Undrinkable wine. Yes - undrinkable wine

I'd forgotten about Chateau Chunder! Yes, I first went to Australia in 1982 too, and loved the wines. But until recently we lived for a long time in the south, with good access through the tunnel, so spent a lot of time in France and I just naturally turn to it - so many good memories of jugs of excellent house wine.

Absolutely right about British wine, Absent, terrible tack.

But Australian - well it's Australian wine-makers that have helped to revive the French wine industry. My first trip to Oz was in 1982, and I was astounded at the quality of their wines there, and the interest in them that the general public displayed. 'Chateau Chunder' and 'Hobart Muddy' were things of the dim and distant past.

If you can afford it, or if you want to suggest a present for someone to give you, membership of The Wine Society is an excellent way to begin. It's a co- operative and it buys excellent wines which can only be bought by members. The website is very good and the delivery service can't be faulted. We have never been disappointed. We know very little about wine, but they are experts and have built up good relationships with those they buy from.

It's £50 to join and I think £20 off your first purchase. You can buy mixed cases or all the same or singles or whatever you want and they have some very good offers. They have a warehouse / shop in France which you can visit if you are passing.

Lots of good advice and lots for me to look forward to!
One of my DDs worked for Laithwaites one Christmas while she was at uni. We had some nice contributions that year to the festive cheer. No Co-op around here, not that I've found yet anyway, will keep an eye open.
Yes, "glass*, I used to drink a lot of Chilean wine when I was working in South America, it can be really good, but I can't say I've tried much from South Africa or New Zealand. I do tend to go for the French but there are so many out there to experiment with. I shall expand my horizons and heaven help the bathroom tiles (not that my standards are very high).

learner I agree with absent try Chilean, South African and New Zealand wines they are reasonably priced and you can find some gems.

Learnergran British wine is named misleadingly. It is made from imported grape juice and is absolutely disgusting. Ditto British sherry. On the other hand, English wine – made in an English winery from English-grown grapes – can be extremely good but it tends to be quite expensive.

That's a shame about the Australian wine because some really terrific wine comes from Australia these days. The cheap and nasty stuff of the past has mostly long gone.

It's worth investigating Chilean wines which can often be very good but not so expensive as their European equivalents and both South African and New Zealand wines are, as a rule, very drinkable.

learnerI claim no special knowledge, but like a lot of things you tend to get what you pay for.
I have two main sources for wine - one is Laithwaites, who deliver even half cases, and provide a lot of information on their website, and the other is the
Co-op who have very good reductions sometimes and I will buy wine that's reduced from say £12 a bottle to £6 from them.
It's worth reading the wine columns in the newspapers to get ideas of what's worth buying too.
And you need one of those vacuum - stopper thingies to reduce the temptation to drink the whole bottle in one go
Enjoy
gally I'm envious - a wine expert in the family!

No paint anno, but could give it a go on the bathroom tiles.

These all-knowing offspring, Gally. I actually got this lot at Asda, in their 3 for a tenner. Maybe it will be third time lucky with the Chilean. If not, well, practice makes perfect....

learner
I'm in the same boat, as you know, but trial and error and frequent visits to Asda have improved my wine-buying! Doesn't help having a daughter in the wine business who constantly says 'ugh, you shouldn't buy that year/you should keep that one/ you should have drunk that one by now........'

Have you got any paint that needs stripping? I once found undrinkable Spanish wine - a very cheap white Rioja.

By the way, I havered about whether this should go in House and Home, or Food.
I went for Food.
Bit of a giveaway.