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Christmas Wine

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eternumviti

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We have a large family gathering at Christmas, during which the consumption is conspicuous, and very smart bottles would be spread too thin, and perhaps be underappreciated by some at the table. The wine budget has to be watched. I would be interested to hear how other forum members approach the subject, and what wines they have chosen to go with the fowl this year.
 
This year we shall be having something Nova Scotian.

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And something from the New World.

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A friend of mine has typed up a wine menu for an extended family Xmas lunch and has indicated £/££/£££. I don't think I could do that unless the purpose is very tactfully explained.
If the 'budget has to be watched' there are good wines at the cheaper end of the price range too as you know better than anyone here. IMO the only way you can serve different price wines is to serve the more expensive stuff first to everyone and then the rest.
I have been to a large party a few years ago where the host and his close friends were drinking champagne and not the rest of us: I got some of the champagne for myself and wife and we have not been invited back, nor want to be.
 
Last year I had a trip to France and stocked up on mainly Cote du Rhône.

This year I have some French Pinot Noir from Aldi. A lot of red wines now seem to have high alcohol contents that spoil the taste IMHO, but the Pinot Noir has a more reasonable 12.5%.
 
We have a large family gathering at Christmas, during which the consumption is conspicuous, and very smart bottles would be spread too thin, and perhaps be underappreciated by some at the table. The wine budget has to be watched. I would be interested to hear how other forum members approach the subject, and what wines they have chosen to go with the fowl this year.
What do you feel the minimum price is now for French wines of tolerable quality? I realised that some will always command high prices but outside of that? Weekly stuff.
 
You can't necessarily taste high alcohol (in a well made wine) but I agree we would all prefer great wine without the hangover. The best way to do that is switch to (good) German riesling.
 
You can't necessarily taste high alcohol (in a well made wine) but I agree we would all prefer great wine without the hangover. The best way to do that is switch to (good) German riesling.

It’s more the kind of alcohol after taste you get with really high alcohol lagers, I don’t find it pleasant.

As for Riesling, I drive down the Mösel almost every year and pick up some bottles. Fine. Stuff.
 
We have a large family gathering at Christmas, during which the consumption is conspicuous, and very smart bottles would be spread too thin, and perhaps be underappreciated by some at the table. The wine budget has to be watched. I would be interested to hear how other forum members approach the subject, and what wines they have chosen to go with the fowl this year.

Yes this scenario crops up occasionally and usually fall back on a nice Fleurie, but not this year as there are only three of us. Good news for the wine selection, a Pommard. We banded together for a barrel with friends back in 2010, going very nicely now.
 
The best way to do that is switch to (good) German riesling.

Now they have resisted the temptation to include anti-freeze there are some cracking good German wines.

The Limestone riesling from Aldi is very palatable. £ 6.40/bottle has steered me away from Laithwaites.
Their Ghost wines Californian old vine Zinfandel also scores well above it's price point.

Both have no chemical afterburn. :)
 
Last year I had a trip to France and stocked up on mainly Cote du Rhône.

This year I have some French Pinot Noir from Aldi. A lot of red wines now seem to have high alcohol contents that spoil the taste IMHO, but the Pinot Noir has a more reasonable 12.5%.

I think it's all about balance. If the wine is out of kilter and the acohol shows, it isn't that well made. Cotes du Rhone is often 14.5 or 15%, sometimes even more, but in a well balanced wine you won't notice it.
 
I bought a case of 12 reds from Laithwaites via an offer from the radio times, £5 a bottle and they seem okay, so far I tried two of them and they're no worse than supermarket reds.

I also bought 12 bottles of Prosecco in a similar deal with the RT/Laithwaites then at the weekend I bought two bottles of gin, Monkey 47 and Mistral pink gin from Provence and a bottle of Pedro Jimenez Cardinal Cisneros, looking forward to trying these but we did try the Monkey 47 on Saturday and it was good. I also bought a bottle of Taylors LBV port, 2015 I think.

I've a bottle of 2010 chateau Soliel left over from last year which I'm looking forward to opening and a decent 2017 Chablis and a couple of bottles of white Aligot burgoyne to have with some shellfish tomorrow but we're not big white wine drinkers however a decent white burgundy is good with shellfish which is why I got some.
 
What do you feel the minimum price is now for French wines of tolerable quality? I realised that some will always command high prices but outside of that? Weekly stuff.

I don't know. I get foxed by some of the supermarket wines, particularly Aldi/Lidl, who put heart and sould into their selections at this time of year. When you consider that in a £5 bottle of wine such an enormous lump of it is tax, I don't know how they sell it at such low prices. Most of these parcels come from some of the better co-operatives, and negociants with stock to sell. Standards can be pretty good by all accounts.
 
I don't know. I get foxed by some of the supermarket wines, particularly Aldi/Lidl, who put heart and sould into their selections at this time of year. When you consider that in a £5 bottle of wine such an enormous lump of it is tax, I don't know how they sell it at such low prices. Most of these parcels come from some of the better co-operatives, and negociants with stock to sell. Standards can be pretty good by all accounts.

Aldi's Portuguese red @ £4.99 is probably the best value red wine available anywhere. God knows how they can sell such a good wine at such a low price but it really is superb.
 
Crikey who would have thought we would become a nation of wine lovers. Anyone remember when Mateus Rose and Hirondelle where the flavours of choice :eek:
 
Aldi's Portuguese red @ £4.99 is probably the best value red wine available anywhere. God knows how they can sell such a good wine at such a low price but it really is superb.

I bet it has a proper cork too....

I walked half way across Lisbon in an attempt to find a bottle of their red wine once, only to find that their are only 2 'off licences' in Lisbon.

One of the finest wines I have ever tried.
 
Crikey who would have thought we would become a nation of wine lovers. Anyone remember when Mateus Rose and Hirondelle where the flavours of choice :eek:
Speak for yourself! When we were students we thought Soviet era Bulgarian Cabernet Sauvignon was the bees knees. Actually it was pretty good.
 
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