Buying a few Bottles of Red in Jomtien

[ChiFlyer]

I am renting a condo in Jomtien for the month of February. I like to keep a few bottles of Red in my house (condo in this case), for a glass at sundown or the end of the day. I live in the US and I prefer moderately priced Pinot Noirs from Northern California and Oregon at about $15 to $20 a bottle. I have noticed that there are not a lot of grapes growing in Thailand so I expect an up-charge and I hear there is a significant luxury tax on alcohol. I figure the Australian wines are my best alternative. I have bought Wolf Blass in the past and it was a decent stand in.

 

When I was out last March, I found a small shop in the Alley just before where Thappraya turns toward Beach Road. The selection was thin and the prices not so great, but it was overall decent given the vacation situation. I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations both for  brands and a place to buy them.

 

Thanks,

ChiFlyer

[B-Man]

Foodmart on Thappraya rd has a good selection of alcohol, give them a try

[regyai]

For a good(ish) selection - though the other end of town try Best Supermarket (Pattaya Nua / Dolphin Roundabout) the whole left hand side of it is wines/spirits (mostly wines):

 

 

[Colin back in Pattaya]

While choosing your wine, consider Chilean reds as well as Australian. Both very drinkable.

[davidge]

Best choice I've found in Jomtien is the FoodMart mentioned above.

Not a bad selection. Prices 60-100% higher than UK for comparable wines.

 

I did notice a specialist wine shop when travelling on the baht bus.

On Thappraya, left hand side when coming from Pattaya.

Sorry, can't remember if it was before or after the Court.

[ChiFlyer]

.......

 

I did notice a specialist wine shop when travelling on the baht bus.

On Thappraya, left hand side when coming from Pattaya.

Sorry, can't remember if it was before or after the Court.

 

Might this be it? Tree Tops Wine Connection near the Sugar Hut? hmm - I guess PDFs do not render. The attachment looks a little funky, but you can see the map.

 

Tree Tops.pdf

[davidge]

Might this be it? Tree Tops Wine Connection near the Sugar Hut? hmm - I guess PDFs do not render. The attachment looks a little funky, but you can see the map.

 

Tree Tops.pdf

That looks right, yes.

Wooden Box is right next to the Court so the Wine shop must be in the row of shophouses before it as you come from Pattaya.

[ChiFlyer]

I noticed a sign for Poseidon's Wine Cellar in the alley directly across the street from the VT2 entrance. Stopped in and bought a bottle of Shiraz. German owner seems pretty friendly and he took my e-mail to send over a list of Pinot Noirs that he could order and have within a few days. I am partial to Pinot Noirs and they seem difficult to find in Jomtien. All in all the Wine Cellar seems to have a better choice of products than the Food Mart. Obviously, one also pays a little more. As an example the Australian Shiraz I bought was 930 baht.

 

I am going over to the Sugar Hut some time this weekend, so I will pop into Tree Tops for a comparison. Poseidons is really convenient from VT2 though.

 

Edit: Spelling correction only

[davidge]

I have a vague recollection of seeing a sign for Poseidon.

Must have thought it was a gay bar! :-)

[ChiFlyer]

I have a vague recollection of seeing a sign for Poseidon.

Must have thought it was a gay bar! :-)

 

Now that you mention it, I did not notice any ladies around the place. I was also invited to a fondue party.

 

They have a temperature controlled wine room with a pretty good moderately priced selection. They also seem to be good business people who will work to try and get you what you are looking for. 

 

I am willing to look past any oddities for the later. 

[davidge]

Now that you mention it, I did not notice any ladies around the place. I was also invited to a fondue party.

 

They have a temperature controlled wine room with a pretty good moderately priced selection. They also seem to be good business people who will work to try and get you what you are looking for.

 

I am willing to look past any oddities for the later.

 

I just checked out the website.

It's a hotel with a restaurant.

I'd never have thought of looking to buy wine there!

Unlimited meat fondue first Wednesday each month for 555 baht :-)

 

From their website:

 

[ChiFlyer]

I just checked out the website.

It's a hotel with a restaurant.

I'd never have thought of looking to buy wine there!

Unlimited meat fondue first Wednesday each month for 555 baht :-)

 

 

 

I think I'll skip the fondue party.

[grityorteef]

On Thepprasit, close to the Thepprasit/Thappraya corner, on the left side as you look towards Thappraya is a liquor wholesaler. They have a reasonable selection of reds in their stock, and will sell a few bottles to walk-in customers. Prices seem competitive to Food Mart.

 

I go there at the start of each visit and buy a 4Litre Bag-in-box red to use as casual in-room drinking. If I remember the brand is Mont Clair (or St Clair) and is a South African brand. In my opinion quite drinkable for what it is. I notice in my travels around town that a number of bars use this for their house red. I specifically noticed this in O'Garas in Pratamnak.

 

Grit.

[davidge]

On Thepprasit, close to the Thepprasit/Thappraya corner, on the left side as you look towards Thappraya is a liquor wholesaler. They have a reasonable selection of reds in their stock, and will sell a few bottles to walk-in customers. Prices seem competitive to Food Mart.

 

I go there at the start of each visit and buy a 4Litre Bag-in-box red to use as casual in-room drinking. If I remember the brand is Mont Clair (or St Clair) and is a South African brand. In my opinion quite drinkable for what it is. I notice in my travels around town that a number of bars use this for their house red. I specifically noticed this in O'Garas in Pratamnak.

