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muckety · 15-08-2008, 08:19

Any suggestions of where to buy good value good wine. I'm not a big fan of the cheap supermarket wines, usually buy in wine specialist shops at around the 10-15 euro a bottle pricemark (have found anything much cheaper is usually not very nice).

Short of travelling to france regularly is there another way of cutting down on the spend (that doesn't include giving it up!). Is it much cheaper in NI? If so, has anyone a recommendation of a good shop in or near Newry? Any other way of avoiding the huge duty charge here?!!

sdep · 15-08-2008, 15:26

I'm not sure about differences in prices between shops, so I'll take a different tack.

One way of getting better value is buying from unsung regions. Wines from places like Languedoc-Roussillon, the lesser known southern Rhone villages, Puglia in southern Italy, Chile etc are often cheaper than similar quality wines from more prized vinous real estate.

Case discounts, offered by many wine sellers, can knock 10% off the price.

Thomas_S_Hunterson · 15-08-2008, 15:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by muckety

...Short of travelling to france regularly.....Any other way of avoiding the huge duty charge here?!!

Hire a large van and stock up?

shanel23 · 15-08-2008, 22:54

Was over in Rathfarnham village today and in the deli/off-licence ( Rowans ) they are selling Peter Lehmans "Clancy's" 2004 vintage- a mixture of shiraz,cab sav and merlot . Excellent value at 9.99 a bottle or a case for 106.99 ! Great wine !

Honey-ec · 15-08-2008, 23:02

In a bit of a reversal of the current trend, would you be willing to travel to Dublin? Cellars on the Naas Road is a wine warehouse that sells mixed cases at prices that are generally about 15% cheaper than retail.

They have a HUGE selection, they are extremely knowledgeable and they have tastings every day. Their pricelist is online at www.thebigwinewarehouse.ie

What I really like about them is that they carry a lot of smaller vineyards and non mass-market wines. If you're looking for Blossom Hill or J.P. Chenet, you won't get it here.

shanel23 · 15-08-2008, 23:09

Yep agree the bigwinewarehouse is a good spot for wine - great selection too !

lostinsuperfunk · 15-08-2008, 23:15

Quote:

Wines from places like Languedoc-Roussillon, the lesser known southern Rhone villages, Puglia in southern Italy, Chile

I'd agree with this, you can always get something obscure but good for around €10 a bottle by talking to your vintner. Pays d'Oc can be really good sometimes.

Aldi have a few great wines for well below €10, and some are only €5 or €6. Seriously, it's worth a visit. Vina Decana Crianza Spanish red is very nice, it's around €5.50. They have a reasonably good Bordeaux white for around €6 or €7.

muckety · 18-08-2008, 08:52

I haven't tried Aldi - did try Lidl but what I bought was yukky. I don't have an Aldi near me but if they had some good wines at that sort of price it would be cheaper than travelling to France! What wines do you recommend apart from the Crianza?

Are there boxes (bladder bags!) of anything decent there, such as an everyday white?

muckety · 19-08-2008, 17:20

For those interested in drinkable supermarket wines, I found this : http://www.supermarketwine.com
Relates to UK supermarkets so prices will be a bit higher here, but could be useful for Tesco, Aldi etc. or if travelling to NI.

Lidl is not included, and I've never bought anything there that I found nice - however, a friend (whose taste I trust) tells me they have a drinkable South AFrican chenin blanc for about a fiver! Anyone know this?

lostinsuperfunk · 21-08-2008, 18:48

I've heard Lidl has improved lately but I've never had any luck there with wine. I find Aldi a lot better. If you like fizz then Philippe Michel Crémant du Jura is great for about a tenner. I think the white Bordeaux is from a range labelled "Chateaux Selection" or something like that. Not bad at all for everyday consumption. They sometimes have boxes but I haven't tried them. I have a bottle of their Venezie Pinot Grigot on the shelf at the moment, will let you know how it goes down

karten · 23-08-2008, 13:08

I started buying organic wines because it dawned on me that if it's so difficult to wash grapes then there must be plenty of residue left over in the wine (I don't think alcohol would affect that). There's a really good Spanish organic red wine that I like called Luzon Verde (that apparently means "grasshopper" in Spanish, and there's a grasshopper pictured on the label). It's slighly sweet, but not too much so. It's kinda hard to find, but it only costs like $8.50 a bottle. Wine isn't sold in the grocery stores where I live, but I'm able to find it at a large liquor store.

