The Argentinean wine dinner held recently in the Marriott’s delightful Sala Rim Nam was almost the victim of Thailand’s rainy season. No sooner had the guests taken their seats with a glass of reception wine in their hands, than the heavens opened leaving everyone to run for cover.
Quick thinking by F&B manager Luis Zamora had the guests taken to the lobby bar, while the Marriott staff regrouped to consider their options, while Ross Edward Marks, the Vice President – Wine, Spirits & Beer of the Central Food Retail Company looked on.
To keep the guests entertained while an indoor setting was prepared, the Elephant Bar was thrown open and the diners were at liberty to select any of the Argentinean wines to be sampled that evening. This perhaps put a dent in the expectations, but on the other hand, certainly made for fun and laughter
The wines, which by this stage were ‘free-flow’, were the Santa Julia Extra Brut (originally the reception wine), Santa Julia Fuzion Chenin Blanc-Chardonnay, Santa Julia Fuzion Shiraz-Cabernet and the Santa Julia Malbec.
As soon as the indoor venue was set up, the guests (reluctantly) left the Elephant Bar and sat down for a more formal buffet-style dinner, and this time under cover!
The Marriott staff reacted well to the change in venue and format, and were just so obliging in response to requests (mainly for more wine), that everyone ended up enjoying the evening, despite it being a somewhat different style of wine tasting.
Ross Edward Marks did say that the wines were budget priced, so it might be an idea to go chasing!
