PB Valley Vineyard is the largest vineyard in the Thailand’s Khao Yai region. Covering an area of 1,000 acres on a valley of 350-380 meters above the sea level, the climate is mild for the growing of grapes. Named after its founder, Mr. Piya Bhirombhakdi and opened in 1997, its winery is said to be the largest in South East Asia, with a total of 150,000 bottles of wine produced every year. At an easy distance of 146 km northeast of Bangkok, PB Valley Vineyard and Winery can be included in a short trip to Khao Yai or even a day trip by itself.
PB Valley’s vineyard is open to walk-in visitors and diners. We went on one of their guided tours and will share our experience of it in a while. If you prefer not to join a crowd, private tours are also available upon request.
Lunch at The Great Hornbill Grill & Restaurant
We had lunch at PB Valley’s highly-rated The Great Hornbill Grill & Restaurant, which serves Thai, Western and Fusion cuisine. The restaurant has both indoor and outdoor seating areas in a rustic setting. Seated at the outdoor veranda, we enjoyed views of the vineyard against the backdrop of the faraway mountains as we dined.
The food was good even though prices were steeper here. We ordered from their ala carte menu for our lunch of stir-fried soft shell crabs in yellow curry (320 baht) and tom yam soup (380 baht) with jasmine white rice (30 baht per serving).
It was a satisfying, flavourful and spicy meal washed down with Shiraz grape juice (80 baht) and Pirom Punch (90 baht). The prices quoted above are before 10% service charge and 7% VAT.
For visitors joining the vineyard and winery tour, they also have a wine and dine package. The package consists of a main course, dessert and a glass of Shiraz grape juice. We thought the choices of main course were limited though so we gave it a miss.
In addition, the restaurant also organises cooking class upon request. Reservation is required well in advance and note that a minimum of 4 persons is required for a session to start.
PB Valley’s Guided Vineyard and Winery Tour
PB Valley conducts 5 guided tours a day, at 9am, 10.30am, 12am, 1.30pm and 3.30pm. The 90-mins tour is priced at 320 baht per adult and 250 baht per child (4 to 12 years old). We happened to be here during a travel peak period on a Christmas Eve. So even though we made advance booking prior to travel, some of our preferred slots were already fully booked.
Our tour guide led a group of 45 in 2 such tram cars pulled by a tractor. We passed by their flower gardens, fruit orchards before first stopping at their winery.
Guided Tour – PB Valley’s Winery
According to our tour guide, the vineyard’s wine grapes are in season only once a year, typically from February to March. Hence, there was no activity at the winery during our visit. Our guide briefly explained the whole process of wine-making to us; from harvesting to de-stemming and crushing, then on to pre-fermentation and fermentation, and finally aging. We were then shown around the various rooms in the winery building.
These are the fermentation steel and oak vats for their wines. For red wines, the fermentation period is one month and 2 months for white wine.
We were also shown the wine and brandy aging rooms where the alcoholic drinks are aged in oak barrels in temperature-controlled environment. An interesting fact we learnt is that their oak barrels are typically used for 10 years. So the wine barrels get re-used since the aging period is shorter but brandy can be aged for up to 10 years so their barrels are usually used just once.
Guided Tour – PB Valley’s Wine Tasting
A wine tasting session at their wine tasting and education center is included as part of the guided tour.
The present wine selection available at PB Valley Estate are Chenin Blanc, Shiraz, Colombard, Tempranillo, Durif, Dornfelder and Cabernet Sauvignon. All these are produced from the grapes grown on the estate. During the tasting session, we were served a glass of white and two glasses of red wine. These 3 wines are ‘PB Khao Yai Reserve Chenin Blanc’, ‘PB Valley Rose’ and “PB Khao Yai Reserve Shiraz’. I’m a novice in wine-tasting so I shall not attempt to describe the wines. Visitors under the legal drinking age (20 and below) are served PB Valley’s Shiraz grape juice instead.
This standard tasting set is also available at their restaurant at 150 baht per set.
Guided Tour – PB Valley’s Vineyards
Wine grapes, such as Shiraz, Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chenin Blanc, Colombard, are the main varieties grown in PB Valley’s vineyards.
During the tour, we were brought to a protected area of the estate where table grapes are grown. We were told that these black ‘Marroo Seedless’ are typically harvested around two to three times a year. At the time of our visits, these grapes were still young and green. No picking of the fruits is allowed on the tours and during our visit, the grapes were too young anyway. Here’s how big they were compared to a 1 baht coin.
Contrary to the information on their website and poster, our tour did not include a tour of their fruit orchards. So we did not get close to any of their dragonfruit, passionfruit, mango, starfruit and coffee trees. And I do think the tour was kind of rushed as we were herded from place to place.
PB Valley’s Retail Shop
We did some shopping at their retail shop too, where items on sale include PB Valley’s red and white wine, grape juice, t-shirts and caps and chilled drinks.
They have a wide selection of yummy jam, with flavours like grapes, lime and lychee. We just couldn’t resist getting a few bottles of jam and grape juice for ourselves. We requested to have the glass bottles bubble-wrapped, which I thought was a thoughtful service provided at no extra cost.
Vineyard and winery tour tickets can be used for 5% discount in the retail store and 10% discount at the restaurant. The ticket stubs were collected during wine tasting, but returned to us after we were back in the tram for the discounts, so do make full use of them.
PB Valley’s Flower Park
Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to walk to their Flower Park. The park can be accessed from The Great Hornbill Grill & Restaurant or via a shuttle service at a fee. PB valley also offers bicycle for rental at 50 bahts per hour. Good for those who prefers to roam around the flower park and vineyard by themselves.
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Read about our trip itinerary and the places we visited in Bangkok and Khao Yai Itinerary 2017.
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Useful Information
Address: 102/2 Moo5, Mitraparp Road Payayen Pak Chong District, Nakhon Ratchasima 30320, Thailand
Telephone: +66 81 733 8783
Operating Hours: 8am to 8pm (The Great Hornbill Grill & Restaurant’s open from 9am to 8pm, with extended hours till 10pm on Fridays and Saturdays)
Official Website:: Khao Yai Winery
Tip: Book the tour early if you happened to be travelling there during peak season from December to February (as advised by PB Valley) to avoid disappointment.
