This is so way out there, off topic doesn't do it justice! But having tried alt.food.wine with no takers in 2 hours I thought I'd throw this open to my learned friends here..
Being a total wine duffer, I am looking for something a bit up market from our usual tipple. Me and the missus have enjoyed the Jacob's Creek standard of offering and are particularly partial to their reds (Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon). For this we pay £7-£9 a bottle IIRC. If I pay nearer £20 for a competitor's brand, will I see a significant improvement in quality/flavour etc?
If so, whose wines should I try? If you are familiar with the Jacob's Creek offerings, they are rich and thick (sort of thing) - not at all watery. Is this what's known as full bodied? This is the style of wine I would be looking to buy, with whatever improvement can be bought IYSWIM.
Suggestions on variety and stockist anyone please?
My first observation would be to suggest one gets to somewhere like Makro and buys in boxes of six. That will drop the price to the £4 - £5 for things like Jacobs Creek, Mission Bell, Gallo, and most of the "new world" wines. (DAMHIKIJDO) ;-)
Probably, but it depends on what you like and what you choose.... You will be able to find examples of flavours and styles which you don't find so often in your current selections.
Yup, often full bodied, packed with fruit flavours - especially anything on a Shriaz (aka Syrah) or Merlot grape base. The Shiraz give a little more "spice" to the flavour.
To an extent, just experiment a bit. Try other grapes, countries of origin etc without pre-conceptions or being too snobbish and see what takes your fancy. If you find some you like, then try some more expensive offerings from the same maker/grower/region etc and see if you notice the difference.
Makro are good for new world wines - probably not as good as dedicated shops for French. Waitrose do a decent range of posh ones alongside the more common or garden varieties.
If you like full bodied, then you will probably like wines from the Rhone valley - Côtes du Rhône etc. I am quite partial to a Châteauneuf-du-Pape, again full bodied, and full of fruits - but with oak, and more tannin than the new world styles (and less harshness if going up market a bit).
One of my favourite "odd" wines to inflict on people is Château Musar - a export of the Lebanon (and no it won't give you a case of the shiites!). When you can find a younger example, it takes the concept of full bodied to a whole new level - very aromatic, heavy oak, slightly smokey and like being hit round the head with a taste 4x2" (SWMBO describes the flavour like how one would imagine a musty library to taste!)
wines come with different flavours at all price points and you may not like a £20 wine and may like a £5 wine. Until you taste it you just wont know. Earlier this year I found a perfectly acceptable wine in a wine box in ASDA that was retailing for £6 for three litres. Now some will say you can't get a good wine at that price but we drank 10 boxes and liked it. Then they put the price up to £6.69 for the next six boxes, then it was no more. 8-( It must have been OK people were buying trolley loads at a time.
My wife likes to buy mystery cases from a wine club (Sunday times I think). They cost around £60 for 12 bottles and are usually bin ends. I have only tasted a couple that I didn't like. They also do mixed cases where you know what you are getting before you buy. It might be worth trying a case or two.
Take a look at Averys of Bristol. Been getting wines from them for many years now. You could do a lot worse than their 'Discover Wines' selection.
formatting link
mixed case of a dozen bottles every 3 months round about £75-80. Give them an idea of what appeals and they'll tailor the selection to you. (6 red, 6 white and a bonus bottle - I never take desert or sweet wines, and never had a bad wine in 20 odd years!)
If you get more confident after two or three cases, they'll do a superior slection at a good price, say a retail value of £140-£150 for about £120.
I took the Waitrose option at lunch time and settled on a full-bodied Cotes du Rhone and also a bottle of St Emillion origin. Both under £10 each, so no wreckless gamble here :) This is a subject I think would appeal, once the house is in reasonable shape (kitchen still outstanding unfortunately). The suggestion of joining a wine "club" and getting regular deliveries sounds like a pretty good move to me.
"The Wine Society is owned by its members and exists exclusively for their benefit. Founded in 1874, its aim is to introduce members to the best of the world's vineyards at a fair price.
"As a mutual, membership satisfaction is paramount; maximising profit is not. The Society's buyers are therefore tasked solely with finding high-quality, interesting and value-for-money wines from around the world at all price levels.
"The cost of a lifetime share is £40 with no annual fee or obligation.
"Join here and receive £20 to spend on your first order"
Wine Clubs are all very well, but quite naturally they are in it for the business - the business being to get you to buy wine - more wine than you really need. So beware - I was in Virgin's Club for a while and had to put a stop to it when I realised that I had 5 cases of wine in store - =A3300 to =A3400's worth. Daft. And all it did was to make us drink more of it than was possibly good for us and certainly not good for the finances.
As for recommendations - on the lighter wines, try Lidl's Bordeaux Rose; possibly not so good at this time of year, but a dry rose with a good body and lovely in the summer. Rob
Yup, AIUI Laithwaites is a trading name of Direct Wines, who also run the STWC, Virgin Wines and others no doubt.
Always had good service and good wines from Laithwaites in their various guises. We did try the regular delivery thing (a case once a quarter), but don't really drink enough wine for it to be worth it for us.
Usually wait for one of their offers and then buy a case or two.
When I joined, it was a lifetime share, but you could pass it on when you died (or cash it in; it appeciates in value). Not sure if that's still the case. I only paid a tenner.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.