Wine Appreciation / Oenophiles

It's held in the shop and cellars and consists of about 50 wines being poured by staff, importers and producers. The wines range from £5 or £6 cheap and cheerful types right through to some serious examples from top estates, often between £50 and £150. It's a great way to have a broad look at the different regions and varieties of a country and also to see firsthand the quality difference between price points, if any. A big advantage of doing these tastings is you can figure out which styles you like without buying a ton of wines.

It's a casual walk around format so you can engage as much as you want with questions and such or you can just get on and drink. Personally, I'll be doing the latter..

Discount on a half case of the Ch. Montus?

It's held in the shop and cellars and consists of about 50 wines being poured by staff, importers and producers. The wines range from £5 or £6 cheap and cheerful types right through to some serious examples from top estates, often between £50 and £150. It's a great way to have a broad look at the different regions and varieties of a country and also to see firsthand the quality difference between price points, if any. A big advantage of doing these tastings is you can figure out which styles you like without buying a ton of wines.

It's a casual walk around format so you can engage as much as you want with questions and such or you can just get on and drink. Personally, I'll be doing the latter..

It's held in the shop and cellars and consists of about 50 wines being poured by staff, importers and producers. The wines range from £5 or £6 cheap and cheerful types right through to some serious examples from top estates, often between £50 and £150. It's a great way to have a broad look at the different regions and varieties of a country and also to see firsthand the quality difference between price points, if any. A big advantage of doing these tastings is you can figure out which styles you like without buying a ton of wines.

It's a casual walk around format so you can engage as much as you want with questions and such or you can just get on and drink. Personally, I'll be doing the latter..

cool. i think i'm going to book if there's any space left. i know my way round spanish wine quite well but couldn't tell a corvina from negroamaro .

if you fancy a very nice italian white may i suggest you search out livon - braide alte

Always happy to offer a forum discount, say something around 15-20% on case buys.

Might take you up on that Gav

Where did you make your wine, I grew up in the Hunter Valley so I am a keen Oenophile (on a abudget)?
It is a little hard to get Hunter wines over here, I order from Bibendums & Times wine club normally

Had this one the other night,
Very good if you dont mind spending a tenner, very heavy fruit with very little tannin
http://www.waitrosewine.com/230483259/Product.aspx

Might take you up on that Gav

Where did you make your wine, I grew up in the Hunter Valley so I am a keen Oenophile (on a abudget)?
It is a little hard to get Hunter wines over here, I order from Bibendums & Times wine club normally

Margaret River, in W.A. I have spent time at Palandri, Cullen, Moss Wood and Cape Mentelle over the years and was at Domaine Alex Gambal in Beaune last year and will be off there again for a stint at Remoissenet in a few weeks.

Hunter stuff is hard to find here which is disappointing as the shiraz and semillon can be first rate in a dry year. There's far too much samey Barossa wine on the shelves here - my suggestion is to look for wines from SW France, Southern Italy and Spain if you like the fuller styles and want to keep it affordable. A lot of Euro stuff is hard to get at home, even at the cheaper end, so make the most of it while you're here.

May I ask a uestion? Why is it that Dry wines are considered superior to Sweeter (dessert) wines?

I can't abide bitter or sharp tastes, and love sweet things. I know this is wrong, but I can't help myself. I neck Spanish or Portuguese sweet wines and feel fantastic afterward. Not that I ever need alcohol, and I prefer beer or single malt scotch to wine. I just wondered at the snobbery against sweet wines.

Can you afficionados inform me......

The sweet wine snobbery comes from the fact that in general they're easier to produce and are still very much a legacy of the Liebfraumilch 1970's. As it was the only thing that was on the shelves and people were not offered the choice we have these days, just like food. Château d'Yquem stands out as one of the more expensive white wines. There is a bit of a trend at the moment where winemakers are using grapes that were previously used for the production of sweet wines and are now making dry wine with them, Riesling is a prime example.

However if we're talking dessert wines such as Eiswein (ice wine), these are highly complex wines, both in flavour and to produce, very labour intensive and therefore expensive.

these are not facts

http://www.domainedepialentou.com/UK/home_UK.html

Try it, it's nice. Agnes (the owner) used to work with my wife.

