In the land of beer and cheap rum that is Southeast Asia, it’s sometimes better to not drink at all than drink something awful.
…which is why for two months I barely had a drink. While in Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam I went to three rooftop bars and had a couple of overly sweet cocktails, but wary of getting sick while in isolated locations (Ton Sai, in southern Thailand, for example), I generally avoided everything alcoholic. No Sangsom “whisky” (actually Thai rum), and my gluten intolerance kept me away from beers, whether in local establishments or in fancier beer bars.
And I didn’t miss it. I felt better for it, even. But what I did crave was a nice glass of wine with a meal, to sip a glass of something biodynamic and crisp on a steaming Vietnamese terrasse at night. And despite the French influence on the area, that’s one custom that never caught on—too expensive. Since wine isn’t made in any of these countries, the cost of bringing it in (thanks to low valued currencies) is astronomical. At that just had to have wine around for tourists, a glass could cost $10, while an entire meal could cost less than $5. The local beer was cheap, and the local brands of hooch, but those aren’t fit for human consumption, in my opinion. And I’d rather spend the money on a second dinner (or better yet, shaved ice with exotic fruit).
That doesn’t mean I didn’t hunt for good wine, though. I sought out wine bars like I sought out the best pho’ noodle soup. And while wine bars don’t seem to have much longevity in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, I did find one impressive place: Wine Embassy Bar.
They actually have an enomatic wine dispenser system with about 30 bottles available by the glass. The enomatic dispense keeps the bottles fresher for longer, and at the right temperatures. This stands in complete contrast to the rest of the country that believes that reds should always be served at room temperature, which in HCMC is about 35°C.
Why is this place getting it so right when the rest of the country is getting it so wrong? Simply, the owner is French.
Francois Carteau is a French sommelier who knows what the word “terroir” means. He also gets “organic” and “biodynamic,” though he doesn’t have the clientele to stock those kinds of wines. What he does have are well-priced, drinkable French, Spanish, Argentinian, Australian and Italian options, none of which are mind-blowing but all of which are carefully selected.
And the nice thing about Vietnam is service—that is, if you like constant checking in, which, with wine, I do. If you go to The Wine Embassy by yourself you will feel consistently checked in with: what do you think of the wine? Can I get you something else? In clothing stores I was getting sick of being followed around by salespeople and having them constantly looking over my shoulder, literally, but here the experience was more beneficial, and the French training made them more professional in a Western style. It wasn’t necessarily better, but it was more comfortable for me as a foreigner.
The wine: there were names I recognized—Cono Sur, Quincy, Gran Coronas. But then some I didn’t—South Africa’s “The Goatfather” and New Zealand’s “Petit Clos” pinot noir. The list intentionally went from light to heavy, and the point was to compare varietals grown in different locations, without turning the whole thing into too academic an experience.
Helping that was the gorgeous decor. Leather seating, glass-top tables, banquettes, and a brick-backed bar laden with special bottles of Bordeaux and Burgundies that wine-loving patrons had brought to open at the bar.
The happy hour special doesn’t exist here anymore, and there’s no terrasse, but this is the best wine bar in the city, hands down. You can order tasters, 2 oz or full glasses, and I’d rather spend an evening sampling here than drinking plonk at any of the hotel happy hours in the area.
Wine Embassy
13 Ngo Duc Ke, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Map
Mon-Sat 4pm-late
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