swissy_fit Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 But most New World wines really are low cost chemical rubbish. I grew up in California, near the vineyards for Gallo and the other mass market producers, and the wine they make is simply an industrial product. What you see is mile after mile of vines baking in the desert heat, irrigated on a massive scale, then shipped off to wineries that look more like chemical plants, with huge tank farms lined up next to the motorway. All of it owned by a small number of very large corporations. People complain about unpredictable weather in Europe, but these grapes are grown in conditions that are so hot, and with so much irrigation, that you might as well be fermenting sugar cane for all the flavour that these grapes are allowed to develop before turning completely to sugar. The vines are heavily sprayed, with the area well known for water and air pollution, and multiple "unexplained" clusters of high levels of cancer. The US makes twice as much wine as Australia, and the vast, vast majority of it (certainly more than 75%, i.e. more than the production of Australia and NZ together) is made this way. I don't know the exact details for production in Australia, NZ, and Chile, but they all looked to the US for inspiration in creating their wine industries. There's certainly some cr@p French wine out there, but it's not made on the same industrial scale as the New World producers, and the average quality really is much higher (at least when comparing France to the US). I take your point, if we're measuring by the hectolitre, perhaps the majority of New World wines are poor. But that's a bit like saying that all Argentinian meat is sh1te because the majority that is eaten is in burgers, it's "true" but forgets the fact that some of the finest steaks on the planet come from there as well. American wine isn't really a byword for high quality, though even there at least some good stuff is made, the BonTerra range is pretty good IMO and I don't doubt there are plenty of other examples, can't say I have much experience of it. Regarding application of chemicals, it makes no difference if they are applied by plane or tractor. Professional-level wine is not necessarily worse because it is made efficiently and in large quantities, the French also use temperature-controlled stainless-steel containers now, they discovered it helps. It was the French producers that excluded the tiny boutique "garage" wines from the wine competitions because they couldn't win against old expert viticulteurs selecting grapes by hand harvested at night from a tiny number of individually tended vines in their gardens/greenhouses then making the wine in small stainless-steel setups in temperature-controlled garages. Chateau Margaux and the like need to "win" prizes to justify their silly prices, so they kicked out the amateurs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crashmonitor Posted February 14, 2015 Author Share Posted February 14, 2015 http://www.tesco.com/wine/product/details/default.aspx?N=8129+4294967141+4294967096&id=280134459#RR Always on the look out for a cheap red wine that tastes quality. I've always ignored Bulgarian in favour of New Wrold because I have yet to taste a decent red from Italy, Spain or Eastern Europe at a budget price. Bulgarian Cabernet Sauvignon at £3.49 does it for me. Unlike most European wines it has the non bitter taste of New World and a fairly decent flavour of the fruit, it only really falls short on alcoholic strength, 12% as opposed to the 14% of the typical New Worlder. At this price you would expect a generic blend, but this is a single grape Cabernet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rxe Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 We have a bad deal in the UK. Supermarkets stock very average stuff in the main, because we buy it. If you hit Carrefour in France, there is a lot of very decent wine , and it is well priced. My simple rule in Carrefour is if it is less an 7 euros a bottle, and has won a gold or silver medal in a reasonable competition, I clear the shelf. We came back from France with the car groaning last week - with bottles ranging from Eur 2.99 to Eur 15. The difference with New World wines is that any person can buy some land, plant up and make wine. Some of it is fantastic, some of it it utter cack. On the flip side, if you pick up a bottle of Chablis Grand Cru, you know exactly the hillside it came from - and it is known to be good because generations of people have made wine there and worked out that it is a good place to grow grapes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrPin Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 We have a bad deal in the UK. Supermarkets stock very average stuff in the main, because we buy it. If you hit Carrefour in France, there is a lot of very decent wine , and it is well priced. My simple rule in Carrefour is if it is less an 7 euros a bottle, and has won a gold or silver medal in a reasonable competition, I clear the shelf. We came back from France with the car groaning last week - with bottles ranging from Eur 2.99 to Eur 15. You will not see much Sunday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloo Loo Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 You will not see much Sunday. what does the team think of wine clubs, like Naked wines...just haflway thrgouh a ncie fzizy Loire Brut wihle wintchag le Rugby do cheese pringles count as cheese and wine? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frozen_out Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 Only a recent convert to wine drinking and find Italian wines the most amenable to my pallette (Italian hasn't been mentioned much on the thread). Although whether that translates into it being any good I've no idea. Recently I've been picking up Chianti, montelpulciano and a di ripasso in Aldi. The di ripasso seems massively inconsistent though. The odd bottle is really good. When I go out with work the boss likes to buy Malbec and Sancerre. We were out last week and the Malbec was outrageous. I had a sip and actually thought 'ah, that's what decent wine tastes like'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nuggets Mahoney Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 Only a recent convert to wine drinking and find Italian wines the most amenable to my pallette (Italian hasn't been mentioned much on the thread). Although whether that translates into it being any good I've no idea. Recently I've been picking up Chianti, montelpulciano and a di ripasso in Aldi. The di ripasso seems massively inconsistent though. The odd bottle is really good. fwiw Montepulciano d'Abruzzo has become common at Anglo-Italian functions here in the UK. I don't think the producers have many pretensions about it. It comes in at a decent price and and has a sort of, um, peasanty way about it, which isn't a bad thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrPin Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 fwiw Montepulciano d'Abruzzo has become common at Anglo-Italian functions here in the UK. I don't think the producers have many pretensions about it. It comes in at a decent price and and has a sort of, um, peasanty way about it, which isn't a bad thing. I shall try that one Mr Ex-Roman! I am an Ex-Viking! All who are not foul are welcome in Pin-Hall! