The Cheap Wine Thread

[valkyrie]

It seems to me that every supermarket I go into these days has loads of different wines at either £5 off or "half-price". I use inverted commas 'cos invariably they're wines I've never seen before and I'm not entirely convinced that they've ever been for sale at the alleged full price. Having said that, I have been wondering if any of them are any good and it would be handy if anyone discovering a genuine bargain could list it here. I picked one at random yesterday and quite enjoyed, so much so that I'll be stocking up on it -

Tescos - reduced from £6 to £3 - "Cuvee Du Midi" 2008 - a Vin de Pays de Vaucluse red. It's in a green claret shaped bottle with blue screw-top and blue label with gold writing. Soft and fruity, very decent everyday drinking wine at a price you don't mind cooking with.

[Wowbagger]

An Essex Girl's favourite wine?

"I wanna go to Likeside!"

Oh sorry, I thought you said "whine".

[border-rider]

Waitrose have a very nice pink Prosecco - it's been reduced to just over a fiver and it's a bargain at that price

Borgo SanLeo, Nerello Mascalese / Prosecco Rosé NV Italy, Sparkling Wine - Waitrose Wines

[Basil]

Tip from my BiL.

"Just buy any wine that begins with B."

Not bad for a Leftpondian.  I've tried it and it works   

The obvious exception that proves the rule being Beaujolais.  Not bad I s'pose for sitting in the garden with onna sunny day,  but not not much cop as an evening or dinner wine.

[peterh]

Tip from my BiL.

"Just buy any wine that begins with B."

Not bad for a Leftpondian.  I've tried it and it works   

 

[Basil]

 

[citoyen]

I read something recently about what you're actually paying for when you buy a bottle of wine for a fiver. The wine itself accounts for a very small part of that outlay - well under a pound.
The article recommended £7 as the entry point.

To draw a parallel with bikes under £200, what you're really buying for your fiver is a wine-shaped object.

Which is not to say that a three-quid bottle of plonk might not be perfectly suitable for some people depending on what they need it for.

d.

[Zoidburg]

Sainsbury's Austrailian Shiraz

£3.99 and rather drinkable, none of that £2.99 Spanish piss for me.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Tesco Cotes du Rhone Winebox.  Bargain.  My daily pint...

[kyuss]

I used to buy any old crap but an £8-10 wine really is much better than a £4 one. I just don't buy anything these days unless there's at least a third off and I can't remember the last time I spent more than a fiver.

Tonight it's Lindeman's Secret Valley Cabernet/Merlot. £4.50 and it's bloody good.

[Valiant]

What does the house think of those branded wines that are usually around the £5-6 mark?

Lindemans
Mason
Gallo
Hardys
Blossom Hill
Jacobs Creek
Echo Falls
Kumala
etc

PS - Tesco currently has a wine fest on, mixed cases are half price.

[kyuss]

PS - Tesco currently has a wine fest on, mixed cases are half price.

I spotted that yesterday. Going to get together with my brother and order a couple (or 4).

[nicknack]

What does the house think of those branded wines that are usually around the £5-6 mark?

Lindemans
Mason
Gallo
Hardys
Blossom Hill
Jacobs Creek
Echo Falls
Kumala
etc

PS - Tesco currently has a wine fest on, mixed cases are half price.

Wild generalisation coming up...

The reds are like Ribena and the whites aren't dry enough.

HTH

[vorsprung]

What does the house think of those branded wines that are usually around the £5-6 mark?

Lindemans
Mason
Gallo
Hardys
Blossom Hill
Jacobs Creek
Echo Falls
Kumala
etc

PS - Tesco currently has a wine fest on, mixed cases are half price.

Wild generalisation coming up...

The reds are like Ribena and the whites aren't dry enough.

HTH

Another generalisation.  Austrailan wine tends to be overpriced for what it is.  An Oz red for under a fiver is unlikely to be much cop

My current wine buying tactic is to look for stuff that is a fiver but marked down from 8 or 9 quid
For example, in Sainsburys in Taunton they have Piccini Chianti Superiore for £5.32 a bottle
It really is superior
Coop had Faustino on special last week, must go in there and try and pick a couple up

[Fab Foodie]

What does the house think of those branded wines that are usually around the £5-6 mark?

