CHF Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 Im looking to buy a bulk purchase of wine to kick off an amateur wine cellar, the main reason being that i work awy through the wek and i'd like to come home to a decent wine selction rther than having to worry about nipping to ASDA and looking for the bottles with the biggest reduction in a vain attempt to buy quality wine at a reasonable price. Im only looking for wines around the £4-7 mark and looking to spend £2-300 quid. Is it worth joining a wine club or just buying a stack from Majestic? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikhail Liebenstein Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 Im looking to buy a bulk purchase of wine to kick off an amateur wine cellar, the main reason being that i work awy through the wek and i'd like to come home to a decent wine selction rther than having to worry about nipping to ASDA and looking for the bottles with the biggest reduction in a vain attempt to buy quality wine at a reasonable price. Im only looking for wines around the £4-7 mark and looking to spend £2-300 quid. Is it worth joining a wine club or just buying a stack from Majestic? Try a local wine wholesaler. They can't sell in less than cases, but often have bin ends left from bulk orders by restaurants. You'll usually get a good choice and good price, and also not the same stuff as in the supermarket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supertop Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 Im looking to buy a bulk purchase of wine to kick off an amateur wine cellar, the main reason being that i work awy through the wek and i'd like to come home to a decent wine selction rther than having to worry about nipping to ASDA and looking for the bottles with the biggest reduction in a vain attempt to buy quality wine at a reasonable price. Im only looking for wines around the £4-7 mark and looking to spend £2-300 quid. Is it worth joining a wine club or just buying a stack from Majestic? Is this a very roundabout way of saying you're an alcoholic? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6538 Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 Im looking to buy a bulk purchase of wine to kick off an amateur wine cellar, the main reason being that i work awy through the wek and i'd like to come home to a decent wine selction rther than having to worry about nipping to ASDA and looking for the bottles with the biggest reduction in a vain attempt to buy quality wine at a reasonable price. Im only looking for wines around the £4-7 mark and looking to spend £2-300 quid. Is it worth joining a wine club or just buying a stack from Majestic? Go the home brew route. Easy to make wine as good - or better - that what you can buy at that price range for a lot, lot less which translates into ar more wine for the same money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pole Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 Im looking to buy a bulk purchase of wine to kick off an amateur wine cellar, the main reason being that i work awy through the wek and i'd like to come home to a decent wine selction rther than having to worry about nipping to ASDA and looking for the bottles with the biggest reduction in a vain attempt to buy quality wine at a reasonable price. Im only looking for wines around the £4-7 mark and looking to spend £2-300 quid. Is it worth joining a wine club or just buying a stack from Majestic? LIDL or ALDI offer lots of good quality wines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Live Peasant Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 The wine society. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Masked Tulip Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 Find a local wine club who probably have discounts on wines bought in bulk. Over the course of 12 to 18 months you can build up a very good collection. You also get to taste the wine and have the expertise of the club to advise you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prescience Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 Dive over to France around October time. This is just after the Vendange and vineyards clear out their stocks of one and two year old wines to make room for the new vintage. It's the time to buy for laying down! Major supermarkets and hypermarkets such as Auchan, Carrefour are stacked with this wine on offer. Now, don't sneer, both both Aldi and Lidl , in France, sell excellent wines for aging. My cellar in France is stocked with skads of wine from Aldi aging away nicely. Their stocks are very much ad hoc: see something that looks interesting: buy a bottle and taste it. Even open one in the carpark and re-cap it with a renewable cork. Seek body and tanin which will age nicely. Be aware that not all wines age: some are intended to be drunk young; some only improve for two or most three years. I had one left of a Valpolacella Amarone (Retail circa £70-80/bottle): we'd drink the rest: superb! Bought from Asda for £5.95 a few year back, price mistake I think! I kept the last bottle one year too long: it turned and was like alcoholic Coke! Also consider that you don't want too much wine maturing all at the same time! Chum of mine did this: bought four cases (48 bottles) of an excellent wine from an agent for laying down. It all came on at the same time and they were reeling around bladdered for a week or so! Planning a cellar for actually drinking is wholly different from planning a cellar for investment. For consumption, you need to carefully plan stages of maturity: and re-stock regularly to ensure you can drink regularly in one, two and three years etc time. Takes a bit of planning and management. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