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nuggets Mahoney Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 I shall try that one Mr Ex-Roman! I am an Ex-Viking! All who are not foul are welcome in Pin-Hall! Curiously, even though it's maybe the first Italian wine that comes to many people's minds, I was just thinking that I can count the number of times I've seen Chianti on the tables at Italian functions on one hand. I'm not sure if it's the taste or the price. And I just had a peek at my small stash of wine salvaged from various do's and I noticed a bottle of Lazio Chardonnay crept in from somewhere. Hmmm, I'm guessing that's produced for the export market. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erat_forte Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 Just had a bottle of Aldi's own-brand cotes du rhone, nice label, real cork, tastes and looks much better than its price tag. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19 year mortgage 8itch Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 Currently drinking Aldi Contevedo Cava to celebrate my wife pranging her car or valentine's day or exchanging this week. I'm not sure which. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rxe Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 You will not see much Sunday. Carrefour in Auxerre is open on Sundays! Agree that many are closed, even the ones by Calais, which seems a bit odd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
honkydonkey Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Carrefour is open 9-12:30 where I live in France on Sunday. I live on red wine here. Cheapest wine in Lidl is S.African at 2.79 a bottle but I stick to the French wines obviously 5-9 euros and they're all good. Not seen one screw top, few plastic corks. In Carrefour there is a whole aisle for wine. The foreign section is 3 bottles wide and easily missed. There is a little hut in the town centre that opens on Saturdays and sells local wines around 5.50 a bottle. Nice to know the region of the wine you're drinking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrPin Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 Carrefour is open 9-12:30 where I live in France on Sunday. I live on red wine here. Cheapest wine in Lidl is S.African at 2.79 a bottle but I stick to the French wines obviously 5-9 euros and they're all good. Not seen one screw top, few plastic corks. In Carrefour there is a whole aisle for wine. The foreign section is 3 bottles wide and easily missed. There is a little hut in the town centre that opens on Saturdays and sells local wines around 5.50 a bottle. Nice to know the region of the wine you're drinking. I'm not bothered about screw-tops or plastic corks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InlikeFlynn Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 what does the team think of wine clubs, like Naked wines... Only one worth bothering with - and it's a not for profit. www.thewinesociety.com It's been around for well over a century, is owned by its members and offers a superb list of wines at really competitive prices. The selection from £5-£10 really shows up the UK supermarkets' ranges. £40 for life membership, no other subscription or charge (even delivery is free) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeepLurker Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 what does the team think of wine clubs, like Naked wines...just haflway thrgouh a ncie fzizy Loire Brut wihle wintchag le Rugby do cheese pringles count as cheese and wine? Tried Naked Wines a few years ago. IIRC they had some kind of deal where I got a discount as a Zopa member. Wines were delivered, were utterly forgetable & not a patch on what I could get from Sainsbury's at the same price point. Disclaimer: this is a personal opinion. Your mileage may vary. No animals were harmed in the making of this post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DTMark Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 I can't drink white wine. Smells like wood varnish to me, tastes of chemicals. I should say at this point that champagne is better but overall I'll always choose red. I am no wine connoseuier. Yet. Though I see this developing. As a novice, then - the best wine I've had was a £13 bottle from the petrol station. The dearest one they had, thought I would treat myself - night in alone. Sadly I don't recall the brand except I'm fairly sure it was European and had a year as part of the brand eg 1694. The most expensive bottle I bought was at a night out when I had a large project payment and took us out to our local, Hampshire's pub of the year. I asked if they had a Shiraz and was given a menu. All numbered bottles. It was about thirty quid. In terms of taste I don't remember it being exceptional. I do remember it making me chronically depressed and melancholy for the rest of the evening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crashmonitor Posted February 17, 2015 Author Share Posted February 17, 2015 Just had a bottle of Aldi's own-brand cotes du rhone, nice label, real cork, tastes and looks much better than its price tag. I have rituals surrounding drinking red wine, but the traditional cork isn't one of them......absolutely have to drink the stuff out of a proper wine glass though. If anything corks put me off, one in eight bottles corked and bitter. Screw top first and keeps the wine freshesh, then a composite cork of plastic, cork last. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.