Wines

The dining experience at Thai Sa-on has become even better due to our exceptional -- and unexpected -- wine cellar. It's laden with Californian heavy-hitters like Opus One, Dominus, Insignia, and Cinq Cepages, and with elegant Bordeaux such as Chateau Cos d'Estournel-St. Estephe (1995) and Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou-St. Julien (1996). We have earthy Italians, robust Chateauneuf-duPapes, huge Australian shirazes, crisp New Zealand sauvignon blancs, buttery white Burgundies, and soothing Alsatians. It's a list that will bring a smile to the face of even the most discerning wine lover.

Our list is impressive not only because it would look good in any serious contemporary or continental restaurant but also because it is meant to be paired with Thai food -- typically considered to be one of the most difficult cuisines with which to match wine. The abundance of flavors bouncing off the plate has caused many sommeliers to throw their hands up in surrender.

Regardless of common wisdom, we discovered that the quality of our food works very well with good wine. We have repeatedly demonstrated to our customers that crisp Rieslings or sauvignon blancs work well with pan-fried garlic and pepper chicken dishes, and a huge shiraz enhances a red coconut-milk curry beef dish. That is why our customers have slowly shifted from beer to wine over the past two year.

We have accumulated an extensive list of around 300 labels at last count, and keep our wines reasonably priced - as in "jaw-droppingly" reasonable. In fact, many of our labels are priced barely above current retail prices.