Barefoot Pink Moscato is one of my favourites... Was never a fan of Rose wine only drank white wine (hate Red) but since meeting my wife I love it - Had one called Bella Medella (sp) at our wedding, lovely!!
Can only be purchased online though or from a wine shop over by Hampton Court Palace
Hot tip if you buy your wine at the supermarket. Look for the wine that's in short supply and outselling the rest. If you shop at Sainsbury I will wager you will have to reach in for the Californian Dark Horse and Apothic red (£10 but often one will be on offer for £7 or £8). Smooth as you like.
I love all wine, but find white gives me a banging hangover but red doesn't yet the consensus is that it should be the other way around - does anyone else have this experience?
My wife has the same problem.
For the record I love a Rioja.
And on the subject of value for money, at the cheaper end you have to factor in the cost of the bottle, i.e. every 10p over the cost of the bottle should indicate an improvement in the quality of the wine. At the upper end, it's not a factor, as it's such a small percentage of the cost.
Once you get over £20 quid a bottle I refuse to believe there is any discernible taste benefit and you are paying for the brand you are drinking.
My Bulgarian mate (he who is mates with Kishi) gave me a long lecture arguing exactly the opposite. He says that the more expensive the wine, the more actual grapes have been used. Less expensive means more sugar and other cheating. He had brought me a Napa Valley red wine from a small vineyard. I don't know much about Californian wines but I must say it was one of the best wines I have ever drunk. Afterwards I looked it up on Cellar Tracker and saw that people are paying $60 a bottle for it (retail, not in restaurants, I presume). I wouldn't pay that sort of money easily, but it made me think about his argument, which I had never heard before. (He'd learnt it from a mate who is in the business)
Reds quite partial to Waitrose Garnacha White Villa Maria Sav but Aldi do a great NZ sav under £6 Rose prefer Chilian but rarely available Turkish varieties are great.
I'd be really interested to find out what ones are to avoid and what ones are encouraged.
I was a member of Virginia wines for a bit but couldn't really justify the ongoing financial commitment, a cold rioja and a smooth cabernet sauvingnon are what I err towards.
And also what wines won't give me a pounding dehydration headache. I can do that to myself with beer
I am up for putting my hand in my pocket for a decent wine that is not full of sugar and additives, where can I find such a gem?
About fifteen years ago I bought some French wines en primeur. One case (Lafite) I sold as it was my son's eighteenth birthday present and it paid for his first year at Uni. The others were Chateaux Rieussec, Leoville Barton, and Lynch Bages. I'm just getting to the end of them and they've all been cracking, and cost me about a quarter of the current retail price. In a fair to good year, if you've got the money to spare and can find something at a reasonable price, I'd recommend buying en primeur. The problem is the reasonable price part as the Chinese have been driving up the prices.
If you bought en primeur in Bordeaux up to 2008, for most of the noughties you'd have made money. Up until last year every vintage after 2008 you'd lose money and have to pay cellaring costs. Sure there's a chateau's vintage here and there which went up, but they're often sold out before all the experts have released their ratings.
Whatever you do now, I'd say just buy for fun. And yes St Julien chateaus offer a lot of quality at almost affordable prices: Leoville Barton is still priced well, to the annoyance of many of the other 'super seconds'.
EP in Bordeaux is majorly broke. If you saw the margins for merchants, well basically when they include costs they're not making any money. May be good for us in the future as there's lots of wines in chateau's cellars that haven't been sold and they may need quick cash if China turn.
If you like dessert wines, there's excellent value in Sauternes and Barsac: Plus half bottles are readily available . Perfect with pretty much all kind of garden barbecued spicey meats or fish.
I'd second whoever says that Rioja, and the lesser lights of Ribeira Del Duero, are sumptuous at superb prices. From Muriel's co-op reserva to the Wine Society's Rioja Reserva, you're getting quality that's often been aged before released to market and would be at least double the price if from Bordeaux.
Now, I realise for humorous effect, but you've just taken the Premiers Crus from the 1855 classification. In fact many of the Deuxièmes Crus chateaux have upped their game and are at least as good and have been called "Super Seconds" but, of course are not (quite) as expensive.
Further, the 1855 classification ignored completely Pomerol and St. Emilion. Including those appellation today in the wine equivalent of the Premier League would make things look very different. (Think how the football league looked back in the day and now think Bournemouth and Hull.)
