Very drinkable and won't break the bank-your discoveries

[suffolk]

I thought it would be good to have a thread where we could share our discoveries of very drinkable yet reasonably priced wines ... for example, today we opened a bottle of Waitrose Crisp and Floral Italian Dry White http://www.waitrosecellar.com/all-wines ... lian-white

Goodness me, it went down a treat and I've had to screw the top back very firmly ... it will be finished tomorrow ... at £4.99 a bottle it's a bargain and tastes exactly as described on the website

[aero280]

If any of you are in the area of the Ahr Valley in Germany, it's worth seeking out Brogsitters in Walporzheim, Bad Neuenahr.

We found their sparkling red wine on our travels it's very nice and also unusual. They will supply in cases to the UK, as our daughter-in-law has discovered. And it's on offer at the moment...

https://www.brogsitter.de/brogsitter-ro ... albtrocken

Our other DIL is teetotal and has taken a shine to one of their other sparkling wines - an alcohol free one. We tried it and it's drinkable too!! And a good suggestion for parties and other events where people are expected to drink champagne for toasts.

https://www.brogsitter.de/brogsitter-le ... lkoholfrei

[StokeySue]

It's worth trying the Waitrose Blueprint collection, or indeed any of the supermarket own brand ranges that do good examples of basic varietues; in particular they all seem to do good Romanian Pinot Noir, which I have reommended before for both drinking and cooking, they range from about £5 -6. Vinho verde also a good bet.

But if you ever wondered why Rick Stein rabbits on about Alabarino as THE seafood wine, Waitrose Blueprint Vina Taboexa Albarino is much nicer IMHO than far more expensive examples I've had at £8.29
http://www.waitrosecellar.com/waitrose-blueprint-collection/waitrose-vina-taboexa-albarino-713697

[Bubbles]

Yes, great that some very drinkable wines can be bought for around £5. Currently enjoying Romanian La Umbra Sue - £4.99 at the moment. A lovely juicy Merlot, and I love the 'dry and aromatic' Spanish white, again £4.99, both Waitrose. Waitrose is my nearest supermarket but also have a Lidl quite close. Anyone have any suggestions for Lidl?

[StokeySue]

Aldi has the reputation of being better for wine than Lidl, not their cheapest but always good value would be anything from their Exquisite collection, love the Picpoul de Pinet

Ah - one thing I do buy from Lidl, 0.5 l bottles of sherry

[Luca]

Do they sell dry sherry Sue? I've never seen it in my Lidl.

Good idea for a thread Suffs.

[suffolk]

Good idea for a thread Suffs.

[Zosherooney]

As some of you may know, we recently tunneled it to France and doing the research before we went I came across the Calais wine warehouse via TA. We had already booked the tunnel and were making a Mon-Fri trip out of it. If anyone is interested, they will pay your crossing P&O or tunnel (cheaper in Jan.) if you spend £300-£400 with them. We arrived with them around lunchtime on Monday and they have a tasting room - try before you buy! We chose and left the list with them. Paying an collecting on Friday before before we came back to the UK. We did get a discount for shopping with them. We were happy with the service, knowledge, chat, coffee and recommend their service. They seem very flexible and I am happy to recommend. They are easy to find and close to main routes. https://www.calaiswine.co.uk

[StokeySue]

Do they sell dry sherry Sue? I've never seen it in my Lidl.

Good idea for a thread Suffs.

Very nice fino and a couple of others
Always at Xmas and intermittently through th year

[Seatallan]

Our friends in Carlisle had a bottle of the most wonderful 30 year old Port from Lidl (they bought it just before Christmas). Honestly- it was possibly the best Port I've ever tasted.

[TeresaFoodie]

A brilliant idea for a thread.

I treated myself to a South African Sauvignon Blanc from Lidl recently. At £3.89 it was one of the cheapest on sale and I was very pleasantly surprised.

https://www.lidl.co.uk/en/White-Wine-36 ... =1384&ar=7

I will be having a look at their sherry selection next time I am in, but they keep spirits and fortified wines right near the checkouts and all the hustle and bustle. Always good to have a bottle in for cooking purposes only of course.

[Zosherooney]

When not on the waggon..... Pedro Ximinez (Lidl) is one of my faves. Their cab. sav. is also very quaffable.

