Non-motoring > Wines, a time and a place.	Miscellaneous
Thread Author: Runfer D'Hills	Replies: 32

New Sun 27 Oct 13 16:35   Wines, a time and a place. - Runfer D'Hills

I'm not a skilled or practised drinker and I don't pretend any level of connoisseur-ship on any form of alcohol although I can be picky when it comes to whisky. The last time I had an alcohol based drink was at the beginning of August when we were in France. This may seem to some ( most maybe ? ) like an exceedingly unreasonable gap in proceedings but for me it's nothing unusual. Not that I don't like an occasional tipple but it has never featured large in my life. Anyway, having set the scene, this afternoon I've been cooking and decided to open one of the bottles of cheap rosé which tasted so delicious sitting outside in the late evenings when we were on holiday and simply had to bring some examples of it back. It goes by the name of JeanJean Syrah Rosé and cost, ooh at least €3.50 in the supermarket near where we were. It has to be said, here, on a miserable late October Sunday afternoon, it has lost most of its appeal... I shall persevere however. Last edited by: Runfer D'Hills on Sun 27 Oct 13 at 16:38 Reply to this message | Report message

New Sun 27 Oct 13 16:46   Wines, a time and a place. - Zero

Rose is not a wet stormy day wine at all at all. You needed to wet your lips with a good bumptious warming red, like a Rioja. Reply to this message | Report message       3

New Sun 27 Oct 13 16:49   Wines, a time and a place. - Runfer D'Hills

Ignorance can be bliss you know... Hic... ;-))) Reply to this message | Report message

New Sun 27 Oct 13 16:55   Wines, a time and a place. - Meldrew

I buy wine whenever I pass through Calais and have a good supply, at home and at my partner's house. The fact is that the duty on a 75cl bottle wine is £2 so, if you buy a £3 bottle of wine you are getting £1 worth of drink. This puts the off licence and garage offers of 3 bottles for £10 into perspective - 3 bottles for £4 isn't likely to be too tasty. I now know what I like it and buy it especially when it is on offer. I did buy a copy of this book - www.amazon.co.uk/Best-Wines-Supermarkets-2013-Character/dp/0572040008 but although it is full of ratings and reviews I didn't find any supermarket that stocked many of what the book claimed they did. I can recommend Majestic Wines. they have free tastings and offer unpatronising advice. Catch is, to get the keen prices you have to buy 2 bottles of one wine and 6 bottles total. My tip would be experiment to establish what you like and then buy it and drink it! Cheers PS Top tip from Zero - Rioja is marvellous!!!! Last edited by: Meldrew on Sun 27 Oct 13 at 16:56 Reply to this message | Report message

New Sun 27 Oct 13 17:03   Wines, a time and a place. - Runfer D'Hills

Good advice Melders. I really should bone up on it as whenever we have friends/family to dinner we neither of of us have a scooby as to what types of wine we should be serving. I've relied so far on pretty labels and double figures before the decimal point if offering it to guests. Reply to this message | Report message

New Sun 27 Oct 13 17:10   Wines, a time and a place. - bathtub tom

Same with sangria, although I always buy a few of the cardboard boxes of Don Simon to bring back for BBQs on hot days. ALDI were selling some stuff called sangriana earlier this year, a reasonable substitute. Reply to this message | Report message

New Sun 27 Oct 13 17:19   Wines, a time and a place. - Roger.

>> Same with sangria, although I always buy a few of the cardboard boxes of Don >> Simon to bring back for BBQs on hot days. We used to buy Don Simon red and white in the 1litre tetrapaks for about 0.98 euros a pack. We used wine a heck of a lot in our cooking in Spain and are upset that the UK cheapest red & whites, for this purpose, are £3 for a 75cl bottle! Surprisingly, as we learnt, from hospitable Spaniards, red wines are often drunk chilled, at beach & fishermen's fiestas. Last edited by: Roger on Sun 27 Oct 13 at 17:20 Reply to this message | Report message

New Sun 27 Oct 13 17:14   Wines, a time and a place. - Roger.

You won't go too far wrong with Campo Viejo Reserva Rioja if you can find it on "offerta". A decent white, also from Spain, is Viña Sol. Not top drawer but OK. Reply to this message | Report message

New Sun 27 Oct 13 17:19   Wines, a time and a place. - Runfer D'Hills

Thanks Roger, I promise I'm writing all this down. Our "problem" is that neither of us have ever been regular drinkers. Seem to have always had something or other distracting us from getting the practice in. ;-) Reply to this message | Report message

New Sun 27 Oct 13 17:26   Wines, a time and a place. - Roger.

