Blog – Page 23 – Wine Garage – Wine Importers Based in Thailand

Stickies & Cheese

Pairing of Thai made cheese with sweet wines

Who said good cheese must come from old Europe? There are some great cheese makers in the Yarra Valley, Australia, some nice ones in California, US and now…Thailand?

Reinhard Matheis left the commercial food industry to set up this artisan operation near Nakhorn Sawan, about 3 hours north of Bangkok. The milk he buys from a nearby coop which isnt certified organic, but surely free of additives. He uses French molds and cultures to create these creamy cheese. Each batch can taste slightly differently depending on what the cows have eaten.

The Thai-made Reblochon, Munster, Camembert and Brie are all good, despite being quite creamy. Well worth searching out at Heaven on Cheese.

Below you will find the sweet wine pairing which completed the strong cheeses nicely.

Strong and creamy cheese need sweet wines!

Bubbles & Bivalves

Bill Marinelli talked about sustainable seafood and explained how memoirs (similar to terroirs for wine) makes oysters taste different from one another. It is in fact quite simple, and ultimately the water quality surrounding the oyster bed decides the outcome.

Blair of Quince Eatery and Bar added some variety to the Barron Point oyster by topping them with cucumber granita, lemon black pepper or our favorite spiced tomato jelly.

All 5 samples tasted unique and refreshing, while pairing very well with a prosecco, cremant, US method champenoise, Check out the menu here

Camille Saves Millesime 2004

Persistance from Bouvy — Grower Champagne

The Saves are one of the few top growers in the famed Grand Cru village of Bouzy. All their cuvees are made from grapes grown in the Montagne de Reims and are worth searching out, as they represent a relative value.

Always a blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, the 2004 vintage was at 9 years still too young to fully enjoy. Tight, focused, but not giving much on the nose, this Champagne has class and depth and can be enjoyed over the next 5-7 years.

3.5 out of 5 stars, possibly more when mature.

Booza Wooza Workshop

: Fairground for the wine-minded

Participating wine & beer importers led a fast paced tasting session to sold out workshops. Shows the need for more wine gatherings in Bangkok.

Booza Wooza Bangkok

Booza Wooza was created to bring the enjoyment of wine to a fun level. Gather passionate wine importers and restaurateurs together in a nice location such as Quince Eatery & Bar, and you have a good crowd relaxing to live music. Repeat again soon!

Hotel Jules & Jim, Paris

Full disclosure! This is a hotel in Marais which is run by my brother-in-law. After leaving the business and a lovely Chateau hotel behind in Normandy, he now emerged with a stylish enclave in the outskirts of the Marais.

Friendly staff, nicely designed, with an amazing courtyard and bar. Just right for a short stop over in Paris.

11 Rue des Gravilliers, 75003 Paris

Tel:+33 1 44 54 13 13

Musashino Beer, Japan

Japanese food is great, Japanese products are perfect, Japanese beer…I am not quite sure. While it tastes pure and balanced, there was something lacking in Musashino’s artisan beer.

At a premium price, a beer like this should have more depth and layered flavor.

3.5 out of 5

Nyetimber Sparkling Classic Cuvee, England

A welcome to a British home, aka hotel, is perfected by a bottle of English Sparkling wine…I wished the same for Thailand one day.

Nytimber must be the most famous name around, even though there must be more than 20 good sparklers now from Sussex.

Tastes like a Champagne, well made, just lacking a bit of persistence. Brut, quite dry and with good acidity.

3.5 out of 5 stars

Trimbach Riesling Clos St Hune 1990, Alscace

One should always appreciate generous hosts who dig out old bottles of a very fine wine. The Clos St Hune is regarded as a top dry Riesling which can age and age and age, but this 23-year old must have been stagnant for some time.

While not yet oxidizing, it just did not deliver the complexity combined with freshness it is known for; not even with this yummy yellow curry crab in one of Bangkok’s best kept secrets.

3 out of 5 stars

Gosset Brabant Cuvee Gabriel 2002, Champagne

Opening a grower Champagne can be tricky in front of guests, as they take time to evolve in the glass. Shy out of the glass some can develop into the finest sparkler you have tried, while some taste overtly of apple juice or can be made in such an oxidative way you believe it is over the hill.

Not so with every bottle of Gosset Brabant I have had. Structured and refined, this small house embodies power and delicate notes. Enjoy!

4.5 out of 5 stars