[StokeySue]

Not wine as such... but if you like dry (or other) vermouth either for quaffing or cooking the vest I know are Dolin (French, Waitrose, shockingly expensive) and Noilyy Prat (French, everywhere, nearly as bad) Martini e Rossi is cheaper and often on offer, but I really don't like it, too much like herbal tea for me. Half the price of Martini or less, both Lidl and Morrissons do own brand vermouth that is very good IMHO

[Zosherooney]

Mr. Z had Lidls version of Bianco as he has a Negroni most evenings...... he is staggered by the price of Cinzano Bianco

[StokeySue]

Bianco in a Negroni? I use rosso (currently Morrisons) - but yes the principle is there!
Odd that although there are clones of Aperol (Lidl do one called Bitterol, it's OK but like Aperol too sugary for me) I have never found a Campari clone.
Negronis are very fashionable
IBA Recipe
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negroni

[StokeySue]

I am ambivalent about South African Pinotage, well I like the ones I like, and that is by no means all

However I've always liked the Beyerskloof,though not the most premium label

Morrisons currently have the Beyerskloof Reserve Selection Pinotage 2017 at £6.50.

Perfect cold weather wine, intense dark fruit with the leather on the finish that is characteristic of Pinotage - if you ever were a pony kid, there's just a whiff of that lovely tack room scent

A lot of complexity for the price IMHO, drink with roasts and rich stews / casseroles especially if you can get your hands on some hogget or salt marsh lamb (in South Africa they would serve Karoo lamb, smaller but equally intense )

[StokeySue]

Interesting article from Fiona Beckett on vegan wines (she explains why vegan is mire to the point than merely vegetarian)
https://amp.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/mar/02/vegan-wines-high-street-supermarkets-fiona-beckett?__twitter_impression=true

[Zosherooney]

Blimey Sue, you sound just like Gilly Gouldon circa.1990.....

[suffolk]

This is our favourite all-purpose red ... it's pricier than we usually buy for 'ordinary' but it's often on special offer and reduced to around £6 ish in Waitrose and when it is I buy several bottles ... there's always a few in our garage ... a really delicious Cotes du Rhone and as they describe it ... a wine 'with character'
https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/products/ ... 045-141046

[StokeySue]

I might give that a go Suffolk, I've been kind of confusing it with Cellier des Dauphins, which is undrinkable, but I now see it's quite different

If you like that kind of Ctes de Rhone, Waitrose have had some good offeres from E. Guigal in the past, adn I don't think they bottle bad wine (and some of it is lovely). They sell at all price levels from vin ordinaire to Very Special Occasion Only

[WWordsworth]

For the last few years I have occasionally indulged in a Montaria from Naked Wines.
I think it's about £8 if you're an Angel.
( I am )

[StokeySue]

I'll try that, I'm an Angel

Morrisons have a 2 for £10 offer on at the moment, some good options, I wrnt for a McGuigam Merlot and a Wolf Blass Classic Red Label Shiraz-Cabernet
I've been drinking the Red Label for years so I know it's goid, I've opened the Merlot, good not too heavy Merlot

[StokeySue]

[Lidl] No! Aldi Lellei Hungarian white from Lake Balaton, £5.49
A dry white wine made from the Irsai Oliver grape, although it's dry it has, like all Irsai Oliver wines, a hint of Turkish delight in there somewhere. Good with oriental food, or of course chicken papriakas

[KC2]

Lidli Lellei Hungarian white from Lake Balaton, £5.49
A dry white wine made from the Irsai Oliver grape, although it's dry it has, like all Irsai Oliver wines, a hint of Turkish delight in there somewhere. Good with oriental food, or of course chicken papriakas

Sounds good! Am planning a Lidl shop this week so will see if it's there

[StokeySue]

Sorry meant Aldi, not Lidl
They also have their Picpoul de Pinet

[KC2]

ah, never mind, I'm nowhere near an Aldi unfortunately, but thanks for telling me so I didn't look in vain!

[Bubbles]

Lidli Lellei Hungarian white from Lake Balaton, £5.49
A dry white wine made from the Irsai Oliver grape, although it's dry it has, like all Irsai Oliver wines, a hint of Turkish delight in there somewhere. Good with oriental food, or of course chicken papriakas

Sounds good! Am planning a Lidl shop this week so will see if it's there

I bought a lovely wine from Lidl last week: Vermentino di Sardegna.(Monte Janu). It's dry and slightly citrussy but with a good depth imo. I think it was around £5? I am going back to get more!

[StokeySue]

I was wrong twice, I went to Aldi and Lidl on consecutive days, and I didn't remember buying wine in Lidl but the Irsai Oliver was fromthere. Sorry, senior moment.

I might try the Vermentino but I don't like a lot of the Italian white wine grapes - vermentino, gavi or pecorino; obviously that's just my personal taste.

