Fancy a cheap decent wine with your thanksgiving / xmas dinner

[Bullfrog 2,224]

Previously I had purchased my Wyndham Estate Shiraz at Friendship at 700 baht a bottle because Big C were charging 730 baht.

 

Last week I noticed that Big C Pattaya Tai had reduced the complete Wyndham Estate range to 599 baht..!! So I have been selfishly emptying the shelves of Shiraz over the last week before letting you all know.

 

I spoke to the girl in there and she said it was a 3 month high season promotion...

[atlas2 4,329]

Thanks.........

[MM 6,562]

Previously I had purchased my Wyndham Estate Shiraz at Friendship at 700 baht a bottle because Big C were charging 730 baht.

 

Last week I noticed that Big C Pattaya Tai had reduced the complete Wyndham Estate range to 599 baht..!! So I have been selfishly emptying the shelves of Shiraz over the last week before letting you all know.

 

I spoke to the girl in there and she said it was a 3 month high season promotion...

Do they make a decent Chardonnay?

[Bullfrog 2,224]

Do they make a decent Chardonnay?

 

I do believe they do but if you use Jacobs Creek as a bench mark (because it is in the same price range) I would put Jacobs at a 5 and Wyndham at a 7 (8 for the shiraz)..

 

When living ooop North I used to fill up with boxes of Taylors Shiraz/cab sauv at Best near Dolphin roundabout but that was before the introduction of Wyndham into the region. But Taylors went up in price and now Wyndham has dropped in price....If the 2 were side by side...same price..I would still go for the Wyndham shiraz..

 

Whilst you mention Chardonnay I had a nice bottle of Chilean in PBG on Sunday which was cheap and tasty..

 

"Bite me" does an excellent Stellenbosch too...Chang Paarp and I slugged a few bottles there maybe a month or so back..

[Bullfrog 2,224]

Thanks.........

 

It's always difficult to say what is cheap and what is not cheap because that is personal perception but in this case perhaps it would have been clearer if I had said wine made with grapes rather than "wine" made with fruit juice...

[Bullfrog 2,224]

After a trip to Friendship today they have dropped the price to 575 baht...

[teelack 9,646]

Personal preference is a strange thing. I have a Wyndham Estate story. Some five or six years ago I was following my normal procedure which is Australian reds and New Zealand whites. I bought some Wyndham Estate red and it was IMHO undrinkable. I contacted the company, met up with the sales rep and without any argument he arranged a full credit. It was horrendous. To the best of my knowledge this was simply a bad wine and wasnt tainted. I have never bought it again.

 

A question was asked about the chardonnay. For me, most Aussie whites have a taste of preservative that is off putting but I will concede that at almost any price point they make some of the best reds in the world and even an el cheapo red from Aussie can be value for money. Their Merlots and Shiraz are usually outstanding and the Cabernet /blends are as good as it gets if you like then full of flavour and high in tannin.

 

Personally if I was buying Aussie reds (I wont buy their whites) I would simply stick to the international brands that are available in almost any wine store in Pattaya. Having said that I am so spoiled with my (white) wine drinking in NZ that I simply do not drink the stuff in Thailand due to the excessive prices/ho hum quality.

 

As a foot note, the only time I have drunk wine in the region is in Cambodia where there are superb French wines available at bargain basement pricing.

[Bullfrog 2,224]

This is very true...On here I have mentioned Wyndham/JC/Taylors ..I guess the only other international brand would be Penfolds or is there some I am missing?? I would be happy to check them out too..

 

My point was the wines being cheap and on offer.....The best wine I have ever tasted in my 20 years in Thailand was a Borolo Reserve in Bite Me....but everything comes at a price..

[Bullfrog 2,224]

Do they make a decent Chardonnay?

 

I noticed today in Big C the welcome return of Wolf Blass Chardonnay at 500 baht a bottle......It was my favourite tipple when TOPS first opened and I asked them to keep it in the fridge. The day started by taking a bottle down the beach with freshly steamed crab but always ended sending the girl of the day back to buy more..

[Kev 178]

Slightly off topic but I bought the Wolf Blass chardonnay here in Oz for $7 a bottle yesterday, about 170 baht!

[Bullfrog 2,224]

Slightly off topic but I bought the Wolf Blass chardonnay here in Oz for $7 a bottle yesterday, about 170 baht!

 

Bring me a crate next time you are in town and I'll give you 200 baht a bottle...

 

EDIT = Also off topic when I was working in Oslo I found the prices of wine there comparable to the prices of wine here.......And Norway is infamous for not being cheap...

Edited December 20, 2016 by Bullfrog

[Dungheap 243]

Personal preference is a strange thing. I have a Wyndham Estate story. Some five or six years ago I was following my normal procedure which is Australian reds and New Zealand whites. I bought some Wyndham Estate red and it was IMHO undrinkable. I contacted the company, met up with the sales rep and without any argument he arranged a full credit. It was horrendous. To the best of my knowledge this was simply a bad wine and wasnt tainted. I have never bought it again.

 

A question was asked about the chardonnay. For me, most Aussie whites have a taste of preservative that is off putting but I will concede that at almost any price point they make some of the best reds in the world and even an el cheapo red from Aussie can be value for money. Their Merlots and Shiraz are usually outstanding and the Cabernet /blends are as good as it gets if you like then full of flavour and high in tannin.

 

Personally if I was buying Aussie reds (I wont buy their whites) I would simply stick to the international brands that are available in almost any wine store in Pattaya. Having said that I am so spoiled with my (white) wine drinking in NZ that I simply do not drink the stuff in Thailand due to the excessive prices/ho hum quality.

 

As a foot note, the only time I have drunk wine in the region is in Cambodia where there are superb French wines available at bargain basement pricing.

 

Teelack,

 

Agree, Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc's are bloody hard to beat, especially for the price. Hard to justify paying double for Cloudy Bay when ya can have 2 bottles or regular Sauv Blanc for a similar price.

 

Funny you mention the preservative taste, I find that with some California wines but didn't find that on a recent Hunter Valley tour.

 

Good to see more wines choices in Thailand. Though proper storage could be a concern for high-end stuff.

 

 

Edited December 20, 2016 by Dungheap

[Bullfrog 2,224]

 

Teelack,

 

Agree, Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc's are bloody hard to beat, especially for the price. Hard to justify paying double for Cloudy Bay when ya can have 2 bottles or regular Sauv Blanc for a similar price.

 

Funny you mention the preservative taste, I find that with some California wines but didn't find that on a recent Hunter Valley tour.

 

Good to see more wines choices in Thailand. Though proper storage could be a concern for high-end stuff.

 

 

 

Please can you put some meat in the sandwich and say exactly what wines, how much and where they can be purchased as both of you have done nothing except generalize.

 

Regarding storage. Upstairs in Villa Market (passed the card shop) 20 years ago was heaven on a Saturday morning shopping trip..

[Dungheap 243]

A thousand apologies if our generalized input didn't meet your strict criteria for posting on a subject ...

[Bullfrog 2,224]

A thousand apologies if our generalized input didn't meet your strict criteria for posting on a subject ...

 

Sorry. What I meant to say is please can you recommend a good cheap wine and where to buy it and perhaps let us know how much it is...

Edited December 29, 2016 by Bullfrog