Red wine does it for me. Mainly Spanish as I load up with as many cases as I can get away with (post Brexit) on my drive back to the U.K. each autumn. The thought of paying U.K. prices grates somewhat.
Ribera del Duero wines are currently ‘on trend’ in Spain although I still enjoy a good Rioja.
Another vote for Chocolate Block. Used to drink Gewertztraminer, not sure why I stopped but went onto Marlborough Savs.
Drink Butchers Malbec regularly, but much underrated are Croatian and Turkish reds and rosés. Loved Samuel Paternoster banda azul but can't find it now.
I lament that so many of our best Napa wines don't make it to your shores. One I would recommend is if you see any wine of any varietal by "Ridge", buy it. Especially their Red Zinfandels. Should not cost more than $30-40 Pounds. So good and for such a nice price.
I haven’t seen South Africa mentioned here yet. In fact I almost forgot, I had a customer who imported wines from South Africa to Luxembourg and she introduced us to Ernie Els Wines from South Africa:
@stop_shouting I guess that red Ridgeway is slipping down well I agree with you about Slovenian wines, been there a couple of times, they are very serious about both their wine and local food produce. Georgia, yes, but the reds are always very heavy duty stuff. I guess its the climate. Haven't tried anything from Turkey.
So this was my choice for celebration, with a decent Irish sirloin steak, it's from M&S which is always a very reliable source for mid-range wines, never had a duff one. But this turns out to be an example of where I've kept it probably 2 years too long. It's still very decent but it looks a bit murky and there's a lot of sediment. Still then I don't feel so bad about using a fair bit of it to make the red wine sauce.
@stop_shouting I guess that red Ridgeway is slipping down well I agree with you about Slovenian wines, been there a couple of times, they are very serious about both their wine and local food produce. Georgia, yes, but the reds are always very heavy duty stuff. I guess its the climate. Haven't tried anything from Turkey.
So this was my choice for celebration, with a decent Irish sirloin steak, it's from M&S which is always a very reliable source for mid-range wines, never had a duff one. But this turns out to be an example of where I've kept it probably 2 years too long. It's still very decent but it looks a bit murky and there's a lot of sediment. Still then I don't feel so bad about using a fair bit of it to make the red wine sauce.
@stop_shouting I guess that red Ridgeway is slipping down well I agree with you about Slovenian wines, been there a couple of times, they are very serious about both their wine and local food produce. Georgia, yes, but the reds are always very heavy duty stuff. I guess its the climate. Haven't tried anything from Turkey.
So this was my choice for celebration, with a decent Irish sirloin steak, it's from M&S which is always a very reliable source for mid-range wines, never had a duff one. But this turns out to be an example of where I've kept it probably 2 years too long. It's still very decent but it looks a bit murky and there's a lot of sediment. Still then I don't feel so bad about using a fair bit of it to make the red wine sauce.
I haven t heard of this but anyone that knows sediment makes a decent red wine sauce knows their shit 👊
I haven’t seen South Africa mentioned here yet. In fact I almost forgot, I had a customer who imported wines from South Africa to Luxembourg and she introduced us to Ernie Els Wines from South Africa:
@stop_shouting I guess that red Ridgeway is slipping down well I agree with you about Slovenian wines, been there a couple of times, they are very serious about both their wine and local food produce. Georgia, yes, but the reds are always very heavy duty stuff. I guess its the climate. Haven't tried anything from Turkey.
So this was my choice for celebration, with a decent Irish sirloin steak, it's from M&S which is always a very reliable source for mid-range wines, never had a duff one. But this turns out to be an example of where I've kept it probably 2 years too long. It's still very decent but it looks a bit murky and there's a lot of sediment. Still then I don't feel so bad about using a fair bit of it to make the red wine sauce.
I haven t heard of this but anyone that knows sediment makes a decent red wine sauce knows their shit 👊
🤣 Yeah, I’ll get back to you in the morning about that.
Any NZ South Island Pinot Noir, but in particular, Mt. Difficulty, which you can get in Waitrose.
For white, Australian (un-oaked) Chardonnay is lovely, or Semillon: Brokenwood is one I’ve had recently but I haven’t checked if it’s available over here.
