Wine

[Lord Kangana]

There you go General. What would you like to know?


(Mods, any chance of a sticky, to help others and not to feed my ego, naturally.)

[Bruce Rioja]

ASDA are knocking out 2011 Les Dauphins Cotes du Rhone Reserve at £5.00 a bottle. In my best Jilly Goolden "It's fecking lush, Chief".

I'm about to nip there and pick some more up

[TANGODANCER]

There you go. Stuck.

[Lord Kangana]

Feel the TW love.

Bruce, if you spot any of that there Rhone Vally stuff (indeed any from anywhere in the Rhone) from 2010 buy immediately. It was, so the word on the street says, a Monster Year.

[Bruce Rioja]

Cheers, Lord. Will do.

[General Mannerheim]

All I know is when we go out to a nice restaurant, I love a glass of red, same when we go the father in-laws, but he spends a mint. But the stuff she brings home from the supermarket is very hit and miss, she doesn't care where its from or its age, she gets what's on offer! Most of the time its pretty rancid! I'm guilty too, I do read the label but generally end up picking the poshest looking one!

So I guess, like verbal was after - just some reasonable priced supermarket reccys?

[Lord Kangana]

Bruce's recco from Asda is good. As I've said before, they also knock out a good Portuguese DAO (Extra Special, or whatever Asda does) for a fiver. A word to the wise, for a good kick off, Morrisons and Sainsburys are probably the two best supermarkets for everyday wine, and Sainsburys generally the best for their own branded range (smell the difference or wtf its called). Tesco is generally rubbish and Asda is hit-and-miss.

But whatever you do, unless you're cleaning your drains, don't under any circumstance buy the 3-for-a-tenner offers. They are shite and a rip off at that price. I was at my mum's the other day, and spotted these incredibly shit looking bottles of some generic Spanish red. "Reduced from £9.99" says she. "A case?" Asks me. Its bollox, you can pick those bottles up for around a euro on the continent.

If you want to start branching out, might I suggest buying wines from other than the supermarket? Theres loads of shops in Manc, might I suggest a bottle of this from Evuna in Manchester http://www.evuna.com/Shop__Item.asp?id=43" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; (I've no ide how you do that fancy link-text malarky). Top notch with some Prawns and Chilli.

[William the White]

Yep - Evuna also good for tapas - see their 'lunch menu' for excellent bargain.

Spanish and Portuguese reds often offer excellent value.

Of the Portuguese - Dao, Douro and Alentejo reds are excellent. Alentejo whites also splendid.

Rioja reds are almost always decent, and sometimes much better than that.

Most of the truly great wines I love are French - Burgundy in particular. But pricey, save for a treat, then buy some Gevrey Chambertain.

More everyday price - but on the top of that range - you can find Fleurie, a nice, medium bodied Beaujolais - for around £7-9...

[Little Green Man]

As I've said before, they also knock out a good Portuguese DAO (Extra Special, or whatever Asda does) for a fiver.

The Dao in my Asda was seven quid half an hour ago, I suspect it may not be the same one though. Got a bottle of Argentine Malbec instead, the one with the bull on it, for a few pennies less than a fiver.

As LK says, the 3 for a tenner wines there are dire with the possible exception of the Albali Verdejo blend which, seeing I needed something to chuck a risotto later, found its way into my bag. It's certainly not significantly worse than the other Verdejos they sell. Of course they'll all be disappearing from supermarkets up here soon when the minimum alcohol price comes in. Call me cynical but I bet that results with all wine going up in price, not just the cheap stuff.

[Burnden Paddock]

I tend to go for those wines on offer at £5-£6 and generally the one with the biggest reduction.

In terms of white wine, I tend to stick to chardonnay. I detest both pinot grigio (tastes of nowt) and sauvignon blanc (just not for me).

Red is usally shiraz of some sort or argentine malbec. Not that I have very broad tastes. I like my reds the same as my beer, generally higher in alcohol content and thus taste.

I occasionally go into the places linked below, but once i'm outside my comfort zone of the supermarket i'm pretty much fecked.

http://www.ewga.net/?WINETIME They are at Carnforth and do a wine tasting day here http://www.longlandshotel.co.uk/ with very informative demo's the first Saturday in October that we've been to a few times. Cracking do tbf. Wine tasting about £8 which includes a decent wine glass (we have been known to 'sweep' the room at the end to increase our collection ops) , with a 3 course meal available in the evening in the region of £20 which includes wine left over from the day and a few more bottles beside. Food is decent and hotel too.

I'm sure that most if not all have been to this one in Rammy http://www.thevineyardwineshop.co.uk/ and this one in Clitheroe http://www.dbyrne-finewines.co.uk/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Montreal Wanderer]

This is finally a topic that I know something about - actually quite a lot about... However, my ignorance of what is available in local supermarkets and wine stores may be considered absolute. There used to be a great off license in Horwich (oddly enough) but that was in the early 70s before supermarkets. Someone wanted high alcohol content - I would suggest Amarone which cannot be bottled at less than 15%. However, WtW is correct, IMHO, that the best wines come from Burgundy and, in particular, the Cote de Beaune (Cote d'Or and Cote de Nuits - sorry about the circumflex). However, this does not mean that other areas don't produce great stuff. In France I also like the white wines of the Loire from Pouilly and Sancerre, but I'm not that fond of Bordeaux (i.e. Burgundy is better). I feel Chilean wines are better than Argentina's, but that may just be Falkland prejudice. Australian wines used to be good value but tend to be overpriced these days.

