Harvest time in Thailand’s Khao Yai wine region

Khao Yai is one of the loveliest regions of Thailand. Its national park is a world heritage site that’s blessed with a lush, mountainous landscape that stretches down to fertile valleys where the pioneers of Thailand’s wine industry planted their first vines. The PB Valley Khao Yai winery was established in 1989, by entrepreneur and visionary Dr. Piya Bhirom-bhakdi, whose family also founded the Singha Corporation. The first vineyard spread over a total of 20 hectares and was planted with Shiraz for the red wine and Chenin Blanc for the white, featuring French rootstock, and Tempranillo from Spain. With the harvest of 1998, PB Valley Khao Yai Winery celebrated its first milestone. The 1999 vintage proved that quality wine could be successfully produced in Thailand and PB’s international awards speak for themselves. Tourists venture here every day for wine tastings and vineyard tours. We were also here to see if this year would be an award winning harvest. From the fields, the harvest goes into the winery where winemaker Joolperra gets to work.
The Great Hornbill Bistro is a sister venue to the Great Hornbill Grill vineyard restaurant at PB Valley. Located on Sukhumvit soi 39 the bistro’s team specializes in modern international cuisine. One of the biggest hits here is the thin crust PB Pizza and you can take classes to learn how to make your own. Some say good wine is wasted without good food. Well, we tend to agree and a bottle of red or white is even more appreciated when you see what’s involved to bring it to the table.