25th July 2009 saw the Royal Cliff Wine Club’s exclusive tasting of a select range of unique wines from the PB Khao Yai Winery which took place at the Royal Cliff Grand & Spa, one of the four 5-star hotels at the Royal Cliff Beach Resort. The event was graced by the presence and deep expertise and knowledge of Mr. Prayut Piangbunta, the Chief Winemaker of PB Khao Yai and Thailand’s first winemaker as well as Mr. Sorapat Tongprasroeth, the Senior Vice President of BB Groups Trading Co., Ltd., the marketing company for this winery.
Together with Mr. Ranjith Chandrasiri, Deputy General Manager, Royal Cliff Beach Resort and President of the Royal Cliff Wine Club, the three speakers introduced the fundamentals of wine tasting to new members, fully explaining the methodology and reasoning behind the different techniques as well as highlighting specific aspects to take note of, to the keen members in attendance.
Each of the excellent seven vintages were tested in sequence, with a detailed and illuminating description given by the evening’s speakers of the 3 white wines, 3 reds and 1 rose, starting with the easy to drink Sawasdee PB Valley Chenin Blanc 2007 and ending with the Gold Medal winning PB Khao Yai Reserve Shiraz 2004.
Other favourites of the evening included the Pirom Khao Yai Reserve Chenin Blanc 2007 which is used by Thai Airways as well as the popular Pirom Khao Yai Reserve Tempranillo 2007, the only Tempranillo bottled in Asia.
The wine club members took advantage of this unique opportunity to raise a number of questions from the effects of the global economic slowdown on the winery industry to the specifics of wine making techniques as well as the business aspects of running a competitive winery in Asia.
Thanks to the PB Khao Yai representatives, Mr. Ranjith Chandrasiri as well as the keen wine club members - new and old, the evening proved to be an entertaining and educational event which left all participants asking the date of the next event.
The Royal Cliff Wine Club was launched on the 28th of April, 2001 and is a by-product of the resort's enthusiasm in promoting wines and hosting wine-related events.