profitofdoom Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 Dive over to France around October time. This is just after the Vendange and vineyards clear out their stocks of one and two year old wines to make room for the new vintage. It's the time to buy for laying down! Major supermarkets and hypermarkets such as Auchan, Carrefour are stacked with this wine on offer. Now, don't sneer, both both Aldi and Lidl , in France, sell excellent wines for aging. My cellar in France is stocked with skads of wine from Aldi aging away nicely. Their stocks are very much ad hoc: see something that looks interesting: buy a bottle and taste it. Even open one in the carpark and re-cap it with a renewable cork. Seek body and tanin which will age nicely. I am guessing that you are not thinking of "laying down" as such.Only certain vintages benefit from ageing.These are the Clarets of Bordeaux,come Burgundies and a few lower Rhone reds.Almost everything else will not benefit from being kept more thana year or two.So if you are thinking of tottering down a dusty cellar to celebrate a yet unborn grandchilds 21st think again. Be aware that not all wines age: some are intended to be drunk young; some only improve for two or most three years. I had one left of a Valpolacella Amarone (Retail circa £70-80/bottle): we'd drink the rest: superb! Bought from Asda for £5.95 a few year back, price mistake I think! I kept the last bottle one year too long: it turned and was like alcoholic Coke! Also consider that you don't want too much wine maturing all at the same time! Chum of mine did this: bought four cases (48 bottles) of an excellent wine from an agent for laying down. It all came on at the same time and they were reeling around bladdered for a week or so! Planning a cellar for actually drinking is wholly different from planning a cellar for investment. For consumption, you need to carefully plan stages of maturity: and re-stock regularly to ensure you can drink regularly in one, two and three years etc time. Takes a bit of planning and management. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnamon Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 Go the home brew route. Easy to make wine as good - or better - that what you can buy at that price range for a lot, lot less which translates into ar more wine for the same money. Indeed, you can get decent kits for £70 for 30 bottles, brew it properly and you end up with a nicer wine than you can buy. In essence, any commercial wine that costs less than £20 a bottle is industrial plonk and you can easily match this with today's kits. Check this site out: http://www.winepress.us/forums/index.php?/forum/11-kit-winemaking-make-great-wines-from-great-kits/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6538 Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 Indeed, you can get decent kits for £70 for 30 bottles, brew it properly and you end up with a nicer wine than you can buy. In essence, any commercial wine that costs less than £20 a bottle is industrial plonk and you can easily match this with today's kits. Check this site out: http://www.winepress.us/forums/index.php?/forum/11-kit-winemaking-make-great-wines-from-great-kits/ The kit I do most is a Beaverdale or California Connoisseur Zinfandel Blush which easily comes out far, far better than most of the mid priced commercial wines. It's £39 for a 30 bottle kit at my local home brew place. Actually, I've run out so a trip this afternoon may be in order. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patfig Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 The Co op is currently selling off some ex Xmas stock and have Anakena Chilean single vineyard pinot noir at $4 a bottle, its really great value at 4 quid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnamon Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 The kit I do most is a Beaverdale or California Connoisseur Zinfandel Blush which easily comes out far, far better than most of the mid priced commercial wines. It's £39 for a 30 bottle kit at my local home brew place. Actually, I've run out so a trip this afternoon may be in order. Beaverdale wines are a nice, quick drinking brew, right now I have their Gewurztraminer bubbling away But making a nice big red such as an Amarone or Lollo Rosso and stashing it in the carboy for 2 years until you bottle is extra special, and well worth the wait and the extra expense. However, that said, country wines are pretty nice too, tinned fruit makes a great drink -- and who could live without garlic wine in their kitchen? Btw, one limiting factor on wine quality (and beer quality) is that it does not like to travel -- look up 'bottle sickness'. So, even if you buy a nice wine, if you don't wait long enough between taking it home and drinking, you can easily be disappointed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SarahBell Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 Try a local wine wholesaler. They can't sell in less than cases, but often have bin ends left from bulk orders by restaurants. You'll usually get a good choice and good price, and also not the same stuff as in the supermarket. AND they'll let you try various wines whilst you're there too. Walk there if you like trying wines. They should deliver too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erranta Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 Im looking to buy a bulk purchase of wine to kick off an amateur wine cellar, the main reason being that i work awy through the wek and i'd like to come home to a decent wine selction rther than having to worry about nipping to ASDA and looking for the bottles with the biggest reduction in a vain attempt to buy quality wine at a reasonable price. Im only looking for wines around the £4-7 mark and looking to spend £2-300 quid. Is it worth joining a wine club or just buying a stack from Majestic? Top quality Spanish - they have a wine lake at present and are turning quality vintage into industrial alchohol to keep prices from collapsing. Buy a tanker full with a few mates! