Where to buy REALLY good wine
Discussion
Had a visit this morning from a sales rep from a company called PIEROTH, wine distributors. I am definitely not a wine connoisseur and sadly tend to buy based on price (i.e. the cheapest gets put in the shopping trolley). But I stopped drinking wine completely about a year ago because the stuff we were buying was just shite, as you would expect. Problem is I have expensive taste but these days not the bank balance to support it.
Anyway although I'm not normally a lover of white wine, the whites this guy gave us samples of were very obviously of a higher class than the £3.99 Chardonnay currently sitting in our fridge. And at £143 for a case of 12, or almost £12 a bottle, it did seem worth it but in the end (after sampling about 10 different wines and getting half pissed) I somehow retained the common sense to say no, simply because I shouldn't blow £143 on alcohol at the moment. The ones I liked were mainly German but there also some more than decent reds and whites from Chile and Hungary. Others from Australia and Sicily also good but not the best ones.
You can't make a silk purse out of a cow's ear and all that, but does anyone have any suggestions on how to find quality wine for more affordable prices? I would pay perhaps £80 for a case of 12, which works out at under £7 a bottle - but the problem is, I tasted some £7 Cabernet Sauvignons this morning (i.e. within my budget) but even I could taste the difference in that they weren't as good as the £12 bottles. By the way I don't know any of the poncey words used to describe wine, I just know when I like it, and it tends to be more than I can afford when I do......
Anyway although I'm not normally a lover of white wine, the whites this guy gave us samples of were very obviously of a higher class than the £3.99 Chardonnay currently sitting in our fridge. And at £143 for a case of 12, or almost £12 a bottle, it did seem worth it but in the end (after sampling about 10 different wines and getting half pissed) I somehow retained the common sense to say no, simply because I shouldn't blow £143 on alcohol at the moment. The ones I liked were mainly German but there also some more than decent reds and whites from Chile and Hungary. Others from Australia and Sicily also good but not the best ones.
You can't make a silk purse out of a cow's ear and all that, but does anyone have any suggestions on how to find quality wine for more affordable prices? I would pay perhaps £80 for a case of 12, which works out at under £7 a bottle - but the problem is, I tasted some £7 Cabernet Sauvignons this morning (i.e. within my budget) but even I could taste the difference in that they weren't as good as the £12 bottles. By the way I don't know any of the poncey words used to describe wine, I just know when I like it, and it tends to be more than I can afford when I do......
http://www.zen37219.zen.co.uk/BeavP14.htm
£36.99 for 30 bottles.
ok you have to brew it yourself, but still - excellent wine
£36.99 for 30 bottles.
ok you have to brew it yourself, but still - excellent wine
http://www.tremayneandwebb.co.uk/ Decent wine and Toby Webster is a thoroughly nice chap too. He used to have a shop in Epping High Street. 
http://www.virginwines.com/main/rules.jsp?CONTENT%...
£25 a ticket and you get that off any orders. Allows you to try a good couple of hundred wines and order what you like.
Very good day out :hic:
£25 a ticket and you get that off any orders. Allows you to try a good couple of hundred wines and order what you like.
Very good day out :hic:
you could try Sunday Times Wine Club you don't have to be a member and there are lots of decent wine at very reasonable prices
Glassman said:
pistonbroke PHd said:
You can't make a silk purse out of a cow's ear
Pig's ear.Berry Bros are good, and the chap who runs the internet side is hugely helpful.
But the best way is to find a local independant wine merchant, and get to know them. Many do free tastings. They are more able to get smaller producers output than the bigger buyers such as Vigin, Laithwaites, STWC.
I WANT TO SHOUT THIS FROM THE ROOFTOPS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
www.secretcellar.co.uk
This is the best company I have ever dealt with (wine or not), I cannot recommend them highly enough.
They're up for an award in Decanter magazine. Ask for David, but everyone there is fantastic.
www.secretcellar.co.uk
This is the best company I have ever dealt with (wine or not), I cannot recommend them highly enough.
They're up for an award in Decanter magazine. Ask for David, but everyone there is fantastic.
Lurking Lawyer said:
lord summerisle said:
ok you have to brew it yourself
I'm not sure brew is quite the right word to describe making wine! 
you pour concentrate juice, water & yeast into a fermentation bin shake and leave. with some kits you've got to add extra sugar, and sometimes wood chipping and on the really expensive kits grape skins too... and leave to ferment for a few weeks...
but its easier to say 'brew'
end result remains =
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