to pay the total of 420% tax on wine there could be some good ones available. We have PM Chuan Lek Pai to thank for this horrible tax. He wanted to break Taksin's habit of showing off drinking 5,000 Baht bottles in public. Thailand has very little wine industry to protect and the heavy excise and import tax should be reduced.

[mike324]

If you don't know much about wine, download the vivino app, its free to use. You can scan / take a picture of wine bottle labels and automatically cross references to online database giving you a basic review from consumers. It also gives a basic description regarding to the type of wine / grape.

 

Reading the reviews also gives you a general understanding of the type of wine you are purchasing from reviewers.

[xylophone]

54 minutes ago, KKr said:

shop cum restaurant "Wine Selection" (if I am not mistaken in the name) in Central have a few nice wines, and sometimes good offers (also here, beware of the fruit juice stuff).
Tops, BigC and Tesco also, but as mentioned before, read the labels first.
By the way, if the wine doesn't contain Sulphites, I wonder how it was stabilized on the way to Thailand.
Kangaroo, in different colors, as mentioned above is drinkable. 

However, even for prices above 600 B don't expect a Chateau Petrus.

I think you'll find that just about all wine these days contains sulphites of some description and even those labelled "organic" are allowed a small amount, otherwise as you say the wine could become unstable.

 

The kangaroo wine mentioned in a previous post for sale in Villa Market at 199 baht a bottle is a fruit wine and at that price I wonder how much of the "Wine" is actually from grape juice and how much from fruit juice??

[lgking]

Siam Winery imports a red and a white from Sicily called Amante in a 2 Lt. bottle for 389 thb. The red right out of the bottle has a pleasing balance of fruit, acid, and light tannin. However, after being opened the taste of the fruit and tannin are diminished by the second day. Good pizza, spaghetti, pasta, salad with bread...everyday table wine.  

Edited March 7, 2017 by lgking

[xylophone]

1 minute ago, lgking said:

Siam Winery imports a red and a white from Sicily called Amante in a 2 Lt. bottle for 389 thb. The red right out of the bottle has a pleasing balance of fruit, acid, and light tannin. However, after being opened the taste of the fruit and tannin are diminished by the second day. Good pizza, spaghetti, pasta, salad with bread...everyday table wine.  

I believe this one also has fruit juice added, and okay if you like that, but in many cases it's not plain for all to see!

[xylophone]

12 minutes ago, mike324 said:

If you don't know much about wine, download the vivino app, its free to use. You can scan / take a picture of wine bottle labels and automatically cross references to online database giving you a basic review from consumers. It also gives a basic description regarding to the type of wine / grape.

 

Reading the reviews also gives you a general understanding of the type of wine you are purchasing from reviewers.

I don't have a phone which can do this, however I have heard other folks I know mention it, so I got online to the the Vivino website and keyed in, "Montclair" and sure enough it came up with the Montclair bottles, but nowhere that I could see did it actually state that it was a fruit wine?

 

Maybe I'm not using it correctly, so your advice would be appreciated, otherwise folks can still be buying fruit wine and not know it.

[lgking]

The last Hotel & Food show at BITEC this year I hunted down the Siam Winery booth to ask that very question. They assured me that NO FRUIT JUICE (other than the fermented juice of grapes) was used in any of their wines. However, a loophole does allow them to say 'fruit juice', because...damn, IT IS!

[mike324]

2 minutes ago, xylophone said:

I don't have a phone which can do this, however I have heard other folks I know mention it, so I got online to the the Vivino website and keyed in, "Montclair" and sure enough it came up with the Montclair bottles, but nowhere that I could see did it actually state that it was a fruit wine?

 

Maybe I'm not using it correctly, so your advice would be appreciated, otherwise folks can still be buying fruit wine and not know it.

Wines are all made from grape, so depending on your definition of "fruit wine".

 

The previous poster was referring to cocktail wines or wine cooler such as "spy".

 

Montclair is not a cocktail wine.

[xylophone]

Just now, mike324 said:

Wines are all made from grape, so depending on your definition of "fruit wine".

 

The previous poster was referring to cocktail wines or wine cooler such as "spy".

 

Montclair is not a cocktail wine.