[Bubbles]

I know, I buy very little Italian wine although I did enjoy the Pecorino I bought from Waitrose so I was very happy with this one. I go to Lidl very rarely anyway but will try and get there more often. The thing that annoys me though is that my local one never seems to stock the same wines so if I find one I like I can never find it!

[StokeySue]

A other Hungarian white wine good with a Chinese takeaway
Aldi Labege Hungarian Gruner Veltliner
Can't remember the exact price but Less than £ Less floral and a tad drier than most Gruner Veltliner, nicely balamced, chill well

[suffolk]

Ooh I'll make a note of that one Sue ... there's an Aldi opened up fairly locally ...

[WWordsworth]

Majectic's own label Gruner Veltliner is £6 and quite acceptable.

[hickybank]

A great idea for a thread

While researching recently for a wine tasting at the wine circle we were in I came across this article

While the figures are not a hard & fast set of rules regarding very cheap wines it does put into prospective the argument for paying a little more for your wine
COST OF WINE BREAKDOWN
£5.00 BOTTLE
DUTY £2.16
LOGISTICS £0.56
PROFIT £1.08
VAT £1.76
WINE in bottle £0.37P
TOTAL £5.00
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
£10 BOTTLE
DUTY £2.16
LOGISTICS £0.56
PROFIT £2.85
VAT £1.67
WINE in bottle £2.76
TOTAL £10.00
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[patpoyntz]

On Saturday kitchen this morning, they very much liked the Aldi Animus...a Douro. We have been buying it for a while now, for everyday( not every day!) drinking and we like it, and friends have always liked it too.

[karadekoolaid]

Wines from the Douro Valley can be absolutely fantastic. About 6 years ago, I attended a wine tasting with 3 wines from there - unbelievably good.

[KC2]

On Saturday kitchen this morning, they very much liked the Aldi Animus...a Douro. We have been buying it for a while now, for everyday( not every day!) drinking and we like it, and friends have always liked it too.

Just checked it out and it is just under £30 for 6 bottles, apparently .... ie £4.99 a bottle ...

[patpoyntz]

Yes that’s right, and for 6 bottles or more, they do free delivery.....
They occasionally run out on line, but I can usually get it in the local store.
Was horrified last week when I went on line to order the champagne for a family wedding..they were sold out on line, and I was advised to try the local shop....I thought I’d have to trawl round all the local shops to get the required bottles, (72) and we don’t have many stores up here in the Highlands..however they were so helpful in the shop, let me order what I wanted, and I collected it 2 days later. Bit of a nuisance having 6 cases of wine at home until I can deliver it to the venue, but better than not getting it, and I was impressed with their help.

[KC2]

I had no idea Aldi delivered! They're certainly stealing a march on Lidl there, but then maybe they deliver too, I just didn't know

Good to hear they were so helpful and I hope you have a great family wedding!

[patpoyntz]

Yes. Aldi deliver, but not food I think, just wine and the special buys. In fact I’ve just had a camera delivered from them, which OH ordered after the local store had sold out.

[KC2]

Interesting, must remember that for future!

[WWordsworth]

If I'm having a sauvignon blanc I like a NZ one from Marlborough.
Lidl currently has a sparkling Marlborough sauvignon with a fizz-preserving cap.
I opened a bottle tonight and I think it's delicious.
It was about £10.

[StokeySue]

Oh, that sounds good WW!

[WWordsworth]

Yes, it's very much to my taste and as J isn't bothered about sparkling wines it's handy that I can seal it.
Don't get me wrong, I can consume a bottle without difficulty but I try not to.

[suffolk]

Bought a white Vino Verde from Aldi the other day. Can't remember how much but think it was around a fiver ... possibly a bit under ... very drinkable indeed. Will buy more next time

[StokeySue]

Not yet tried myself but Aldi are apparently now doing a super fashionable orange wine for £5.99
https://www.matchingfoodandwine.com/news/bottles/cramele-recas-orange-wine/

Orange wine is wine made from white grapes, but left to ferment on the skins so it ends up a sort of amber colour

[KC2]

Looks fascinating, Sue. Definitely worth a try!

[Zosherooney]

We have just taken receipt of a case of Pillastro 2016. One bottle in and I can highly recommend, in fact far too easy to drink ! A fiend in the village let us order a case thru his wine club so if you are looking for a very quaffable vino for over the festive period and can find this - do grab a bottle or two to enjoy with cheese, pasta or just on it's own. Ours worked out at £8.79 a bottle, not cheap as chips but a nice treat.