Description

Deliciously fruity cabernet-merlot blend from an estate in Gaillac that has Swedish and Manx connections! A perfect wine for al-fresco dining this summer.

and if you want a full-bodied italian red i suggest gamba - amarone della valpolicella 'le quare'

May I ask a uestion? Why is it that Dry wines are considered superior to Sweeter (dessert) wines?

I.

Wine snobbery is bullshit. If you like sweet wines enjoy them, and screw what is considered 'superior'. Wine is for pleasure and should not be for anything else.

Are you reffering to white or red or both?
Sweet and dry are very broad and rough descriptive terms, Chardonay & Sav Blanc can come across as sharp and acidic if they are heavily 'oaked' or pehaps not very well made, Reisling can be pretty sharp if the vintage is poor (too much rain, too cold etc) Wines like Pinot Grigio always taste a bit sharp to me.
Reds are more my area and I could go on and on.
I get a bit over excited by wine

A sweet wine to me is a Dessert wine like Port, Sherry, Gewurtztrammier, Botrytis
Next time you find a wine you like post it on here and I will see if I can come up with something you might like (cheap as I can). If you like beer and whiskey your palate should be up for some fairly 'big' flavour, sounds like tannins are the issue.

Margaret River, in W.A. I have spent time at Palandri, Cullen, Moss Wood and Cape Mentelle ......
Hunter stuff is hard to find here which is disappointing as the shiraz and semillon can be first rate in a dry year.

Cape Mentelle Shiraz & Sav Blanc are frickin awesome, I have had Palandri & Moss Wod before but they do not stand out in my memory as much as the Cape Mentelle does.

Shiraz & Semillion indeed! My two favourite varities, most years are dry, some are dryer than others. I have got some great Hunter vintages at home.
I will definately pop into the shop in the near future!

Andy & RG - you guys know who distributes those wines?

in the uk delitalia & harlington

I like wine. Unlike most 17 yearold boys I will drink it with a meal or on its own and appreciate a good bottle. I also love to drink ale (doombar or tribute) none of this alchopop or vodka shit, unless its like bison grass or expensive russian stuff. (About 400yrds up the road from me is the biggest sellection of fine wines and spirits in the southwest.)

I just wondered at the snobbery against sweet wines.
Can you afficionados inform me......

people have different tastes. i don't like a lot of the cheaper australian wines as they taste like ribena with added alcohol, they are probably the most popular supermarket wines in this country.
they are not bad wines, i just don't like them.
i don't like south african pinotage either, i can smell it a mile off and find it slightly repulsive.
i don't like marmite or stilton. doesn't mean they are rubbish foods.

[QUOTE=MrSmyth;1613207]i don't like south african pinotage either, i can smell it a mile off and find it slightly repulsive.
QUOTE]
+1
Their sales are really booming though, heavy supermarket prescence I guess.

Nothing is sacred
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/08/26/2994635.htm

Andy & RG - you guys know who distributes those wines?

http://www.thewinesociety.com/(S(vsffm4qkwixdvjavugymjfeh))/shop/shop.aspx?section=pd&pd=FC18231

http://www.thewinesociety.com/(S(vsffm4qkwixdvjavugymjfeh))/shop/shop.aspx?section=pd&pd=FC19101

Think you need to be a member.

Pinotage, nothing wrong with it, but I would say it having South Africa ancestry and the attitude towards Pinotage for me is a prime example of wine snobbery. It's a vine created out of Pinot Noir and Cinsault. As far as value for money you can't really beat South African wines as they're still able to rely on, dare I say it, cheap labour. Most grapes will have been hand picked early in the morning when the grapes are still nice and cool. Just stay clear of some of the mass grown "cheap" Pinotage.

If you really think that Pinotage is like pain thinner perhaps you should try a Môreson, Kanonkop or Steytler, these are all affordable quality wines and might change your views on Pinotage.

if you are reffering to my post, not snobbery Jaw, just plain old personal taste, i find white pinots hard work, not nearly enough round fruit & i find that most lack the finish i like in a white.

If others like a SA Pinot variety then good for them, I would never turn away a glass if offered. Maybe i will find a vintage/make i like.

I will keep an eye out for those three makers/make mentioned

A gentle reminder for tomorrow as it's

Beaujolais Nouveau Day

Currently enjoying PradoRey Crianza 2005. It's nice.

2006 Domaine du Cros Marcillac today - rather good too. Very underrated wine outside of France so hard to come by in this country unfortunately

got given a bottle of Musar today. which was nice.