More white:- Montpierre Sauvignon Blanc Reserve 2012 is a really nice white from France. It is bottled for Sainsbury's and again is NEVER to be bought at full price! "Normal" price is just over eight quid, but on offer, we have bought it for, IIRC, £5.50 and £6, as multibuys. At those prices it's fine and worth the money. Reply to this message | Report message

New Sun 27 Oct 13 17:21   Wines, a time and a place. - R.P.

I agree, not a big wine drinker. When Mrs RP and I were on our honeymoon in Florida - we stayed in a very nice B&B in central Orlando .....on offer was a bottle of white....it was so cold and crisp and generally lovely that I thought I could replicate it at home, as Humph says not quite the same in the UK. We treated ourselves to a case of Virgin's finest. I have to say, it generally feels as if its nicer than what we get in the Supermarkets. If only Virgin did Belgian beer.... Reply to this message | Report message

New Sun 27 Oct 13 17:34   Wines, a time and a place. - Manatee

The Gran Reserva is on offer again at Costco for the equivalent of about £8 a bot. I can't check the expiry because I've lost the booklet but I think its still on. Very good for the money and about £13.50 from Tesco after the case discount. I still have four bottles and I'd broach one now if I wasn't a bit out of sorts after some over indulgence last week following my daughter's wedding. Reply to this message | Report message

New Sun 27 Oct 13 17:38   Wines, a time and a place. - borasport

>> A decent white, also from Spain, is Viña Sol. Not top drawer but OK. >> Torres Vina Sol - no Torres Vina Esmeralda - yes - served chilled along with 'er indoors weightwatchers recipe paella is pretty good Reply to this message | Report message

New Sun 27 Oct 13 17:21   Wines, a time and a place. - Meldrew

I detect the old habit of red with meat and white with fish is having boundaries blurred a bit. This a link to Amazon and some books written by a highly respected author on the subject of wine - Jancis Robinson - tinyurl.com/kfbbryf. All of the best ones are fairly pricey (£30+) but are available second hand for £0.01 + £2-85 P/P - worth a dabble I'd say, for the price of a pint in a pub! See email in my profile if you want to be in touch. I agree with Roger that Campo Viejo is a good into to Rioja without busting the budget - Sansburys stock it and (I think) Rioja is not so year/vintage sensitive as French reds Last edited by: Meldrew on Sun 27 Oct 13 at 17:23 Reply to this message | Report message

New Sun 27 Oct 13 17:30   Wines, a time and a place. - Runfer D'Hills

Only halfway down the bottle and my teeth have gone numb. Is this normal or is it to do with the €3.50? :-) Reply to this message | Report message

New Sun 27 Oct 13 19:59   Wines, a time and a place. - bathtub tom

>>Only halfway down the bottle and my teeth have gone numb Put them back in then. ;>) Reply to this message | Report message

New Sun 27 Oct 13 17:31   Wines, a time and a place. - Roger.

Off topic - thread drift - but we have discovered a truly gorgeous bottled beer. St.Peter's Ruby Ale is from a small brewery in Suffolk and we brought back a couple of bottles with us from our last trip to see family at Wattisham. Cheap it ain't, at just under two quid for a 50 cl bottle, but the flavour is incredibly complex and just, well, gorgeous. After research I have found it listed at Ocado and possibly at Waitrose, depending on store. Reply to this message | Report message

New Sun 27 Oct 13 17:56   Wines, a time and a place. - R.P.

Will pop to Waitrose later this week and check. Reply to this message | Report message

New Sun 27 Oct 13 20:39   Wines, a time and a place. - mikeyb

flavour is incredibly complex and just, well, gorgeous. >> After research I have found it listed at Ocado and possibly at Waitrose, depending on >> store. >> >www.waitrose.com/shop/DisplayProductFlyout?productId=90091 Reply to this message | Report message

New Sun 27 Oct 13 22:09   Wines, a time and a place. - Runfer D'Hills

Ok, well, the feeling has returned to my teeth. Not in any rush to repeat the experiment in the forseeable. Think I'll stick to water. Reply to this message | Report message

New Sun 27 Oct 13 22:23   Wines, a time and a place. - Zero

typical jock, cheap wine and a hangover. Reply to this message | Report message

New Sun 27 Oct 13 23:04   Wines, a time and a place. - Slidingpillar

To my mind, one of the best bottled ales is Fullers Vintage Ale. Properly bottle conditioned, extraordinarily strong (8.5 ABV) and keeps getting better for years. Reply to this message | Report message

New Sun 27 Oct 13 23:58   Wines, a time and a place. - No FM2R

I wouldn't like a beer as strong as 8.5, or anything much over 5 really. But I do like Fullers London Pride. Mind you, that's just as well since its the only beer I can get, and even that sporadically. Wine on the other hand is both cheap and excellent here as you might expect, although I am no expert and rely on others. Vodka tastes the same most places. Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 28 Oct 13 00:03   Wines, a time and a place. - Armel Coussine

