Wine prices in Bangkok are somehow comparable to what we call in German “pharmacy prices”, meaning a price for a slightly overpriced product; the reason for the price being that if you buy such an “ordinary product” in a pharmacy you pay top notch prices as for a “luxury” good.
Every time I go shopping in our supermarket around the corner in Thonglor, I have this “pharmacy” experience when buying wine. Take my latest buy, a ‘2008 Aspen Estate Semillion Sauvignon Blanc’, a simple mass-produced, industrial wine which is shipped to any place in Australia for about A$ 5.40 per bottle plus a A$ 0.90 surcharge for shipping. This wine costs a whopping A$ 17.30 (about 10 Euro) in my supermarket. With such prices one tends to consume only medicinal dosages of fermented grape juice.
Mind you, because of the great wine glut in Australia, companies are flogging their wines for much lower prices than in the past. Therefore, wine prices in my supermarket have come down a little. We also have more choices at the lowest price point (350 to 500 Bath/bottle). Even a Yering Station white you can have for 650 to 800 Bath which is not bad. It is just the taxes which kill us here in Thailand.
I know already your suggestion: why on earth are you not turning your back on Thailand and moving into vintners heaven? Well, eventually I will, be patient mate.
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