Wine

I don't usually do wine, but have recently started experimenting.
I find it hard to understand all the pretentious drivel on the labels and even harder to relate to. I also find a lot of it contradictory. The shelf says "Medium Bodied", the bottle says "rich and full bodied". Either way, I can't distinguish between the two.

Are you a wine drinker? Red, white, rosé? And what's your price range? Do you think you always get what you pay for in this business?

Lidil's red Merlot is my usual drink where wine is concerned, cheap but good.

Nothing under £10 we get through about 10 bottles a week i like Lindemans and wolf blass red label.

Try Amarone- a well flavoured Italian red. Don't pay less than £8 a bottle- the really decent stuff starts around £12

Jesus! Some people have expensive taste on here. I don't tend to drink much wine these days, as it can give me acid reflux.

My Mrs is the wine drinker and I won't pay over £5 for a bottle. I always make sure, that the wine is half price and I find Tesco's have some great deals on wine.

Was on a wine tour whilst on holiday, and this particular winery made a world class dessert wine, (won the title in 2009). They only sold to local top-class restaurants in Dubrovnik, and about 6 in America, for up to £600 pounds a bottle when it won, but later down to about £400. We had the opportunity to buy it at about £45 a bottle (must have had a few left over). I don't drink wine, but this was really nice. Missus wouldn't let me buy any. My point is, when you taste a fine wine, you tend to know it.

I get mixed boxes from Barnes in Clitheroe. They do seasonal offers. You do generally get what you pay for but I only sup reds. My Mrs has the white stuff.

I like wine and have been drinking it for years. I spend between £7 and £15 a bottle. Big supermarkets usually have some decent stuff. Look out for bargain offers (a third off) and their quality recommendations (Sainsburys do a Taste the Difference range that is pretty good). I joined the Wine Society which is not just for snobs and does a lot of good value bottles - have a look at their website as there is a lot of useful information there.

Wine is the best drink in the world. I think red is obviously the better drink, full of flavour and taste but in the summer I would always drink white, ice cold, it goes down the gullet a treat. 
I think most dry white wines taste pretty much the same. I think you can get some nice stuff for a fiver.

The Times and Virgin have wine clubs where you can get a selection of half decent wines (a case) sent to you each month whilst you sort out what you like. However, they still tend to push French wine which is overrated as they have laws which control varietal blending and processing so you have to pay top dollar for the really good ones.

The good news is that you can find good quality a lot cheaper if you know what to look for.

The trick with wine is that after £10 a bottle the price goes up logorhythmically for a smaller increase in quality so most punters buy at supermarkets at around £5 - £7 a bottle. Go for the offers.

Best thing is to work out what grape varietals you like and you won't go far wrong. My personal tastes in reds are for New World wines so I like e.g. Chilean Merlot, South African Pinotage, Aussie Cab Sauv etc. French wines tend to be thin. If you like lots of fruit and body go for a Shiraz. Once you understand the basic characteristics of the grapes, you'll be able to move on to understanding some of the less common varietals and the countries that do them well. You also need to know that certain wines have unusual characteristics that you may or may not like - it's a very personal thing. Rioja for example, is aged in casks with vanilla pods used to seal the joints so it has a distinctive flavour which many like - I prefer a decent Tempranillo if drinking Spanish.

There's loads to try and loads to learn so the best way forward is to try loads and note what you like, don't buy rock-bottom vino or it may be rough, and gradually form your own opinion. Once you've mastered it you'll be able to pick out some inspired bargains.

Doffer, you now know you have a lot of experienced swillies to help whenever you cant make up your mind

gloswhite wrote:Doffer, you now know you have a lot of experienced swillies to help whenever you cant make up your mind

The way I felt this morning, I thought I'd had my last swig. But a few hours and a shit football match have passed, and I'm thinking it would be rude not to. I'm gonna go to ASDA shortly. Could anyone that knows what's on offer at the moment recommend me a red in the £4-£5 region?

Cheers.

doffcocker wrote:

gloswhite wrote:Doffer, you now know you have a lot of experienced swillies to help whenever you cant make up your mind

The way I felt this morning, I thought I'd had my last swig. But a few hours and a shit football match have passed, and I'm thinking it would be rude not to. I'm gonna go to ASDA shortly. Could anyone that knows what's on offer at the moment recommend me a red in the £4-£5 region?

Cheers.

Would you not prefer an ice cold white wine? It goes down so much easier. 
I always get my wine on offer - you can always get £10 bottles half price, I never remember what I have had though. I like the red wines with chocolatey flavours, they are so smooth.

I love a strong red wine.

doffcocker wrote:

gloswhite wrote:Doffer, you now know you have a lot of experienced swillies to help whenever you cant make up your mind

The way I felt this morning, I thought I'd had my last swig. But a few hours and a shit football match have passed, and I'm thinking it would be rude not to. I'm gonna go to ASDA shortly. Could anyone that knows what's on offer at the moment recommend me a red in the £4-£5 region?

Cheers.

Don't call off at Morrisons in Leigh. I stopped off there on the way home from our impressive performance against  Leeds before.

There was a naked bloke, in his mid 20's, he was totally naked, yes he had his knob out at 5pm in Leigh!   he was strolling around the entrance and the car park.

Women were pipping their horns at him in the car park, it turns out, he had been stripped naked as it was his stag do. 

I don't like white wine but red wine is much nicer on the palate, especially with a meal. I enjoy a good rioja or a shiraz and Zinfandel is a nice slurp in the summer. If you can afford it, then i would recommend Laithwaithes. You can pick up a really decent case of 12 reds for about £55.

I once paid £350 quid for a vintage wine and fucking misplaced it, still havn't found it.

You piss head, you have probably drank it.

Or someone else drank it  

Bit of a master when it comes to Australian red wines - I love them, especially the various Merlots.

I don't like the tatse of white wine and honestly cannot tell the difference between dry, sweet etc etc etc.