I could never get my nose past sniffing a glass of red let alone drink it before meeting my wife but so glad I persevered as love sharing a bottle of red when we're out for dinner now.
Love a Chianti, love a Chateauneuf de Pape, love a Rioja but give me a Meerlust Rubicon over all of them. Thanks to my Saffa bro-in-law's parents, we get a couple of boxes sent over every 6 months or so.
We're off to Stellenbosch in a few weeks and will be popping in to Meerlust Wine Estate while we are there.
I used to drink a lot of rioja and beaujolais but unfortunately I now suffer from chronic headache and red wine exacerbates the pain. These days it's a white like picpoul, sauv, vinho de verde, etc.
I could never get my nose past sniffing a glass of red let alone drink it before meeting my wife but so glad I persevered as love sharing a bottle of red when we're out for dinner now.
Love a Chianti, love a Chateauneuf de Pape, love a Rioja but give me a Meerlust Rubicon over all of them. Thanks to my Saffa bro-in-law's parents, we get a couple of boxes sent over every 6 months or so.
We're off to Stellenbosch in a few weeks and will be popping in to Meerlust Wine Estate while we are there.
2005? You kept it that long and it's good? (it certainly looks good)
I could never get my nose past sniffing a glass of red let alone drink it before meeting my wife but so glad I persevered as love sharing a bottle of red when we're out for dinner now.
Love a Chianti, love a Chateauneuf de Pape, love a Rioja but give me a Meerlust Rubicon over all of them. Thanks to my Saffa bro-in-law's parents, we get a couple of boxes sent over every 6 months or so.
We're off to Stellenbosch in a few weeks and will be popping in to Meerlust Wine Estate while we are there.
2005? You kept it that long and it's good? (it certainly looks good)
My wife first went out to SA in 2008 for the first time and she bought 6 cases of the 2005 on the recommendation of my bro-in-law's best mate Francois, who is a well known winemaker who started out at Wellington Wines and became their Head Winemaker but now he's gone out on his own under his own label, Francois van Niekerk Wines https://www.francoisvanniekerk.co.za/. If you like a Pinotage, his wine is awesome too. He is doing very very well at the moment.
We've only got one case of the 2005 left. We've got several cases of some later vintages. 2010 was good. 2014-2017 are very nice. Was at a wedding a few weeks ago and they had the 2020 on the tables. That tasted pretty good to me too.
Anyway, something no one has mentioned in this thread. Let the red wine breathe, it needs air in it once it is opened. Pour the bottle through an aerator into a glass but better still into a carafe/decanter before pouring. Its effort but it will taste so much better. (You'll note the aerator in the top of the bottle spout in the pic!)
I could never get my nose past sniffing a glass of red let alone drink it before meeting my wife but so glad I persevered as love sharing a bottle of red when we're out for dinner now.
Love a Chianti, love a Chateauneuf de Pape, love a Rioja but give me a Meerlust Rubicon over all of them. Thanks to my Saffa bro-in-law's parents, we get a couple of boxes sent over every 6 months or so.
We're off to Stellenbosch in a few weeks and will be popping in to Meerlust Wine Estate while we are there.
2005? You kept it that long and it's good? (it certainly looks good)
My wife first went out to SA in 2008 for the first time and she bought 6 cases of the 2005 on the recommendation of my bro-in-law's best mate Francois, who is a well known winemaker who started out at Wellington Wines and became their Head Winemaker but now he's gone out on his own under his own label, Francois van Niekerk Wines https://www.francoisvanniekerk.co.za/. If you like a Pinotage, his wine is awesome too. He is doing very very well at the moment.
We've only got one case of the 2005 left. We've got several cases of some later vintages. 2010 was good. 2014-2017 are very nice. Was at a wedding a few weeks ago and they had the 2020 on the tables. That tasted pretty good to me too.
Anyway, something no one has mentioned in this thread. Let the red wine breathe, it needs air in it once it is opened. Pour the bottle through an aerator into a glass but better still into a carafe/decanter before pouring. Its effort but it will taste so much better. (You'll note the aerator in the top of the bottle spout in the pic!)
I've got a few bottles of each of the 2014 and 2016. Better to hold on for a few more years or wait? I prefer secondary flavours to fruit forward and tend to keep good Bordeaux for 15-25 years before drinking.