But the whole wine buying thing is fraught with danger and disappointment. Take St. Emilion for example. A highly regarded appellation. But it has three distinct areas of terrior. It is no co-incidence that the majority of the Grand Cru class wines come from the hills around the village of St Emilion rather than up on the plateau or down on "the flats".
My suggestion for a decent wine at a decent price would be either a 2012 or a 2015 from one of the St Emilion satellite appellations of Puisseguin St. Emilion, Lussac St. Emilion, St. Georges St. Emilion or - perhaps the best as it is only separated from St. Emilion proper by a small river - Montagne St. Emilion.
Another tip for something a little different would be a Maury. This French appellation is right down on the border with Spain and produces a fortified wine very similar to Port. Laithwaites do one in half litre bottles which is inexpensive and makes for a great accompaniment for cheese.
Finally a story. My Dad had a friend who had a Chateau (a right dump as it happens) in Blaye. When he was over here once, we went out for a meal and Philippe was asked to choose a wine, which he did. When it came back, he did that sniffing thing and said "this is not the right wine". The waiter said "I can assure you it is". He replied, "No, it is the right Chateau but not the year stated in your list; it is not so good". It was very impressive but also taught a lesson that sometimes vintage is more important than Cru.
My wife is a massive red wine fan and I've taken a few years to appreciate a red and tbh, I'd rather have a glass of red over a beer now I think.
For a quaffable, cheap red, I don't think you can really go wrong with a Yellow Tail Merlot. Normally £6 a bottle in Sainsbury's. They usually have a deal on where you can buy 6 cheaper.
The best red wine I've tasted was a Meerlust Rubicon. A South African red. Our saffer mate's parents own a farm 20 mins away from the Meerlust estate and they get great deals dealing direct. We've got a couple of boxes of Rubicon that we've had shipped over but its saved for special occasions. We're off to SA in either November or January so hopefully we will be popping in and bringing a few more bottles back with us.
Special mention for Champion Wines in Chislehurst. Fab shop and very knowledgeable staff and occasionally they get some Meerlust in too!
Two great "can't go wrong" riojas, both on quality and price.....Imperial (Cune) and Muga.......can be found in Majestic. Just noted that the Imperial is also available from Waitrose £21.99......go on splash out, you'll not be disappointed!
I'd be really interested to find out what ones are to avoid and what ones are encouraged.
I was a member of Virginia wines for a bit but couldn't really justify the ongoing financial commitment, a cold rioja and a smooth cabernet sauvingnon are what I err towards.
And also what wines won't give me a pounding dehydration headache. I can do that to myself with beer
I am up for putting my hand in my pocket for a decent wine that is not full of sugar and additives, where can I find such a gem?
Read reviews - lots in the Saturday and Sunday papers. Go to a quality off licence and talk to the staff. Think of joining The Wine Society - I think it's £40 for life membership and you get access to lots of wine that's made in too small quantities for the supermarkets to bother with. Look at spending the same on a bottle from an unfashionable area, e.g. Alsace, as you would from somewhere like Bordeaux and you'll probably get a better wine.
You can certainly get good wine at supermarkets but the choice is restricted to the massive producers.
For regular drinking wines, Village Wines in Bexley Village are good. They normally have lots of underrated wines from vineyards just outside of the official regions.
If you're ever in town, Hedosnism wines on Davies Street is fantastic. Little pricey but never had anything but an amazing wine from there.
About fifteen years ago I bought some French wines en primeur. One case (Lafite) I sold as it was my son's eighteenth birthday present and it paid for his first year at Uni. The others were Chateaux Rieussec, Leoville Barton, and Lynch Bages. I'm just getting to the end of them and they've all been cracking, and cost me about a quarter of the current retail price. In a fair to good year, if you've got the money to spare and can find something at a reasonable price, I'd recommend buying en primeur. The problem is the reasonable price part as the Chinese have been driving up the prices.
If you bought en primeur in Bordeaux up to 2008, for most of the noughties you'd have made money. Up until last year every vintage after 2008 you'd lose money and have to pay cellaring costs. Sure there's a chateau's vintage here and there which went up, but they're often sold out before all the experts have released their ratings.
Whatever you do now, I'd say just buy for fun. And yes St Julien chateaus offer a lot of quality at almost affordable prices: Leoville Barton is still priced well, to the annoyance of many of the other 'super seconds'.
