jamie goode's wine blog: How normal people buy wine

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

How normal people buy wine

I mentioned that we'd been running out of wine, holed up here in our idyllic Cornish holiday home. Well, this meant I had to venture out to try to procure some desparately needed supplies. I had to buy wine like a normal person. There were three options in Looe: a Co-op, a Somerfield and a Thresher. And in Torpoint, I found another Co-op and another Somerfield.

The choice was not broad in any of these stores. I ended up buying in Somerfield, and could only find a handful of wines that were potential drinking candidates. There was certainly nothing even remotely high end. Interestigly, these selections don't give you a very good reason to trade up from the affordable, drinkable end of the range. The more expensive wines just seemed to be dodgy examples from appellations that happen to be more expensive, such as Burgundy and Chateauneuf-du-Pape.

I chose the following. (1) Casillero del Diablo Sauvignon Blanc 2008 (on offer at £4.99 - the Casillero wines are good value at this price - they are very solid efforts); (2) Torres Vina Sol 2007 (£5.69 - a really reliable, fresh white wine); (3) Oyster Bay Pinot Noir (on offer at £7.99 - a reliable if unexciting Marlborough Pinot that tastes nice); (4) Riverview Merlot Kekfrankos (£4.99 - a really delicious, light, sappy, leafy red wine with some elegance and a bit of a 'natural wine' character).

5 Comments:

At 2:52 PM, Anonymous deBlancoaTinto said...

Good wines you choose... Next time, you could try with a nice spanish wine i recommend you. It is not easy to find such a good wine for less than 7 €.
www.deblancoatinto.com

 
At 10:25 PM, Blogger Mark said...

I agree! Vina Sol is a very decent sub £7 white and widely available.

I've been enjoying your blog for a few years now - enjoy the rest of your holiday!

Cheers,

Mark.

 
At 12:58 AM, Blogger Amy Atwood said...

Always a challenge out in the boondocks to locate decent vino, irrespective of price. There seems to be a definite lack of thought put into the limited and sometimes dodgy selections.
One wonders how the local people ever came to love wine!

 
At 10:39 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I reckon 90-95% of the locals are probably absolutely happy with it. After all, it's cheap, it's got a brand on it and it gets you pissed - what more could you want?

The other 5-10% buy on the net anyway.

 
At 10:56 AM, Blogger HamishWM said...

Jamie
You ought to try out Wadebridge Wines in Cornwall. They are about 45 minutes from Looe. They are a smashing independent merchant with enthusiastic staff and a very interesting quality range.
There are a few interesting independant merchants lurking in Cornwall...but you do have to hunt for them. I agree the 'average' high street is awful for wine.....maybe the new guys at Oddbins will be a positive step?
Cheers
Hamish

 

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