Siam Winery’s Monsoon Valley Wines achieve strong 17.5% Growth in Exports

Siam Winery, one of Thailand’s leading wine producers with its Monsoon Valley Wines, has announced strong results through the first 11 months of the year, with total export figures of 248,000 bottles, an increase of 17.5% from last year, and total domestic sales of 41,300 bottles, an increase of 2% from last year. 

“We are very pleased with these results. Although domestic market sales is considerably lower when compared to export sales, but we are seeing a steady increase in sales, as well as awareness amongst the Thais and expats” said Kim Wachtveitl, Director Business Development, Siam Winery Trading Plus.

Even though Samui (up 142%) and Hua Hin (+101%) and Chiang Mai (+126%) year-on-year made staggering increases the company could not make up for the loss stemming from Phuket during the first 8 months of the year.

Monsoon Valley wines are currently listed in over 700 Thai restaurants abroad, with as many as 300 restaurants in the United Kingdom alone. For Thailand, the wines are listed in 197 four and five star hotels and high-end stand alone Thai restaurants. In some of the restaurants in the United Kingdom, Monsoon Valley wines are positioned as the premium house wine, with the volumes reaching 20 cases (240 bottles) per month.

Next year’s forecast for the local and export market is seen as high as 650,000 bottles. This figure will depend on the final outcome of the negotiations with retailers Waitrose, Sainsbury and Tesco in the United Kingdom. Siam Winery is investing GBP 190,000 in both consumer and trade marketing in the United Kingdom market. This will remain the main market, but Siam Winery is also is looking to expand to new markets, with a focus on France and Germany where the combined number of Thai restaurants is as high as 1,000. For the domestic market, Siam Winery will look to continue to educate the general public and encourage wine trails among both locals and expats.

Looking at investment, Siam Winery will continue its development and investment in Khork Chang Vineyard near Pala-U waterfall in Hua Hin. The vineyard will grow a wider variety of grapes and will produce a growing number of different wines in the near future. As it continues to experiment in its nursery garden, the untested varietals such as Grenache, Mourvedre, and Viognier are beginning to thrive in the subtropical climate. The facility will also have an education center for those interested to learn more about wine.

The winery currently produces 4 different wine products under the Monsoon Valley Wine portfolio; Monsoon Valley Malaga Blanc, Monsoon Valley Pokdum, Monsoon Valley Rosé, and Monsoon Valley Shiraz Special Reserve, all of which match in perfect harmony with not only Thai food but also spicy food from around the world. This has inspired the change of its tagline from “Thai Wine for Thai Food” to “The Wine for Spicy Food” which will gain wider reach in markets such as Singapore, where there are many high-profile fusion and ethnic Asian restaurants.

At the end of the year there will be the launch of a brand new wine, the limited edition Monsoon Valley Colombard (White) 2005, which took the first runner up position at the recent FBAT Int’l Wine Challenge. It is the first time a Colombard has been bottled in Thailand. Kim commented, “This wine very much reminds us of a Loire Valley white wine - light, fresh and aromatic. One would never believe it is from a tropical climate. We always believed that sooner or later some of the Thai-made grape wines would outshine some of the imported ones."

Monsoon Valley Colombard (White) 2005 is different from the other wines in the portfolio, as it matches well with Western dishes. The wine will be available only to hotels, restaurants and to some private customers in Thailand, with some to be exported to existing customers in Europe and the USA.

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