EP in Bordeaux is majorly broke. If you saw the margins for merchants, well basically when they include costs they're not making any money. May be good for us in the future as there's lots of wines in chateau's cellars that haven't been sold and they may need quick cash if China turn.
If you like dessert wines, there's excellent value in Sauternes and Barsac: Plus half bottles are readily available . Perfect with pretty much all kind of garden barbecued spicey meats or fish.
I'd second whoever says that Rioja, and the lesser lights of Ribeira Del Duero, are sumptuous at superb prices. From Muriel's co-op reserva to the Wine Society's Rioja Reserva, you're getting quality that's often been aged before released to market and would be at least double the price if from Bordeaux.
This is generally true for the top growths but it is still possible to get decent value in Bordeaux en primeur particularly if you go for the 4th and 5th growths, second wines and some of the better cru bourgeois (I know that doesn't exist any more) in a decent vintage e.g. Ch. Angledut. The Chinese aren't interested in those kind of wines. Zi's anti-corruption drive over the last few years should see normaility returning to the Bordeaux and Burgundy markets soon I hope.
That said, I'm now avoiding Bordeaux except in exceptional vintages and spending my money on Cotes du Rhones (Gaillard is a favourite) and Riojas (Rioja Alta is my favourite bodega).
The best wine purchase I ever made was my membership of the Wine Society. I get 80% of my wine from there and have rarely been disappointed with a purchase at whatever price and never with their service.
Trying to buy quality, and keeping them, rather than just a wine you enjoy from supermarkets for a decent price, is indeed a minefield.
Finally when we finished our house here, I got a wine room (it isn't really a cellar, it isn't entirely under ground, unfortunately), and tried to get serious. I've been regularly buying Hugo Johnson's pocket books, and supplement that with Oz Clarke's too. More recently Cellar Tracker, gives a general guide to what other punters think.
I am not sure I always buy a good wine this way, but it's very rare that we have to drink a disappointing wine, (unless its a gift) because it has always come from our room, and well matched with the food (we hope) rather than a quick purchase from the supermarket.
Matching wine and food is another minefield, but those two books help quite a lot with that too.
To some extent the region you recommend has to be your personal taste, surely, and depends on what food you might have with it. Rioja is a nailed on winner with roast lamb, but with a steak, especially with a strong sauce, I would choose an Aussie shiraz or Cab. sauvignon. When I was young, the French wines were all the gold standard, then of course we were all introduced to the New World wines. Nowadays I find that I don't much care for Burgundy wines, but like the reds from the southern Med areas, and am renewing my taste for Bordeaux (after our holiday there). Just my personal taste, not trying to say one region is"better" than the other. We have a lot of Austrian wines, it's a real success for the country, although they are brilliant marketeers too, so try to do some research to seek out the best .
I would love to know how to get hold of decent Californian wine for a decent price, seems you have to pay a fair bit.
Finally I am a bit suspicious of the way 14% has become the norm alcohol content level. When I was young it was 11%. As I learnt from the Bass guys way back, "alcohol tastes" so it can be a cheap way of making the wine have an impact on your taste buds. The question is how the alcohol content gets up to that level.
If you want a decent Red for a cheap price I can recommend this from Lidl - Baturrica Tarragona Gran Reserva only £4.99 a bottle and very drinkable, known as the House Red at my place , enjoy.
I cant get past any NZ Marlboroughs. I am so predictable but it is my favourite every day drinking wine. Someone always has an offer on. No more than 10 quid in the supermarket and normally about 20-25 in most pubs depending on what pub obviously. But the Red Lion has a good one for £18.50 which is a good price for me.
Winter I normally tend to drink a Malbec. I'm a boring new world wine me don't venture too far off.
Obviously I enjoy trying out fine wines but for every day drinking NZ Sav Blanc all the way.
I sometimes find context helps. I visited a few vineyards in Mendoza, Argentina. Tried some cracking Malbecs and Syrahs in great surroundings. Never quite tasted the same when I took a bottle or two home.
Did a wine tour of the Hunter valley as well. Got absolutely mashed on free tastings. Again, the ones I bought were nothing special but at the time were amazing!
I'd be really interested to find out what ones are to avoid and what ones are encouraged.
I was a member of Virginia wines for a bit but couldn't really justify the ongoing financial commitment, a cold rioja and a smooth cabernet sauvingnon are what I err towards.