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wurzel Of Highbridge Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 If you are thinking of travelling to Calais have a look at the following for pricing information: http://www.calaiswine.co.uk/ £2.19 Hardy's Bin 53 Special release Shiraz £2.19 Hardy's Bin 53 Special release Chardonnay £2.19 Hardy's VR Cabernet Sauvignon £2.19 Hardy's VR Merlot £4.00 Robert Mondavi 'Woodbridge' Merlot (My favourite) 3 for £6 Stowell's Merlot Pays d'Oc Pidou can be good sometimes: http://www.pidou.com/modulosite2/alcohol-calais.htm Sea France are doing a £24.00 day return with 6 free bottles of wine if you book before the end of the week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHF Posted February 11, 2011 Author Share Posted February 11, 2011 Is this a very roundabout way of saying you're an alcoholic? Thanks for all the replies guys - youve really given me something to think about tho this quote made me and the mrs laugh out loud! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swissy_fit Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 Thanks for all the replies guys - youve really given me something to think about tho this quote made me and the mrs laugh out loud! Your OP is a really easy question to answer. Phone Laithwaites. Discuss what you like in terms of wine styles with one of their advisers. Let them choose and send you a mixed case to begin with. If it goes well, let them choose and send you 10 cases. Really, they are very very good, know their stuff, and have never ripped me off. Disclosure : Haven't used them for 5 years as have been in Swissyland. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC Fur Q Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 £4 to £7 is my price bracket too (though it is nice to treat yourself to something fancier at Christmas...) My method is to go to the supermarket and buy bottles reduced into my price range that sound nice. I tend to get through bottles quite quickly so I will buy 6+ bottles (to get the extra 5% off) with a selection of 1 each of everything that catches my eye at the start of the offer period. Then after 2 weeks I will be back to buy more of the bottles that I liked the best and the special offer is still on. My brother works for Tescos and is a bit of a wine buff. He says I am wrong and that most reduced wines were always intended to be sold at the reduced price. Sometimes he will ring me up with a tip for a genuinely reduced wine so i get a proper £10+ bottle for £6.99. He may be right but it's rare for me to get a wine I don't enjoy so I'm happy. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patfig Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 £4 to £7 is my price bracket too (though it is nice to treat yourself to something fancier at Christmas...) My method is to go to the supermarket and buy bottles reduced into my price range that sound nice. I tend to get through bottles quite quickly so I will buy 6+ bottles (to get the extra 5% off) with a selection of 1 each of everything that catches my eye at the start of the offer period. Then after 2 weeks I will be back to buy more of the bottles that I liked the best and the special offer is still on. My brother works for Tescos and is a bit of a wine buff. He says I am wrong and that most reduced wines were always intended to be sold at the reduced price. Sometimes he will ring me up with a tip for a genuinely reduced wine so i get a proper £10+ bottle for £6.99. He may be right but it's rare for me to get a wine I don't enjoy so I'm happy. Cheers! So we will look forward to your recommendations Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prescience Posted February 12, 2011 Share Posted February 12, 2011 £4 to £7 is my price bracket too (though it is nice to treat yourself to something fancier at Christmas...) My method is to go to the supermarket and buy bottles reduced into my price range that sound nice. I tend to get through bottles quite quickly so I will buy 6+ bottles (to get the extra 5% off) with a selection of 1 each of everything that catches my eye at the start of the offer period. Then after 2 weeks I will be back to buy more of the bottles that I liked the best and the special offer is still on. My brother works for Tescos and is a bit of a wine buff. He says I am wrong and that most reduced wines were always intended to be sold at the reduced price. Sometimes he will ring me up with a tip for a genuinely reduced wine so i get a proper £10+ bottle for £6.99. He may be right but it's rare for me to get a wine I don't enjoy so I'm happy. Cheers! You have to be a little careful with special priced better grade wines. Sometimes a vineyard or agent will test aging wine in cellar and find it is not improving and aging as hoped. So they vineyard or agent will sell it off cheap to a negociant or similar to make space and realise capital. No one in their right mind would sell off sufficient wine to supply a major supermarket or an outlet such as Aldi or Lidl with superior wine at a knock down price. Much of the profit in superior wines comes simply from keeping the wine until it has reached near optimum drinking condition. It may well be "Better" wine than the run of the mill Vin de Pays or similar at £2.99 a bottle; but will never reach the standard the label and maker intended. The time to buy "Cheap" good wine, as I suggested previously, is at the time of the Vendange, when the vineyards are clearing cellar space to age the new vintage and offer one year and two year old wine to the trade (Some of which, of course, has spent up to Six Months aging first in the barrel). This is the time to hit major supermarché in France such as Auchan and Carrefour: the places are stacked high with the boxes ready for customer's own cellars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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