 

Grit.

Sorry, I think Mont Clair is bloody awful.

 

Each to their own.

[Jarrod2518]

Try the French Casks from Foodmart - I found them OK for table wine and good value. They are a lot better than Mount Clair. However, overall sourcing reasonable quality wine is a problem in most Asian countries. After getting caught with a few extra bottles of red by customs, the Selvin tops show up in the X-Ray baggage screening I now pack a few better quality cardboard casks, not the el cheapo variety. Last trip, about 4mths ago my checked in luggage was checked by X-ray - they did not show up.   

[davidge]

I think I'll skip the fondue party.

I don't think the jacuzzi is actually part of fondue night ;-)

 

Food may be very good in the restaurant.

[ChiFlyer]

I don't think the jacuzzi is actually part of fondue night ;-)

 

Food may be very good in the restaurant.

 

The restaurant is at the front when you walk in. A few guys were having breakfast and it did not look all that appealing. The Australian Shiraz (Millstone) is not bad. Sipping a glass right now and growing fonder of it by the minute. Better than anything I found in the Food Mart anyway. Went back for two more bottles today.

 

Had lunch at the Wooden Box, so I stopped in at the Wine Connection just to look around. They seem to have a limited, but interesting moderately priced selection including a few Pinot Noirs.

[davidge]

The restaurant is at the front when you walk in. A few guys were having breakfast and it did not look all that appealing. The Australian Shiraz (Millstone) is not bad. Sipping a glass right now and growing fonder of it by the minute. Better than anything I found in the Food Mart anyway. Went back for two more bottles today.

 

Had lunch at the Wooden Box, so I stopped in at the Wine Connection just to look around. They seem to have a limited, but interesting moderately priced selection including a few Pinot Noirs.

Thanks for info.

As I drink rather more beer than is good for me in Pattaya, I do drink a lot less wine than at home. Still good to know where I can get decent wine there though. I've had a few disappointing choices from FoodMart.

 

Here, I drink virtually no beer but rather a lot of red :-)

A LOT cheaper to buy drinkable reds here though!

[ChiFlyer]

Thanks for info.

As I drink rather more beer than is good for me in Pattaya, I do drink a lot less wine than at home. Still good to know where I can get decent wine there though. I've had a few disappointing choices from FoodMart.

 

Here, I drink virtually no beer but rather a lot of red :-)

A LOT cheaper to buy drinkable reds here though!

 

About 10 years back, I started having gout attacks. The doc said stop drinking beer. Gout can be triggered by a substance called purines. Beer is loaded with purines. This is why we pissed like race horses when we were younger.

 

I stopped drinking beer. No more gout attacks. btw - the attacks were really painful. A few glasses of red seems to help as well.

[davidge]

About 10 years back, I started having gout attacks. The doc said stop drinking beer. Gout can be triggered by a substance called purines. Beer is loaded with purines. This is why we pissed like race horses when we were younger.

 

I stopped drinking beer. No more gout attacks. btw - the attacks were really painful. A few glasses of red seems to help as well.

As I spend most evenings going around the bars, I drink beer as most of them serve very bad red wine!

I very rarely drink beer here even when I go out - which isn't very often anyway.

[ChiFlyer]

Stopped in at the Tree Tops Wine Collection near the Wooden Box today. Picked up a couple of bottles of a New Zealand Pinot Noir (I am partial to PNs) for 700 Baht each. Gonna have a lady friend by tonight to help evaluate the product. More later.  

[ChiFlyer]

Stopped in at the Tree Tops Wine Collection near the Wooden Box today. Picked up a couple of bottles of a New Zealand Pinot Noir (I am partial to PNs) for 700 Baht each. Gonna have a lady friend by tonight to help evaluate the product. More later.  

 

The sampling party went well, but the Pinot Noir was just ok. Going to try the Liquor Mart on Thepprasit that the other BM commented on. Walked past it the other day and at a glance it looked worth investigating.

 

EDIT: Corrected street name

[grityorteef]

The sampling party went well, but the Pinot Noir was just ok. Going to try the Liquor Mart on Theppraya that the other BM commented on. Walked past it the other day and at a glance it looked worth investigating.

It is the place I go to to buy red wine when I am in town. Will be interested in what you find and your opinion of their range and prices.

 

grit

[ChiFlyer]

It is the place I go to to buy red wine when I am in town. Will be interested in what you find and your opinion of their range and prices.

 

grit

 

Made it over to the Liquor Mart on Thepprasit finally today. Not really a great selection, but not all that bad either. Seems to be about 10% to 15% cheaper than Food Mart for equivalent product.

 

So all in all, I tried 4 places.

 

• Food Mart. Very convenient, as one is likely to be in there anyway.
• Poseidon's Wine Cellar. Really had the best choices, though limited. Staff was knowledgeable and above board. Just think twice about the fondue party. Also directly across the street from VT2 where I stayed.
• Liquor Mart on Thepprasit. Probably the best bang for the buck, but limited choices.
• Wine Collection over near the Wooden Box. Decent selection. Nice place, but probably the highest prices.

Next time I am back, I will probably sample from all again. 

[Rick1980]

Guess I will be landing BKK with wine instead of my usual Rum.