And also what wines won't give me a pounding dehydration headache. I can do that to myself with beer
I am up for putting my hand in my pocket for a decent wine that is not full of sugar and additives, where can I find such a gem?
Read reviews - lots in the Saturday and Sunday papers. Go to a quality off licence and talk to the staff. Think of joining The Wine Society - I think it's £40 for life membership and you get access to lots of wine that's made in too small quantities for the supermarkets to bother with. Look at spending the same on a bottle from an unfashionable area, e.g. Alsace, as you would from somewhere like Bordeaux and you'll probably get a better wine.
You can certainly get good wine at supermarkets but the choice is restricted to the massive producers.
Cheers mate, I know price isn't always an indicator of quality and I've heard of very decent award winning wines being sold for pence but I would like to try a wine that is going to not be filed with crap.
Cheers mate, I know price isn't always an indicator of quality and I've heard of very decent award winning wines being sold for pence but I would like to try a wine that is going to not be filed with crap.
Any particular wines to get me started?
Price is a decent indicator of quality I'd say. Certainly at the lower end - I would avoid wine costing £6 or less. If you calculate bottling, labelling and transport there's bugger all left for the wine itself. I expect some criticism for saying this but IMHO the alcohol content is also a reasonable indication of relative quality. Poorer, thinner wines tend to be 13% or less, 13.5 to 15% better. This opinion doesn't support the view that Thunderbird is a good wine just because it's 17% or whatever it is!
For me you cant beat a good Rioja (be careful there are some poor cheap ones out there as well), but if money isn't the driver then a Chateaunuef Du Pape from Morrisons at about £15.99 per bottle is very nice as well.
Comments
Keep meaning to go here. Looks very good.
Can only be purchased online though or from a wine shop over by Hampton Court Palace
For the record I love a Rioja.
And on the subject of value for money, at the cheaper end you have to factor in the cost of the bottle, i.e. every 10p over the cost of the bottle should indicate an improvement in the quality of the wine. At the upper end, it's not a factor, as it's such a small percentage of the cost.
Nothing else is worth drinking
https://www.lidl.co.uk/en/Red-Wine-3660.htm?articleId=1343
They also do a rather special Chianti, Black Cock, Reserve and a real quality red wine.
https://www.lidl.co.uk/en/Red-Wine-3660.htm?articleId=1342
White Villa Maria Sav but Aldi do a great NZ sav under £6
Rose prefer Chilian but rarely available Turkish varieties are great.
....and very cheap too.
Known locally as P*ssed Fanny.
I'd be really interested to find out what ones are to avoid and what ones are encouraged.
I was a member of Virginia wines for a bit but couldn't really justify the ongoing financial commitment, a cold rioja and a smooth cabernet sauvingnon are what I err towards.
And also what wines won't give me a pounding dehydration headache. I can do that to myself with beer
I am up for putting my hand in my pocket for a decent wine that is not full of sugar and additives, where can I find such a gem?
Whatever you do now, I'd say just buy for fun. And yes St Julien chateaus offer a lot of quality at almost affordable prices: Leoville Barton is still priced well, to the annoyance of many of the other 'super seconds'.
EP in Bordeaux is majorly broke. If you saw the margins for merchants, well basically when they include costs they're not making any money. May be good for us in the future as there's lots of wines in chateau's cellars that haven't been sold and they may need quick cash if China turn.
If you like dessert wines, there's excellent value in Sauternes and Barsac: Plus half bottles are readily available . Perfect with pretty much all kind of garden barbecued spicey meats or fish.
I'd second whoever says that Rioja, and the lesser lights of Ribeira Del Duero, are sumptuous at superb prices. From Muriel's co-op reserva to the Wine Society's Rioja Reserva, you're getting quality that's often been aged before released to market and would be at least double the price if from Bordeaux.
Further, the 1855 classification ignored completely Pomerol and St. Emilion. Including those appellation today in the wine equivalent of the Premier League would make things look very different. (Think how the football league looked back in the day and now think Bournemouth and Hull.)
But the whole wine buying thing is fraught with danger and disappointment. Take St. Emilion for example. A highly regarded appellation. But it has three distinct areas of terrior. It is no co-incidence that the majority of the Grand Cru class wines come from the hills around the village of St Emilion rather than up on the plateau or down on "the flats".