Unfortunately that's not the case here as many of the wines on sale have fruit juice added and it is clearly stated on the casks and bottles. Montclair is a prime example and has the words fruit wine on its label, although not clear to see. Although it is not a wine cooler/cocktail wine, it is blended with fruit juice, as stated, albeit surreptitiously on the label.

 

I believe the previous poster was referring to these types of wine and they are manyfold these days.

 

The term "wine" is internationally applied to wine made from grapes, and anything other than this has to have the words "fruit wine" included on the label, which is what is happening now, although a few producers try to make that as hard to see as possible!

[lgking]

"Unfortunately that's not the case here as many of the wines on sale have fruit juice added and it is clearly stated on the casks and bottles. Montclair is a prime example and has the words fruit wine on its label, although not clear to see. Although it is not a wine cooler/cocktail wine, it is blended with fruit juice, as stated, albeit surreptitiously on the label.

 

I find it hard to believe you are saying this after you have tasted this wine.

 

FYI...Grapes are Fruit.

 

Edited March 7, 2017 by lgking

[xylophone]

8 minutes ago, lgking said:

"Unfortunately that's not the case here as many of the wines on sale have fruit juice added and it is clearly stated on the casks and bottles. Montclair is a prime example and has the words fruit wine on its label, although not clear to see. Although it is not a wine cooler/cocktail wine, it is blended with fruit juice, as stated, albeit surreptitiously on the label.

 

I find it hard to believe you are saying this after you have tasted this wine.

 

FYI...Grapes are Fruit.

 

Not quite sure what you mean when you say that, "I find it hard to believe you are saying this after you have tasted this wine". 

 

Yes I have tasted the wine and it's an okay drinker, but not for me, and it does state on the label that it is a fruit wine and in the internationally recognised labelling of wines, anything that is not made from grapes has to be labelled fruit wine.

 

I know grapes are fruit, but as far as wine is concerned, wine can only be called wine if it is made from grapes. If it has in addition of any other type of fruit or is made from another type of fruit, then it has to be called fruit wine.

 

And as if to back this up, all of the wines that I have seen here which do contain fruit juice/other fruits, clearly state on the bottle/cask, "fruit wine", so they are complying with international labelling regulations. If you want to go and have a look at a well known and recognised wine that is made from grapes and doesn't have fruit juice added, then you won't see the words "fruit wine" on the bottle.

 

Simple really.

[Kabula]

The retail business is suffering badly now.

 

Make an offer on a case of wine with the Manager, and if rejected walk away.  They will probably accept a discount offer of 15%-20%.

 

The high import tax makes wine expensive here.

[SiSePuede419]

Move to California and go to Trader Joe's.  They have their own brands of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Shiraz, etc for only $2USD per bottle and it's excellent.

 

I've blind taste tested it against similar vintages for $5-35 per bottle and you can't tell the difference. ?

[lgking]

3 minutes ago, xylophone said:

Not quite sure what you mean when you say that, "I find it hard to believe you are saying this after you have tasted this wine". 

 

Yes I have tasted the wine and it's an okay drinker, but not for me, and it does state on the label that it is a fruit wine and in the internationally recognised labelling of wines, anything that is not made from grapes has to be labelled fruit wine.

 

I know grapes are fruit, but as far as wine is concerned, wine can only be called wine if it is made from grapes. If it has in addition of any other type of fruit or is made from another type of fruit, then it has to be called fruit wine.

 

And as if to back this up, all of the wines that I have seen here which do contain fruit juice/other fruits, clearly state on the bottle/cask, "fruit wine", so they are complying with international labelling regulations. If you want to go and have a look at a well known and recognised wine that is made from grapes and doesn't have fruit juice added, then you won't see the words "fruit wine" on the bottle.

 

Simple really.

Listen, I know you mean well...but I did mention in a previous post that 'executives' working for Siam Winery stated that there is no fruit juice in the wine other than fermented grape juice.

 

However, why don't you do yourself a favor and stop embarrassing yourself by spewing all kinds of speculative nonsense...and give the winery a call...and report back to us.

 

The owners name is: Chalerm Yoovidhya

 

and the winemakers name is: Kathrin Puff