A freakishly warm spring day means getting out in the garden with a plate of cold meat and cheese and a bottle of chilled rosé. And then another one.
It occurred to me that
a) this is a perfect garden wine, a fine example of its type
b) there is a beer thread and a whisky thread, but I havent seen a wine thread
So I'm starting off with Montgravet rosé, £5.99 from Waitrose. Just about the cheapest they do, but it's hard to see how spending more would get you anything better. Truly excellent value for money, and highly recommended.
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Comments
I'm no wine expert by any means, but I've found recently I really appreciate a Rioja. Used to like white wines, but now I pretty much never drink them.
No, that's the "What must Labour do" or "Brexit" thread
If I'm going for a good wine it's usually a Barolo that excites me. I've had some epic ones of that. More recently I tried one from St Julien. It's hard to find wines from there but I strongly recommend you give it a look.
This week I'm nursing a Malbec I got at Christmas and it's a beaut. Inexpensive but quaffable
Laithwaite's whites are less inspiring, and I tend to go for Aussie Riesling, NZSB or unoaked Chardonnay.
Bought a bottle of Lugana a month or so ago, about £10 from Waitrose, and was really pleased with it. Lucky guess, I know far too little about Italian wine.
Have a listen to yourself FFS.
I like nice wine and hate nasty wine. If I find one I like I get excited. I'm a CHARLTON fan so don't get much excitement in my life - is it any wonder I turn to alcohol to get my kicks.
If you've had a seriously good wine then epic is perfectly acceptable. It's memorable.
As a rule of thumb around £10 per bottle should get you something fairly decent and in a restaurant three times that amount will be half decent.
A little bit more and it could be very decent
If I'm looking for something for casual drinking with people who don't appreciate £100 bottles, I'll tend to spend around £10 on a good riesling, either German or NZ, a sauvignon blanc, either NZ or the Loire, or a chenin blanc, either South African or again the Loire. Occasionally I'll go for something a bit more pricey in a barola or an amarone, my two favourite reds.
Ms AA tends to prefer rosé and £6 seems to be a good price point for that.
If it's got to be sparkling, we both favour good prosecco over all cava and most champagnes although we have been known to splurge on a bottle of Perrier Jouet Belle Epoque, especially the rosé which is sublime. Cremant de Bourgogne or Cremant de Loire can both also be good and are, I believe, made by the same method as champagne. Also, they're good for kir royale for which champagne would be a waste of money.
Is it not just a squashed grape? Or is there something more sinister going on?
Does it all change if it has been discovered that a dogs pissed on the vine?
Which vegetarians and vegans would not knowingly consume.