Ithink a shop assistant was correct this morning.

I think the shop assistant was correct too. However, I also think that wine's do not improve at the same rate that their cost increases so very expensive wines are rarely worth it. I would expect any wine costing £7–9 a bottle to be good. Cheaper than that you can't bank on it but they often are good.

Sorry for the redundant apostrophe!

I have many a good discussion with fellow shoppers on wine aisles. She'd have done better to ask another customer. Poor woman still hasn't a clue after that.

To try to contain my free usage of apostrophes a friend told me that every time you misuse an apostrophe a puppy dies. Bags you have joined the puppy slaying club

Assistant needs a bit more training!

I don't agree. If the assistant had given advice that the customer took and then whoever drank the wine didn't like it, it could backfire on the assistant. The assistant may well have been trained not to 'advise' in such cases for that very reason.

"But your assistant recommended.... and it was a disaster!"

Hmmm

People are getting more savvy these days. There are some delicious wines in Aldi (such as Tempranillo Toro Loco for about £3.69) and others elsewhere for three times the price that taste coarse and rough. I look for wines that win medals or are recommended, and buy them when they are on offer. I wouldn't depend on a shop assistant unless they had tried and bought the wines for the store themselves.

Not really fair on the assistant and good of them not to just try and flog the most expensive one in the shop. Mind you, although I don't drink myself the S.O. raves about one wine from Aldi [probably the one when mentions] and everyone he's told has been buying it since. I'm still fuming a bit after going into a branch of Holland and Barrett last week and needing some advice from an assistant that seemed more interested in continuing a conversation with her work colleague. She did serve me and and gave me advice but went straight back to the on going conversation without a thank and goodbye. Unusual for the staff at H&B.

We stopped once in Epernay in a hotel, wanting to buy champagne to take home. We asked the Maitre d'H at the hotel and he laughed and said: champagnes are all more or less the same, price is only representative of the amount of marketing around the brand. He said he actually makes more profit at the Hotel with cheaper local producers than Moet or Veuve Cliquot, etc.

I think food and wine is individual.
I went with a friend to the Harvester and fancied Sausage and Mash.
My friend said the spicy ones were a lot nicer and they were only £1 more.
I tried them and they were edible but not really to my taste but they were obviously to his.

Frank

If you were in a wine shop then the assistant should have been more helpful, asking whether the wine was to be served with food etc. I have often asked an assistant in a wine shop to advise me on wines and have never been disappointed.

Sausages ?

I was very suspicious in Venice when I couldn't find the brand of Grappa I normally drink (Occasionally !!!) The shop assistant sold me abottle which she told me was the best. It cost about £20 ande I was sure I'd been had, but when we drank it it was absolutely superb.

So it should be for that price!

Sorry but cheap wine always tastes like cheap wine.

Don't know about cheap wine, found some great bargains in my time, but I agree life is too short to drink bad wine