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Booza Wooza Bangkok
Jan 25th 2014
By: Kim Wachtveitl
The greatest beneficiaries of Bangkok’s longest winter season were surely wine lovers, who probably spent even more hours than usual lingering outdoors over our glasses of wine, not having to worry that the heat would corrupt our precious liquid treasures. Not wanting to miss out on this rare meteorological opportunity, Wine Garage, in partnership with Quince – Eatery & Bar, launched our debut Booza Wooza event, a bacchanalian affair hoping to capture the imaginations of those whose passions lie in the realm of drinking and eating.
Our quest was to create a fun atmosphere around food and wine (plus beer) and showcase a range of quality produce from small suppliers. To spice up the event for the knowledge-inclined, 6 intensive workshops were offered–and quickly sold out, proving that fellow wine geeks abound in Bangkok—and fascinated true imbibers with intriguing facts and trivia on terra vinum.
The wine market in Thailand has expanded rapidly over the past years, and consumers are eager to venture outside of usual suspects of Cab, Chard and Shiraz. The five wine suppliers –Wine 5, Siam Winery, Its’s Riesling, Global Vineyards and Wine Garage, plus Hopsession with its unique brews – were chosen precisely for their focus on specific grapes or regions which aren’t yet household names.
The morning of Booza Wooza wracked a few nerves as the thermometer registered a couple of degrees higher than the preceding weeks. By mid-afternoon as more than 200 visitors settled into their glasses of wine, jiggling lightly to whimsical tunes from the live band in the garden, though, the vibe was unequivocally a pleasant buzz. All in all, 60 odd wines were widely tasted, including an amazing Riesling from the Nahe in Germany, an earthy Mourvedre blend from Monpeyroux, Languedoc, a fine-grained white from Collio in Friuli, a perfumed rosé sparkler from Limoux, France, and a zesty Grüner Veltliner from Krems in Austria. Unforgettable was also the deep and hoppy Bombay Pale Ale from Denmark. For the full tasting list please visit https://www.facebook.com/boozawoozabangkok.
No event would be complete without tidbits to eat, and each participating chef or restaurant refused to be outshone by the wine guys: Quince- Eatery & Bar showed off creamy artisanal cheese by Heaven on Cheese from Nakorn Sawan, plus a few Mallorquin tapas from visiting chef Mario Hekke, while neighbouring Cabochon rolled out their homemade northeastern spicy sausages. Chef Julien Lavigne’s compact Pasta Pasta truck made fresh fares on site, while Steve the Accidental Butcher fired up his Barbie unforgettable Tasmanian beef. Ever responsible, all participants regularly paced their imbibing with free-flowing Gerolsteiner Mineral Water.
All in all, not a bad event for making friends, discovering special wines, and taking in the smells, sounds, and the last cool air of the season.
A bientot, Booza Wooza!
