A Taste of Thailand: Monsoon Valley Wines
If you've never sampled Thai wine before, start with a bottle from award-winning winemaker Monsoon Valley — perfect for pairing with sumptuous Thai food
Australian, South African, Chilean… Even though the list of wines we drink today leaps from continent to continent, most of still don't think of Thailand as a winemaking nation. But that's all starting to change, thanks to Monsoon Valley Wines, an first-class winery that's bringing award-winning reds, whites and rosés to tables across the UK.
As any winemaker knows, a good wine starts with the finest grapes, and at the Siam Winery, near Bangkok, the especially imported Australian and French vines thrive in the loamy, sandy slate terrain, where the sea breeze imparts an aromatic, mineral-rich flavour to the wine. When they're perfectly ripened, each grape is then carefully selected to make Monsoon Valley's premium vintages.
It's neither Old nor New World at Monsoon Valley; in fact the winery is a leader in 'new latitude wines' — an innovative approach to winemaking that's rewriting the rulebook for untraditional regions, combining the respected traditions of Old World winemaking with the cutting-edge science of modern producers.
Suppached Sasomsin, Monsoon Valley's winemaker, brings his wealth of experience to the vineyards of Thailand — he's studied viticulture and winemaking in France, Italy and Spain, and has also worked in both New Zealand and Germany's Palatinate region.
Whether it's a bright, lively white or a punchy red, a glass of Monsoon Valley is a perfect match for a Thai feast. For example, the mango and citrus notes in Monsoon Valley's white pair beautifully with the garlicky flavours of pad thai, while one of the punchy, plummy reds can easily hold its own against the savoury aromas of a deep, rich beef panang curry.
But oenophiles looking for something different don't have to rely on a trip to Thailand to pick up a bottle of Monsoon Valley's prize-winning wine. In London, a number of Thai restaurants are now filling their racks with Monsoon Valley, joined by a host of online retailers including Amazon, Snooth and Uvinum.
For more information and stockists, head to monsoonvalleywine.co.uk.
Click here for recipes and wine pairings from Bangkok, Southern Thailand and the Central Plains.