My advice is, when in doubt, consult Hugh Johnson.

[General Mannerheim]

I've been to that Rammy place a few times, but not for wine - they stock a lot of rare spirits, so go there for my Manhattan ingredients.

Anyway, I just picked up 2 bottles of sainsburys own portugese red, vinho tinto it says, £4.99 each - its really nice tbf.

[Burnden Paddock]

This is finally a topic that I know something about - actually quite a lot about... However, my ignorance of what is available in local supermarkets and wine stores may be considered absolute. There used to be a great off license in Horwich (oddly enough) but that was in the early 70s before supermarkets. Someone wanted high alcohol content - I would suggest Amarone which cannot be bottled at less than 15%. However, WtW is correct, IMHO, that the best wines come from Burgundy and, in particular, the Cote de Beaune (Cote d'Or and Cote de Nuits - sorry about the circumflex). However, this does not mean that other areas don't produce great stuff. In France I also like the white wines of the Loire from Pouilly and Sancerre, but I'm not that fond of Bordeaux (i.e. Burgundy is better). I feel Chilean wines are better than Argentina's, but that may just be Falkland prejudice. Australian wines used to be good value but tend to be overpriced these days.

My advice is, when in doubt, consult Hugh Johnson.

Wright's on Chorley New Road? It's still there if that's the one. Never been there, mind.

[Bruce Rioja]

I just picked up 2 bottles of sainsburys own portugese red, vinho tinto it says, £4.99 each - its really nice tbf.

General - I'm absolutely convinced that if you went out with the specific purpose of bringing home a less than excellent Portuguese red then you'd come home empty handed. Seriously.

[General Mannerheim]

I just picked up 2 bottles of sainsburys own portugese red, vinho tinto it says, £4.99 each - its really nice tbf.

General - I'm absolutely convinced that if you went out with the specific purpose of bringing home a less than excellent Portuguese red then you'd come home empty handed. Seriously.

i went just thinking 'Portugese' and 'Sainsburys own' so didnt do bad...

[BWFC76]

The BWFC76 quotient rule :

BWFCQ = ( Volume in mL * Alcohol in % ) / Price in pence

The higher the better! Of course this takes no account of the quality which is important, but has a lesser effect, the more pi55ed you get ...

I like Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

[Montreal Wanderer]

This is finally a topic that I know something about - actually quite a lot about... However, my ignorance of what is available in local supermarkets and wine stores may be considered absolute. There used to be a great off license in Horwich (oddly enough) but that was in the early 70s before supermarkets. Someone wanted high alcohol content - I would suggest Amarone which cannot be bottled at less than 15%. However, WtW is correct, IMHO, that the best wines come from Burgundy and, in particular, the Cote de Beaune (Cote d'Or and Cote de Nuits - sorry about the circumflex). However, this does not mean that other areas don't produce great stuff. In France I also like the white wines of the Loire from Pouilly and Sancerre, but I'm not that fond of Bordeaux (i.e. Burgundy is better). I feel Chilean wines are better than Argentina's, but that may just be Falkland prejudice. Australian wines used to be good value but tend to be overpriced these days.

My advice is, when in doubt, consult Hugh Johnson.

Wright's on Chorley New Road? It's still there if that's the one. Never been there, mind.

I can't recall the name, BD, after 40 years. It was on the north side of Chorley New Road between Victoria Road and Winter Hey Lane.It wasn't a big place but the owner had an interest in French and German wines and kept some good stuff you could not easily get elsewhere. He'll be dead now for sure, or at least in a home, but the store might go on. It was odd to find that kind of selection in Horwich, when it would be hard to find in Manchester.

[William the White]

The BWFC76 quotient rule :

BWFCQ = ( Volume in mL * Alcohol in % ) / Price in pence

The higher the better! Of course this takes no account of the quality which is important, but has a lesser effect, the more pi55ed you get ...

I like Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

Lovely wine. Stands up to the best curry and faces it down... And with steak with garlic... Slow casseroled lamb... Liver with onions... Oxtail... Mmmmm...

[William the White]

I just picked up 2 bottles of sainsburys own portugese red, vinho tinto it says, £4.99 each - its really nice tbf.

General - I'm absolutely convinced that if you went out with the specific purpose of bringing home a less than excellent Portuguese red then you'd come home empty handed. Seriously.

i went just thinking 'Portugese' and 'Sainsburys own' so didnt do bad...

Does it give a hint of where it's from on the label? It may well be an Alentejo growers cooperative. Quality variable but sometimes unbelievably good for under a fiver.

The 'standard' - and often - 'classy' Portuguese reds are Douro (my fave) and Dao...

[Bijou Bob]

Aldi have got their Toro Loco Tempranillo in at £3.59 a bottle again. I have no snobbery when it comes to wine and frankly, I know very little about it but it's smooth, warm and very drinkable as far as I'm concerned. For less than the change in your pocket, what's to lose in trying a bottle?