Is wine a posh drink?

It's not important anway, johanna . Suffice it to say, my knowledge of wine has not progressed in those 40 years much beyond knowing what I like!

Brits (not hoi polloi) were v. knowledgeable about the wines of Bordeaux - still known in the UK as claret. Brits also great importers of fortified wines - sherry, Madeira, port, Marsala, etc.

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Lynch Bags, johanna! You wouldn't be so unkind ! Re the Talbot, is that Tal with a short, Lancashire 'a' or Tol? Just askin'.

I used to love wine, especially claret and sauvignon blanc, (not to mention the champagne with the smallest bubbles), but more than a sip or two gives me a headache, so I'm not drinking wine much now, just posh coffee. Coffee doesn't give me the jitters at all. In fact, I can easily doze off soon after drinking my afternoon cuppa. I probably need the caffeine!

And no doubt the British are the world's finest connoisseurs of coffee!
Is there any area in which we don't excel?

It took me forty yearsto realise that not only did I not like wine , it did not like me. Now when offered a glass of wine I say,''No, thank you, I'm not thirsty''. There's no answer to that. Thinking about this has made me realise that it is so much easier to say ''no thank you'' today than it was years ago. Maybe it's the drink/drive laws that have led to this.

It is easier, isn't it? I didn't drink alcoholic drinks when I was a student. Just didn't like them. But when I said "no thanks, it's wasted on me" people would be really pushy and usually fill my glass. I'd just leave it there.

I didn't begin to enjoy wine until I was in my thirties. Couldn't afford it before then anyway. What got me into it was reading an article by the wine buff, Malcolm Gluck, in the Guardian. He said that a certain Spanish white wine (Torres Esmeralda) had a "banana like middle". I thought what rot! and decided to try it. I was amazed! He was dead right! So I took to reading his column and trying some of the wines he recommended.

As I remember wine 40 years ago, Mateus Rose and Blue Nun were the thing most of us drank except at Christmas when it was something with bubbles!

Anyway, wine can't be posh as I had 3 glasses last night (please don't tell the authorities!!) and I'm still me!

bags, I too used to follow Malcolm Gluck's recommendations (if I could afford them) and really missed him when he gave up his column. He was irreplaceable.

Hunt - yes, it is a lot easier to decline a drink these days. As well as the drink-driving issue, people in general are becoming more health-conscious and aware of the damage that can be caused by habits such as drinking alcohol and smoking.

I have 6 bottles of wine in my wine rack so am I extra, extra posh (hic)

Why does everyone, in the media and otherwise, seem to obsessed with what's 'posh' and what's not?

I thought it was just on here!

In rural Italy a lot of people still make their own wine (often with home grown grapes) My husband has made wine for years even when we lived in Manchester. The grapes came from Italy and were sold at the wholesale market.Last year the grapes were grown by our neighbour and we picked them ourselves.The advantage of home made is that it only contains grapes, no preservatives such as sulphites which is what usually gives you a headache!! I can certainly drink more homemade than shop bought without any ill effect! My brother who appreciates good wine certainly liked it when he visited us!!

Well, Greatnan saw this on the Wright Stuff. So it's not just us!

What's that, Jingle - did you mean to post a link?

My daughter is going to start growing vines in her huge garden in NZ. I like NZ wine, so I look forward to it.

On Sunday I was drinking a really posh (or expensive) wine brought by my nephew when he came to lunch. A 20 year old Pomerol. It was lovely and mellow. Nephew is a wine buff but I just get something modest from the supermarket.

I like a good cider as much as wine.

Try not to drink more than 10 units a week.

I used to make 'country wines'. My best ones were what I called 'generic' reds, made of a mixture of red fruits (blackcurrants, elderberries, etc) plus vegetables such as beetroot. I don't remember them giving me headaches so I guess it is the sulphites.

Elderberry and runner bean was the second best.

I now drink one glass of rose with my dinner each night, slightly diluted by water - this is to help in keeping my bp down. However, I drank at least one bottle of wine a day for many years and I was very relieved to find (from blood tests during a complete health MOT) that I had not damaged my liver.
Middle aged and middle class women are being treated more and more often for liver failure - I have the facts from the horse's mouth as my daughter was Drug and Alcohol Action officer for a large local authority. I am afraid the quality of the wine makes no difference to its harmful effects.
The common picture of young binge drinkers falling out of clubs at weekends is only part of the story.

One of the most delicious 'country wines' that I've imbibed, was a well-matured rhubarb. After just two [generous] glasses I was giggly...after which, I developed rib-rockin' hiccups.

Don't drink much, but wine is my tipple when I do. Wine isn't posh, but homemade wine is very special. I once drank two small glasses of peach wine made by a friend and it was soooo potent I felt quite tipsy.

grannyactivist you can measure the quality of a decent glass of by the manner in which you rise [gingerly] from your chair and attempt to walk in a lady-like fashion towards the open door...

Was referring to the original post Greatnan