Lindemans
Mason
Gallo
Hardys
Blossom Hill
Jacobs Creek
Echo Falls
Kumala
etc

PS - Tesco currently has a wine fest on, mixed cases are half price.

Wild generalisation coming up...

The reds are like Ribena and the whites aren't dry enough.

HTH

It's not just me then...

[citoyen]

Another generalisation.  Austrailan wine tends to be overpriced for what it is.  An Oz red for under a fiver is unlikely to be much cop

Yeah, the fact that it's on the other side of the world may have something to do with that. See my previous post - most of what you pay for a cheap bottle of Ozzie wine goes on the cost of transporting it over here. That and the taxes.

I rarely pay much less than a tenner for a bottle of wine these days - just as well I don't drink much wine. But if you buy a bottle for a tenner that's marked down from £15, that can still be considered "cheap" for what it is.

Not that every bottle of wine that costs a tenner is worth that much - you can still get some crap at that price. But you can also get some very good bargains (ie a relative bargain for something that's actually worth drinking).

d.

[pcolbeck]

Morrisons are doing 2006 Salava Hiac Saint Chinian at half price for £5.00 at the moment. I'm 80% of the way through a bottle at the moment and it's very nice. Loads more character than most of the New World stuff at the same price.

[Noodley]

There is a load of bollocks spoken and written about wine.  There are great value wines produced all over the world.

Yours,

a former wine merchant.

 

[Mrs Pingu]

What does the house think of those branded wines that are usually around the £5-6 mark?

Lindemans
Mason
Gallo
Hardys
Blossom Hill
Jacobs Creek
Echo Falls
Kumala
etc

PS - Tesco currently has a wine fest on, mixed cases are half price.

My personal take, is avoid the Californian stuff like the plague.
IME, the only people to bring Gallo or Blossom Hill to dinner, are the ones who don't like wine!

My favourite is Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Marlborough Sauv Blanc. However, it is a very cat's wee Sauv blanc and it might not be for everyone, but I love it.
It seems to typically be on sale for £7.99 but I won't buy it unless it's on offer.


C'mon then Noodles, tell us what we should be buying to save our pockets!

[border-rider]

Yours,

a former wine merchant.

 

you were f'in busy - between the wars

[pcolbeck]

There is a load of bollocks spoken and written about wine.  There are great value wines produced all over the world.

Yours,

a former wine merchant.

Agreed. I just find it harder to find New World wines that I like at a decent price point in supermarkets. I can't be bothered buying books or researching it enough to keep up to date and simply find that French plonk at a reasonable price point tends to be more inserting and complex than the New World stuff, though I might make an exception for some of the wines from Argentina. One of my friends used to be a wine merchant and he used to do blind tastings with us on with his samplers. Some very surprising results. To a certain extent price bore no relation to quality especially with French wines. Producers with a good name commanded a premium price even if they had a bad year especially if they produced a small quantity.
That said I avoid Beaujolais like the plague and tend to stick to Bordeaux or stuff from the South West (my favourite) which has traditionally been under valued (and a lot of it quite bad) but has been getting better year on year. Avoid the 2.99 French stuff though as it tastes like Ribena.

[kyuss]

Avoid the 2.99 French stuff though as it tastes like Ribena.

But I like Ribena. 

[Rhys W]

My personal take, is avoid the Californian stuff like the plague.
IME, the only people to bring Gallo or Blossom Hill to dinner, are the ones who don't like wine!

Indeed - it's the equivalent to taking Budweiser to a beer festival.

Unless you're actually in California, where the selection extends to the esoteric.

[pcolbeck]

Avoid the 2.99 French stuff though as it tastes like Ribena.

But I like Ribena. 

So do I but not when I want to drink wine.

[Eccentrica Gallumbits]

I really like Jacob's Creek Grenache Shiraz.

I'm not generally keen on French wines - they always seem quite thin and tinny to me. Apart from champagne - I love champagne.