Gransnet wine club?

Indeed jane10 it would be a good name for a pet lamb or something

janea wasn't it lovely saying Picpoul out loud? .....or is it just me that likes that word?

I like Majestic Wine. I tell them a wine I like and they recommend a similar wine. Also can try before you buy with some wines. Have found some real favourites this way and never a bad one

bennan and jane10 I've just bought a bottle of picpoul de pinet from the Co-op so will think of you both as I try it

oops wrong one!

Is it just me or did Ainsley Harriot look like Gru (Despicable Me) when he was doing his tango?

I don't buy much wine from supermarkets. I'm wary of big reductions because I suspect that someone is trying to get rid of it, and some are always 'half-price'.

DH's father bought him a share in The Wine Society many years ago, now DS1 has inherited his grandfather's share. We really cannot fault their customer service. There are members' reviews of the wines now, which is helpful.

We have recently discovered Majestic Wine. They've been around for a long time, we just hadn't been there until we needed to get wine for an event at short notice. They deliver, but you can go and collect - and there's always something open to taste.

www.thewinesociety.com

www.majestic.co.uk

Virgin wines or Naked for the more adventurous. Supermarkets? well M&S reliably good, Asda cheap but you have to hunt them down.

Cloudy Bay is a big treat for me phoenix!

Pittcity I had the problem with Laithwaites ringing up all the time.
In the end I asked them not to ring any more.
A week later they rang again so I said in a firm tone that I had already asked them not to, and said I was quite happy to get emails and occasional catalogues, but I really did not want them to phone.
That was about six weeks ago and so far, so good.
Gilly I'm afraid there's no such thing as a free lunch, and there's no such thing as dining in for £10 for two, if the menu includes ready meals and a bottle of half decent wine - something has to give.
If you don't want you to go back to the store, you could try emailing customer services or shaming them on FB or Twitter.
You don't need to prove anything - they will know they are selling rubbish wine.

Nobilo Limited Release Sauvignon Blanc is lovely! Usually £10 a bottle, but very occasionally available on half price offer at Morrisons

I always ask for Picpoul de Pinet when I'm out. I just like saying out loud! I tried a bottle of it at home but didn't like it half as much.
SiL kindly gave me a nice bottle of Spice Route Chenin blanc. I usually like Chenin but all I can taste in this one is the alcohol. Its just swamped the usual lovely soft fruity flavour. Its 13.5% proof. Too strong for me.

BTW have you ever noticed that you try a wine, love it, buy it again & it fails to please? Is it the food, maybe not! There is a nifty little book on Amazon "When Wine Tastes Best: A Biodynamic Calendar for Wine Drinkers 2016 Paperback – 17 Sep 2015". You may well think it's a load of baloney but if a couple of major supermarkets structure their press tastings around it then maybe there's something in it!

Thanks Purpledaffodil, since you mention it I am! I must admit no real plonk gets drunk in my house as for better or worse I have been educated in the fixed costs are just that, so the more you spend the better the wine. Having said that I seldom spend more than £8 a bottle.

Yes that's the problem annsixty. How do I prove that this was the way the wine was when we opened it? Not sure what to do.

We were at a friends house for lunch a couple of years ago and two were drinking white and four of us red. The first one to sip the white was shocked to find it was in fact water.It did not appear to have been opened.I can't remember if he told us the outcome.It is very difficult to prove after all.

I took advantage of the M&S dine in for £10 yesterday which came with a rather nice looking red wine (normally retailed at £7) we sat down to dinner last night and my DH poured the wine which looked very pale. Taking a sip it was clear it was virtually water. I couldn't believe it. Not sure what to do. My first thought was to take it back today but it's a good hour round trip. I'm furious.

Wine is such a personal thing. My favourite white is Picpoul de Pinet at the moment and I raved about it to a friend - she bought some and didn't like it at all! Majestic have a few bottles open so you can taste what they are selling so that can be helpful. It is wiser to spend a little more and buy from a source you trust. We use Waitrose and Majestic and find them very reliable. By the way, you don't have to stick with the red with meat and white with fish anymore, it's just a guide - If you have a light red it can be delicious with fish or seafood!

I have also found Laithwaites good and a friend who is a wine expert agrees. However they are rather persistent in phoning regularly and as DH may not drink alcohol any more, I do not need to buy that often. Sadly I keep forgetting to cancel the boxes on my wine plan with them, so am building up quite a stock.
You must be very proud Garygran! Bet no plonk gets drunk in your house

Pittcity

The Mistress of Wine is a brilliant suggestion & she has lots of interesting stuff on her site. I cannot rate her too highly & the fact that she is my daughter has nothing to do with it!

Yep.....the Vacu vin thingies are excellent, I only have a glass at a time and DH is a non drinker, bless him he never got past drinking Coke as a young man as he has such a sweet tooth.

Coincidence - just been cleaning out a drawer and found an article from a newspaper dated sometime in 2014 entitled "Lidl licks the lot for the best value in wine" tested by Wotwine, a team made up of expert tasters and Masters of wine, (one was the wine buyer for Waitrose} saying that 2 in 3 of their bottles are worth more thanthe price on the shelf. They also wrote that Lidl were fractionally ahead of Aldi in terms of good wine and good value. Usually buy our wine from Aldi and no complaints.

From Waitrose
Chianti about £6.49
From Waitrose or Sainsburys
Chardonnay Bin 65 £5.49 -£7.99
Are my 2 favourites

Two tips .
One . Go for own-bottled , e.g. "Produced for M&S " on the bottom of the label .
Two . Aldi !!

I agree about the quality of Lidl wines, and a couple I've tried from Aldi have been good too. Tesco Finest range is worth trying, their Sauvignon Blanc is my current favourite and only £4.79.

As to those wines that disappoint, I've found they often improve by the second glass

I also use Naked Wines and, like Maggiemaybe, have never had a duff one from them. However, I also go to a U3A wine appreciation group and a lot of the wines we try are from Lidl and Sainsbury and are excellent too - usually around the £7-£8 price per bottle - but often with special offers.
btw, Waitrose have a very good booklet about different sorts of wine