Sangthai's New Wine List

Most customers in Thai restaurants choose Thai beer or house wine, fearing to venture too far down the wine list. Often the list has all the signs of being written by a merchant keen to promote certain wines, aided perhaps with knowledge of what they are selling to Chinese or Indian restaurants. Other lists have more of a geographical appeal, wines are listed from every wine-growing region in the world in the hope that it may appear authoritative, and that something will be able to match the food.

At Sangthai we take our food, and wine seriously: herbs and spices are flown in weekly from Thailand and Thai staff prepare and serve our award-winning food, which doesn’t pull any punches in the flavour department. But what also marks this Thai restaurant out is the care and attention given to the wine list. Various wine merchants are used but not one of them puts the list together. With the assistance of our consultant, John Wynne, the wine list is created once a year but no sooner is it printed than the following year’s wines are being sorted out. New wines are matched against those on the list, but all final tastings take place with Thai food. We are convinced that this is the way forward in selecting wines to accompany a cuisine that many still regard as being difficult to partner with fine wines.

It’s not too hard finding a white or rosé wine that is acceptable with Thai food; chilled wine in the mouth will feel refreshing even if the flavours are subdued. It takes more skill to discover wines that produce wonderful combinations of flavours with the food. But what about red wines? In our numerous tasting experiments we have found that while some red wines are not at their best with Thai food, others are outstanding. The cassis and cedarwood flavours of Cabernet Sauvignon are rendered mute by spicy coconut curries but this same fiery food brings out an extra dimension of fruitiness and perfume in wines made from Tempranillo, Syrah (Shiraz) and even Pinotage. Two red wines on the new list that really exemplify the best aspects of the combination of red wine and hot dishes are the Ruins Pinotage from South Africa and The Rioja Especiale, Urbina. The Pinotage is a very full and fruity wine but after the palate has experienced spicy food it takes on extra brilliance and intensity. No one would claim that Pinotage is a subtle product but fine Rioja is and one would expect it to be lost when confronting highly spiced food. The Urbina is unabashed and its gentle sweet fruit flavours sing on beyond the food`s attack.

We know that authentic Thai cuisine is the main attraction at Sangthai, but next time you visit us we hope that you gain extra pleasure from trying our various food and wine combinations. If you’re not yet convinced, tasting is believing.