My suggestion for a decent wine at a decent price would be either a 2012 or a 2015 from one of the St Emilion satellite appellations of Puisseguin St. Emilion, Lussac St. Emilion, St. Georges St. Emilion or - perhaps the best as it is only separated from St. Emilion proper by a small river - Montagne St. Emilion.
Another tip for something a little different would be a Maury. This French appellation is right down on the border with Spain and produces a fortified wine very similar to Port. Laithwaites do one in half litre bottles which is inexpensive and makes for a great accompaniment for cheese.
Finally a story. My Dad had a friend who had a Chateau (a right dump as it happens) in Blaye. When he was over here once, we went out for a meal and Philippe was asked to choose a wine, which he did. When it came back, he did that sniffing thing and said "this is not the right wine". The waiter said "I can assure you it is". He replied, "No, it is the right Chateau but not the year stated in your list; it is not so good". It was very impressive but also taught a lesson that sometimes vintage is more important than Cru.
For a quaffable, cheap red, I don't think you can really go wrong with a Yellow Tail Merlot. Normally £6 a bottle in Sainsbury's. They usually have a deal on where you can buy 6 cheaper.
The best red wine I've tasted was a Meerlust Rubicon. A South African red. Our saffer mate's parents own a farm 20 mins away from the Meerlust estate and they get great deals dealing direct. We've got a couple of boxes of Rubicon that we've had shipped over but its saved for special occasions. We're off to SA in either November or January so hopefully we will be popping in and bringing a few more bottles back with us.
Special mention for Champion Wines in Chislehurst. Fab shop and very knowledgeable staff and occasionally they get some Meerlust in too!
Just noted that the Imperial is also available from Waitrose £21.99......go on splash out, you'll not be disappointed!
You can certainly get good wine at supermarkets but the choice is restricted to the massive producers.
If you're ever in town, Hedosnism wines on Davies Street is fantastic. Little pricey but never had anything but an amazing wine from there.
That said, I'm now avoiding Bordeaux except in exceptional vintages and spending my money on Cotes du Rhones (Gaillard is a favourite) and Riojas (Rioja Alta is my favourite bodega).
The best wine purchase I ever made was my membership of the Wine Society. I get 80% of my wine from there and have rarely been disappointed with a purchase at whatever price and never with their service.
Finally when we finished our house here, I got a wine room (it isn't really a cellar, it isn't entirely under ground, unfortunately), and tried to get serious. I've been regularly buying Hugo Johnson's pocket books, and supplement that with Oz Clarke's too. More recently Cellar Tracker, gives a general guide to what other punters think.
I am not sure I always buy a good wine this way, but it's very rare that we have to drink a disappointing wine, (unless its a gift) because it has always come from our room, and well matched with the food (we hope) rather than a quick purchase from the supermarket.
Matching wine and food is another minefield, but those two books help quite a lot with that too.
To some extent the region you recommend has to be your personal taste, surely, and depends on what food you might have with it. Rioja is a nailed on winner with roast lamb, but with a steak, especially with a strong sauce, I would choose an Aussie shiraz or Cab. sauvignon. When I was young, the French wines were all the gold standard, then of course we were all introduced to the New World wines. Nowadays I find that I don't much care for Burgundy wines, but like the reds from the southern Med areas, and am renewing my taste for Bordeaux (after our holiday there). Just my personal taste, not trying to say one region is"better" than the other. We have a lot of Austrian wines, it's a real success for the country, although they are brilliant marketeers too, so try to do some research to seek out the best .
I would love to know how to get hold of decent Californian wine for a decent price, seems you have to pay a fair bit.
Finally I am a bit suspicious of the way 14% has become the norm alcohol content level. When I was young it was 11%. As I learnt from the Bass guys way back, "alcohol tastes" so it can be a cheap way of making the wine have an impact on your taste buds. The question is how the alcohol content gets up to that level.
https://www.lidl.co.uk/en/Red-Wine-3660.htm?articleId=1346
Winter I normally tend to drink a Malbec. I'm a boring new world wine me don't venture too far off.
Obviously I enjoy trying out fine wines but for every day drinking NZ Sav Blanc all the way.
Did a wine tour of the Hunter valley as well. Got absolutely mashed on free tastings. Again, the ones I bought were nothing special but at the time were amazing!
Any particular wines to get me started?