GranMonte Vineyards in Khao Yai, Thailand
About two weeks ago, my family was invited by Khun Visooth, the owner of GranMonte Family Estate, to attend this years harvest festival at GranMonte vineyard in Khao Yai, Asoke Valley, Thailand.
The four of us had rented a car and drove up country for a day of fun, food, entertainment and excellent wines.
Rows of vines at GranMonte
The Adam family: Margit, Charlotte, Lucy and me
We were some of the first guests, and used the time to walk around the vineyards and inspect the cellar door. It was a big event, about 120 plus people were expected.
Chenin Blanc grapes
Chenin Blanc ready to be harvested
Syrah grapes
Beautiful bunches of Syrah
I did not take any pictures during the evening meal. We were just to busy enjoying ourselves. And my little camera is not good at night either. The following pictures were taken while we waited for the start of the harvest festival.
The terrace of the restaurant where dinner would be served later
The restaurant
The GranMonte cellar door
The award winning wines of GranMonte
The entrance to the winery
This is where the event started, the entrance to the winery. We had nibblies and various wines, including freshly fermented grape juice, which we call in German “Federweisser”.
Stainless steel tanks
What would wine be without oak.
Selected wines on oak barrel
Khun Visooth and his family thanking the guests
The party was just wonderful. We enjoyed the food and the free flow of wine. The band played nice music even with some songs from my youth.
One highlight of the evening was the release of the ‘2010 Cabernet Sauvignon-Syrah’, the award winning flagship wine of GranMonte. It was poured from 1 1/2 litre bottles. Delicious stuff.
Unfortunately, we had to leave the very same evening at about 10 in order to get back to Bangkok. I had to leave for the airport the next day at 5 h in the morning. The other guests slept in a nearby hotel and could enjoy a second day of play, wine and food.
We made the best of our time. I loved the music and the band as well as the volunteers singing and dancing. We left fully satisfied with a couple of boxes of GranMonte wine in the car.
Thanks Khun Visooth for inviting us.
If you holiday in Thailand you should set a day aside and organise a day trip to Khao Yai. The mountains are beautiful, the trip is pleasant and in the Asoke Valley a few wineries with restaurants are waiting for you; one of them GranMonte.
Address:
GranMonte Vineyard & Wines
52 Moo 9 Phayayen, Pakchong,
Nakornrachasima, Thailand 30320
Tel : +66-81-923-200-7 , +66-84-904-194-4
+66-81-900-828-2 , +66-80-661-755-5
http://www.granmonte.com/
The Man from Mosel River 
[…] was the second time that I attended this lovely event. You can read about last year in this blog entry. Needless to say that it was utterly enjoyable. In fact it was the highlight of the wine season for […]