HUA HIN, Thailand (Jan. 25, 2011) — Hot air balloon rides are always extraordinary, but they’re that much better when you have arrived in a limo, and touch-down is marked by champagne toasts and live jazz. 

From Feb. 12 through Mar. 6, Hua Hin Hills Vineyard, Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and Stafford Edison International Classic Events will team to host the inaugural Hua Hin Hot Air Ballooning Festival, a three-week celebration of the finer things in life.

The adventure begins daily at 6 a.m., when participating guests are collected from their respective hotels and driven approximately 45 minutes via private limo to Hua Hin Hills Vineyard, a 480-acre plantation that produces grapes for Siam Winery’s most acclaimed label: Monsoon Valley.

That’s followed by a one-hour flight in a hot air balloon over the Hua Hin Hills Vineyard estate and the exotic, rolling countryside that surrounds it.

Once back on the ground, a sparkling wine breakfast is served in a party tent set among the grape vines while a traditional jazz band performs. The morning-long activity concludes with a return limousine ride. 

Each guest also receives an in-flight souvenir photograph and a “Certificate of Grand Voyage”. The special package is priced at US $500 or THB 15,000 per person.

“Given February and March is when our harvest is taking place, the timing for such an event couldn't be better,” said Kim Wachtveitl, Siam Winery’s director of business development. “We will encourage festival-goers to participate at our planned harvest activities.”

Hua Hin Hills Vineyard is located two-and-a-half hours south of Bangkok by car, along a country road that winds through pineapple plantations and quintessential Thai farming villages.

Set on a former elephant corral, the estate is renowned for its panoramic views — of a vineyard hemmed on three sides by a lush range and of visitors touring the grounds by pachyderm — and a bistro whose wine menu features all Siam Winery varietals including Monsoon Valley Cuvée de Siam, a gold-medal winner at the 2010 AWC International Wine Challenge in Austria.