Wine Club

sdep · 24-08-2008, 20:59

M&S are doing 25% off half cases. Their 'fine wine' range goes from around 14 to 25 pre-discount and has some interesting stuff - a definite improvement over the last few years.

muckety · 25-08-2008, 07:58

Thanks for that - what do you recommend from M&S? I have tried their Ribero del Duero (sp?) which was very nice and sells at about 15 e.

sdep · 25-08-2008, 14:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by muckety

Thanks for that - what do you recommend from M&S? I have tried their Ribero del Duero (sp?) which was very nice and sells at about 15 e.

I haven't opened any yet, but I did get a bottle of the NZ 'Clocktower' pinot, made by Wither Hills, for about 12e; an Aus marsanne from Victoria for about 12e; a Crozes-Hermitage made by some of the Jaboulet clan for about 11-50e; and a Italian pecorino (white) for novelty sake for about 11e.

They'd a Sicilian Nero d'Avola too, and a pricier but apparently very good syrah from St Chinian in the Languedoc. They'd sold out of the Ribero del Duero, or I'd have had one.

The more traditional French wines cost a bit more, but when discounted compare well with other places.

Baggio · 25-08-2008, 20:42

I Dunno folks,,,
but untill i went to brittany to visit relations in holiday spot last month i really had nooo idea about just HOW MUCH we're being ripped off here for bog standard stuff,, I mean yeah I knewww we were being done ok, but by how much!?..was amazed,,,really,,, Iv'e been a keen wine drinker for a goood few years now, have read quite a bit on the whole subject, grapes, regions, fine wines, sweet wines, bla bla...and make a point of always checking wine shops out where ever i am.
in the large "Supermarche" supermarkets in brittany was amazed at how cheap so called "good value for money" wines here are over there - ok you know the decent cotes de rhone, or cremant d'alsace or sparklers from burgundy?, they were all from decent producers, and all for E5.00 or less!....went to a "Cave" wine outlet, and again a Magnum size Bordeux from a decent chateu over there with 20 years ageing potential was around E65 , i just knew that was gonna be around E120 over here.
Sooooo,,,to the OP...I reallly think your best bet is to get a transit go over and load up!!,,theres loads of excellent wines to be got in these places and i found i just didnt want to know about the usual chotes du rhone for E12.00 or whatever, and just wollowed in the quality and price of it all....deffo heading there in October and will fill the bandmates van with nice stuff,,,just think - E100 i can near get 20 bottles of decent sparkling wine from burgundy or Alsace now THATS what Im talking about!....
Oh and just for good measure....you know the good ol' Moet and Chandon Champers usually retails at E40.00 or there abouts?....seen Magnum sizes of it on display in the Supermarchet for E51 each!

next thing Ive to figure out, is just how do I get to Italy and do a raid there hahah

ciao' amigos....Baggio.....

15-08-2008, 08:19	#1
muckety Registered User Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 595 Adverts \| Friends	Good value good wine where? Any suggestions of where to buy good value good wine. I'm not a big fan of the cheap supermarket wines, usually buy in wine specialist shops at around the 10-15 euro a bottle pricemark (have found anything much cheaper is usually not very nice). Short of travelling to france regularly is there another way of cutting down on the spend (that doesn't include giving it up!). Is it much cheaper in NI? If so, has anyone a recommendation of a good shop in or near Newry? Any other way of avoiding the huge duty charge here?!!

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15-08-2008, 15:26	#2
sdep Registered User Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 193 Adverts \| Friends	I'm not sure about differences in prices between shops, so I'll take a different tack. One way of getting better value is buying from unsung regions. Wines from places like Languedoc-Roussillon, the lesser known southern Rhone villages, Puglia in southern Italy, Chile etc are often cheaper than similar quality wines from more prized vinous real estate. Case discounts, offered by many wine sellers, can knock 10% off the price.

15-08-2008, 22:54	#4
shanel23 Registered User Join Date: May 2007 Location: Dublin 6W Posts: 529 Adverts \| Friends	Was over in Rathfarnham village today and in the deli/off-licence ( Rowans ) they are selling Peter Lehmans "Clancy's" 2004 vintage- a mixture of shiraz,cab sav and merlot . Excellent value at 9.99 a bottle or a case for 106.99 ! Great wine !

15-08-2008, 23:02	#5
Honey-ec Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Cloud Cuckooland Posts: 4,796 Adverts \| Friends	In a bit of a reversal of the current trend, would you be willing to travel to Dublin? Cellars on the Naas Road is a wine warehouse that sells mixed cases at prices that are generally about 15% cheaper than retail. They have a HUGE selection, they are extremely knowledgeable and they have tastings every day. Their pricelist is online at www.thebigwinewarehouse.ie What I really like about them is that they carry a lot of smaller vineyards and non mass-market wines. If you're looking for Blossom Hill or J.P. Chenet, you won't get it here.

