The Wine Thread

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Nice bottle of Cava or an Aussie Chardonnay innit

 

[dougdeep]

Retsina is a difficult taste to acquire.

But worth the effort.

I got into Retsina while I was on Crete. It was about 50p a gallon I think.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Retsina is a difficult taste to acquire.

But worth the effort.

Not a lot of people know this, but...

...Retsina is made to a traditional Greek recipe, passed down from father to son since ancient times:

a) Select your most undrinkable old white wine
b) Chuck in some scabby pine needles
c) Flog to gullible foreigners



Fact. Oid.

 

[John Byrnes Mullet]

I would recommend The Mighty Murray Red at £4.28 and the
South African Cape Red at £2.98 both from pikey Asda I don't really rate
Sainsburys or Tesco's wines unless you want to spend over £6 a bottle and if
you are willing to do that then join Laithwaites online, I have never had
a bad bottle yet from them. Very Very tasty wines from them.
Enjoy.

 

[defrocked priest]

Wine is easy.

Buy red wines north of the equator, white wines south of the equator.

and you too can become a wine snob.








what no smilies for wine....


cheers

 

[Trufflehound]

Retsina is a difficult taste to acquire.

But worth the effort.

Or if you don't have the time to put the effort in, you can always use it to creosote your fence.

 

[Trufflehound]

If I had unlimited funds, I would drink Brunello or Margaux etc. But I don't, sadly, so I'm usually looking for a compromise - something I can drink for around €5.

The best value in that range in my local shops is always the Rioja Tempranillo.

 

[Huple]

I had a bottle of Blue Nun last night and if there is a better wine than that out there I have yet to drink it.

 

[Titanic]

I am particularly partial to a White South African... Sauvignon Blanc by SPIER... we visited this winery a couple of years ago, and it has great memories attached - Tesco £5 a bottle for Discovery - or the Private Collection ones are more pricey but excellent!

 

[Titanic]

"Pale lemon in colour with a distinct green hue. Attractive capsicum and fig leaf aromas leads ahead of the crushed nettles and gooseberries, which brings up the rear interesting touch of flintiness. Intense and concentrated with a long finish."

 

[Trufflehound]

"Pale lemon in colour with a distinct green hue. Attractive capsicum and fig leaf aromas leads ahead of the crushed nettles and gooseberries, which brings up the rear interesting touch of flintiness. Intense and concentrated with a long finish."

 

[Lush]

I am particularly partial to a White South African... Sauvignon Blanc by SPIER... we visited this winery a couple of years ago, and it has great memories attached - Tesco £5 a bottle for Discovery - or the Private Collection ones are more pricey but excellent!

Stellenbosch wines are good too, although rarely under a fiver.

 

[Papa Lazarou]

I'm a big fan of Rioja - and have quite a few '94 and '95 vintage bottles at home (both very good years in that region).

Following a recent holiday in France I now also have some nice Chateau-Neuf, Sancerre, Muscadet (a couple of different vineyards) and Verdelho.

As mentioned up thread, I am one of those people who makes their own wine as well, and in the last 3 years I've made the following wines:

Elderberry (2005) (13%) - High Tannin - whole batch was laid down to age and mellow, and having recently opened one it’s now very nice – still with a tannic edge, but more mellow. Nice and dry.

Sloe (2005) (13.5%) – Really nice, dry and very drinkable – hence I’ve only got about 3 bottles left!

Blackberry (2007) (12.5%) – I did a single fruit 1 gallon batch, without any additional ingredient (no grape juice to add vinosity) – very fruity, and dry, with a noticeable berry flavour.

Dandelion (2005 – 2007) - (12%) - made from Dandelion petals (plus some other stuff) – This is a lovely wine, with an incredibly complex (yet subtle) flavour, with a dry start, a sweet flavour on the centre of the tongue and a very dry end. A family favourite, and always goes quickly.

Pomegrate and Grape (2005 & 2008) (12.5%) – I used 50/50 Pomegrate drink and Red Grape juice to produce a very flavoursome medium wine – great chilled and a favourite with family and friends.

Gorse Flower (2007) (12%) – Very flowery wine, with some residual flavour from the coconut scent of the flowers. Nice.

Cherry (2007) (12.5%) – Quite dry, and a little bit harsh – leaving to age.

Supermarket Fruit Juice Wine (2007) (12.5%) – Apple, Pineapple and Grape Juice plus a little elderflower – Very nice, simple wine – great for a summers day.

Folly Wine (2007) (11.5%) – made from the cuttings from my vines, a dry white wine which apparently can prove better than the grapes from the same vine. Still too early to tell with this one!

English Port Style (2006) (13.5%) – Elderberry, Blackberries and Blackcurrants - Beautifully full bodies wine, akin to a Bordeaux, nice with food.

Second pressing of above (2006) (12%) – Took the pulp from the primary fermentation and added grape juice (from Lidl) and made a smaller batch of table wine – more simple than the previous and drinkable immediately. Nice, and lighter.

So, there is the full inventory of my homemade wines… even if you didn’t ask for it!

 

[Lady Whistledown]

I've been appreciating a rather nice Viognier lately.

Can't remember who makes it, but seems like a fairly underrated grape to me.

 

[Dave the OAP]

really nice "drinkable " wine. Normally aroud £6 but can get deals of £4 a bottle

my favourite....not pretentious just really good wine - Burra Brook
again about £6 a bottle or deals at a £4

 

[Dave the OAP]

M&S Wines!

 

[Papa Lazarou]

M&S Wines!

They used to do a really nice Merlot called Zamora.... classy in it's day

 

[the slow norris]

For red wines my personal favourites are:

Ravenswood Zinfandel
Marques de la concordia Rioja (the 2004 is wickerd)
Wyndhams Bin 555 Shiraz
Argento Malbec

Guinness dave, if you want a real "only drink whilst eating" shiraz, try a Kilikanoon Killerman's run Shiraz, an absolute beauty!