Dhaninrat Klinhom, the director of public relations for the Amari Orchid Resort and Tower sent the Dining Out team an invitation to a special wine dinner to be held in their Mantra restaurant. It began with: “Prepare to be tempted by exquisite South Australian wine in the latest Exploration Wine Dinner.” Since it was made public that the wines were from the Wolf Blass label, there was no need for temptation - both Madame and myself consider Wolf Blass wines amongst the best. Prepare to try and stop me!

(L to R) Dr. Salam Amir Hoshang, Managing Director, Relax Journal; Som Corness and Dr. Iain Corness.
When I say that Wolf Blass wines are amongst the best, this is not just a personal opinion. In the past 10 years alone, Wolf Blass wines have won the highly respected Jimmy Watson trophy four times, a historic achievement; awarded Best Australian Wine Producer two years in a row, awarded the prestigious International Winemaker of the Year for the second time in 2002, a remarkable achievement from over 4,000 entries in the competition; and then, the award itself for the International Winemaker of the Year was renamed the Wolf Blass Trophy in 2005; and finally in 2008 Wolf Blass wines were awarded International Red Winemaker of the Year at the International Wine Challenge involving a blind tasting of 9,000 wines from 40 different countries. No further proof of the excellence of these wines is needed.

(L to R) Dr. Salam Amir Hoshang, managing director of Relax Journal; David Cumming, general manager of Amari Orchid Pattaya; and Dr. Iain Corness.

Not only were there five Wolf Blass wines to be drunk with the dinner, but there was also the senior winemaker from Wolf Blass, Matt O’Leary on hand to speak about the wines. He was obviously very proud to be associated with such a winery, speaking with passion when he reiterated the famous expression used by Wolf Blass himself, “My wines make weak men strong and strong women weak!”
The wines with the courses included two whites and three reds, with the first being the Red Label Sauvignon Blanc 2007, a very refreshing white with a good finish. This was teamed with Chef Supachai’s Yellow Tail Carpaccio infused with white truffle oil, and was a sensational start to the dinner.

(L to R) Paul James Matthews of Heaven Sky Holdings Co., Ltd. and Chinda Matthews, managing director of Heaven Sky Holdings Co., Ltd.
The second course was pan-seared, herb-crusted snow fish on squid’s ink angel hair pasta, which other than giving everyone temporary black teeth was magnificent, and the Wolf Blass Yellow label chardonnay in copious quantities with its full-bodied finish helped with the cleaning.
The third course was particularly interesting, being a Ragout of rabbit in a red wine sauce, eaten with the first of the reds, the Yellow label merlot. I expected the rabbit to be rather ‘gamey’ in taste, but it was not, and the merlot with its subtle blend of tastes went well. Some of the diners wanted something with more body, such as the following Red label Shiraz, cabernet sauvignon, which was teamed with an oh so tender char-grilled Australian beef medallion.

(L to R) Yoko Shobuda; Kiyotaka Shobuda, president of AutoAlliance (Thailand) Co., Ltd.; Hidehiko Yonada; and Nami Yonada.

Our pace was certainly starting to flag by this stage, but our appetites returned with the French farm cheese selection, washed down with the Wolf Blass Gold label cabernet sauvignon 2003. Even though this label is more exclusive than the Yellow or Red labels, I enjoyed the Yellow most, though as I always emphasize, wine appreciation is a very personal thing.
The relaxed nature of Mantra’s wine dinners make the entire evening one of total indulgence. The friendly staff, the omnipresent ‘superchef’ Supachai, and some well chosen wines, make for a wonderfully enjoyable event. The minute you go through enormous wooden doors, a smiling service person is placing a reception sparkling wine in your hand and offering you some wonderful hors d’oeuvre (the snow fish was superb).
The next one will be a Penfolds Wine Dinner on Saturday November 21. Prepare to tempt us again, Khun Klinhom! And if you enjoy a good Aussie red (or several good Aussie reds), with some great food from Mantra’s incredible range of cuisines, I would book now.
Mantra Restaurant and Bar, Amari Orchid Resort and Tower, Pattaya Beach Road (just down from the Dolphin Roundabout), telephone 038 429 591, website www.mantra-pattaya.com, open seven days - bar from 5 p.m., restaurant from 6 p.m. and Sunday Brunch 11 a.m. till 3 p.m. For a wine dinner, I do suggest you book. Secure valet parking.

(L to R) Ampawan Kuhasak, social director for Mantra Restaurant & Bar; Matt O’Leary, senior wine maker of Foster’s Asia; Max Sieracki, resident manager at Amari Orchid Pattaya; Supachai Saisoingoen, Amari Orchid Pattaya’s executive chef; Marcus Tan, regional business manager for Malaysia, Thailand & Indo-China with Foster’s Asia; and Jack Tan, brand manager for South East Asia of Foster’s Asia.