I could never get my nose past sniffing a glass of red let alone drink it before meeting my wife but so glad I persevered as love sharing a bottle of red when we're out for dinner now.
Love a Chianti, love a Chateauneuf de Pape, love a Rioja but give me a Meerlust Rubicon over all of them. Thanks to my Saffa bro-in-law's parents, we get a couple of boxes sent over every 6 months or so.
We're off to Stellenbosch in a few weeks and will be popping in to Meerlust Wine Estate while we are there.
2005? You kept it that long and it's good? (it certainly looks good)
My wife first went out to SA in 2008 for the first time and she bought 6 cases of the 2005 on the recommendation of my bro-in-law's best mate Francois, who is a well known winemaker who started out at Wellington Wines and became their Head Winemaker but now he's gone out on his own under his own label, Francois van Niekerk Wines https://www.francoisvanniekerk.co.za/. If you like a Pinotage, his wine is awesome too. He is doing very very well at the moment.
We've only got one case of the 2005 left. We've got several cases of some later vintages. 2010 was good. 2014-2017 are very nice. Was at a wedding a few weeks ago and they had the 2020 on the tables. That tasted pretty good to me too.
Anyway, something no one has mentioned in this thread. Let the red wine breathe, it needs air in it once it is opened. Pour the bottle through an aerator into a glass but better still into a carafe/decanter before pouring. Its effort but it will taste so much better. (You'll note the aerator in the top of the bottle spout in the pic!)
I read that as your "first wife went out...". Brave to keep her bottles for your now wife to enjoy.
Any Chardonnay should be banned. Absolutely vile stuff.
Yeah, I was hugely popular in the late eighties, early nineties wasn’t it? Certainly overrated.
A proper French Chardonnay eg a decent Chablis or even Montrachet is among the best wine I’ve ever tasted. The Aussies and their cheap oak chips did a lot of damage to the “brand”.
Comments
Ribera del Duero wines are currently ‘on trend’ in Spain although I still enjoy a good Rioja.
https://tastehungary.com/journal/an-ode-to-the-infamous-bottom-shelf-bulls-blood/
Drink Butchers Malbec regularly, but much underrated are Croatian and Turkish reds and rosés. Loved Samuel Paternoster banda azul but can't find it now.
In fact I almost forgot, I had a customer who imported wines from South Africa to Luxembourg and she introduced us to Ernie Els Wines from South Africa:
https://ernieelswines.com/?srsltid=AfmBOop4D7njWOwVZNCxgpkvtS1UesTVOa6mAA1kGaxAmi53KZ4LTzFa
Decoy Zinfandel (either the 2019 or 2021) for 26 pounds
Edna Valley Chardonnay 15 pounds
Louis Martini 2018 or 2019 Cabernet 36 pounds
@stop_shouting I guess that red Ridgeway is slipping down well
So this was my choice for celebration, with a decent Irish sirloin steak, it's from M&S which is always a very reliable source for mid-range wines, never had a duff one. But this turns out to be an example of where I've kept it probably 2 years too long. It's still very decent but it looks a bit murky and there's a lot of sediment. Still then I don't feel so bad about using a fair bit of it to make the red wine sauce.
knows their shit 👊
Yeah, I’ll get back to you in the morning about that.
Love a Chianti, love a Chateauneuf de Pape, love a Rioja but give me a Meerlust Rubicon over all of them. Thanks to my Saffa bro-in-law's parents, we get a couple of boxes sent over every 6 months
or so.
We're off to Stellenbosch in a few weeks and will be popping in to Meerlust Wine Estate while we are there.
We've only got one case of the 2005 left. We've got several cases of some later vintages. 2010 was good. 2014-2017 are very nice. Was at a wedding a few weeks ago and they had the 2020 on the tables. That tasted pretty good to me too.
Anyway, something no one has mentioned in this thread. Let the red wine breathe, it needs air in it once it is opened. Pour the bottle through an aerator into a glass but better still into a carafe/decanter before pouring. Its effort but it will taste so much better. (You'll note the aerator in the top of the bottle spout in the pic!)
Roland recommends this one.