>> Vodka tastes the same most places. Thank you FMR, that reminds me: time for another. Reply to this message | Report message

New Sun 27 Oct 13 23:55   Wines, a time and a place. - Ted

>> typical jock, cheap wine and a hangover. >> Not sure what the correct wine is to complement deep fried Mars bars, Z. Ted Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 28 Oct 13 00:01   Wines, a time and a place. - Armel Coussine

>> Not sure what the correct wine is to complement deep fried Mars bars What's called 'pudding wine' obviously. Imperial Tokay? Something of that sort. But on second thoughts, why spend hundreds of pounds just to paint the lily, or gild refinéd gold? Only a greedy person would bother. Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 28 Oct 13 09:42   Wines, a time and a place. - Runfer D'Hills

Drinking does severely restrict you though doesn't it ? I started that bottle of cheap plonk about 4.00 yesterday afternoon and gave up on it when about 2/3 through at around 6.30 PM. Didn't especially enjoy it although I accept that it probably wasn't the best choice. The further irritation for me though was that at around 8.00 I fancied going for my normal evening swim which would have involved a ten minute drive each way to/from the gym/leisure facility I use but of course I couldn't be sure I'd be legal to drive so didn't go. Resultantly spent the evening vegetating while watching something I wasn't interested in on the telly which seemed a bit of a waste. Won't be rushing to repeat the excercise ! Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 28 Oct 13 10:07   Wines, a time and a place. - Mapmaker

>>Drinking does severely restrict you though doesn't it ? During the day it certainly does. But when the G&T/fino/bubbles are poured at 7pm, as supper begins to be cooked, and then the red comes out at 7.45 as supper is served, and the bottle and washing up having been finished the whiskey comes out at 9.30 with bed following, then there is no restriction at all. I am just back from a shopping trip to Calais. (Auchan in Boulogne, actually, and also Le Chais, a wine merchant in Boulogne.) These days I buy mostly French country wines in the €3-€6 range. (Trust me, I'm fussy about wine. I'm also far too stingy to spend £10 on a bottle for normal consumption.) Compare, at €3.95: www.lechais.com/sud-ouest/364-buzet-cuvee-tradition-les-vignerons-de-buzet.html Or at £10: www.lebonvin.co.uk/product/955/buzet_domaine_tradition/ Funny, isn't it. After the borders were opened up, c. 1994, UK duty rates dropped towards the French as HMG were losing too much revenue. Now it's gone up again and the duty on a bottle of wine is £2 + VAT on the duty, so £2.40. On sparkling wine it's £2.56 + VAT = £3.07. Last edited by: Mapmaker on Mon 28 Oct 13 at 10:11 Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 28 Oct 13 10:28   Wines, a time and a place. - Runfer D'Hills

I think if I drank that combination all on the same day I'd end up in intensive care. However, I do freely admit to rank amateur status ! I remember shortly after I met my wife, my now father in law ( a northern working man ) invited me to join him and his friends at his local one Friday night. We arrived at about 8.00PM and the pints kept coming at an alarming rate. I kept pace with them for the first 5 or so but the sheer volume of liquid in such quick succession did for me in the end and I had to slow right down. They carried on into what must have been double figures of drinks until 11.00. It wasn't so much the alcohol content, I can sip my way through a lot of whisky if the occasion demands, it was the industrial quantities of beer in such a short time slot I couldn't cope with. I spent my formative years in Scotland where the licensing laws have for many years allowed longer drinking hours so there never seemed to be the same pressure to "get it down your neck" before closing time. Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 28 Oct 13 10:33   Wines, a time and a place. - Mapmaker

I enjoy a pint of beer. Possibly half of the second pint as well. I drank four pints once. Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 28 Oct 13 10:36   Wines, a time and a place. - Runfer D'Hills

Yeah me too. Nothing nicer on a hot evening than a cold pint. I just don't see the fun in drinking it until it's trying to force its way out of your ears ! Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 28 Oct 13 10:35   Wines, a time and a place. - Slidingpillar

Not sure what the correct wine is to complement deep fried Mars bars Buckfast Tonic Wine (yuck) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckfast_Tonic_Wine#Controversy_in_Scotland Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 28 Oct 13 12:17   Wines, a time and a place. - Clk Sec

I know that I've mentioned this particular wine previously on another thread, but Blackburn & James Californian Shiraz, available from Waitrose, is delightful. It normally retails at £9.99 a bottle, but occasionally it's on offer at £6.66 - and that's when I buy a case or two. Reply to this message | Report message