15-08-2008, 23:09	#6
shanel23 Registered User Join Date: May 2007 Location: Dublin 6W Posts: 529 Adverts \| Friends	Yep agree the bigwinewarehouse is a good spot for wine - great selection too !

18-08-2008, 08:52	#8
muckety Registered User Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 595 Adverts \| Friends	I haven't tried Aldi - did try Lidl but what I bought was yukky. I don't have an Aldi near me but if they had some good wines at that sort of price it would be cheaper than travelling to France! What wines do you recommend apart from the Crianza? Are there boxes (bladder bags!) of anything decent there, such as an everyday white?

19-08-2008, 17:20	#9
muckety Registered User Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 595 Adverts \| Friends	For those interested in drinkable supermarket wines, I found this : http://www.supermarketwine.com Relates to UK supermarkets so prices will be a bit higher here, but could be useful for Tesco, Aldi etc. or if travelling to NI. Lidl is not included, and I've never bought anything there that I found nice - however, a friend (whose taste I trust) tells me they have a drinkable South AFrican chenin blanc for about a fiver! Anyone know this?

21-08-2008, 18:48	#10
lostinsuperfunk Registered User Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 442 Adverts \| Friends	I've heard Lidl has improved lately but I've never had any luck there with wine. I find Aldi a lot better. If you like fizz then Philippe Michel Crémant du Jura is great for about a tenner. I think the white Bordeaux is from a range labelled "Chateaux Selection" or something like that. Not bad at all for everyday consumption. They sometimes have boxes but I haven't tried them. I have a bottle of their Venezie Pinot Grigot on the shelf at the moment, will let you know how it goes down

23-08-2008, 13:08	#11
karten Registered User Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 1 Adverts \| Friends	I started buying organic wines because it dawned on me that if it's so difficult to wash grapes then there must be plenty of residue left over in the wine (I don't think alcohol would affect that). There's a really good Spanish organic red wine that I like called Luzon Verde (that apparently means "grasshopper" in Spanish, and there's a grasshopper pictured on the label). It's slighly sweet, but not too much so. It's kinda hard to find, but it only costs like $8.50 a bottle. Wine isn't sold in the grocery stores where I live, but I'm able to find it at a large liquor store. Wine Club

24-08-2008, 20:59	#12
sdep Registered User Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 193 Adverts \| Friends	M&S are doing 25% off half cases. Their 'fine wine' range goes from around 14 to 25 pre-discount and has some interesting stuff - a definite improvement over the last few years.

25-08-2008, 07:58	#13
muckety Registered User Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 595 Adverts \| Friends	Thanks for that - what do you recommend from M&S? I have tried their Ribero del Duero (sp?) which was very nice and sells at about 15 e.

25-08-2008, 20:42	#15
Baggio Registered User Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Naas Posts: 999 Adverts \| Friends	I Dunno folks,,, but untill i went to brittany to visit relations in holiday spot last month i really had nooo idea about just HOW MUCH we're being ripped off here for bog standard stuff,, I mean yeah I knewww we were being done ok, but by how much!?..was amazed,,,really,,, Iv'e been a keen wine drinker for a goood few years now, have read quite a bit on the whole subject, grapes, regions, fine wines, sweet wines, bla bla...and make a point of always checking wine shops out where ever i am. in the large "Supermarche" supermarkets in brittany was amazed at how cheap so called "good value for money" wines here are over there - ok you know the decent cotes de rhone, or cremant d'alsace or sparklers from burgundy?, they were all from decent producers, and all for E5.00 or less!....went to a "Cave" wine outlet, and again a Magnum size Bordeux from a decent chateu over there with 20 years ageing potential was around E65 , i just knew that was gonna be around E120 over here. Sooooo,,,to the OP...I reallly think your best bet is to get a transit go over and load up!!,,theres loads of excellent wines to be got in these places and i found i just didnt want to know about the usual chotes du rhone for E12.00 or whatever, and just wollowed in the quality and price of it all....deffo heading there in October and will fill the bandmates van with nice stuff,,,just think - E100 i can near get 20 bottles of decent sparkling wine from burgundy or Alsace now THATS what Im talking about!.... Oh and just for good measure....you know the good ol' Moet and Chandon Champers usually retails at E40.00 or there abouts?....seen Magnum sizes of it on display in the Supermarchet for E51 each! next thing Ive to figure out, is just how do I get to Italy and do a raid there hahah ciao' amigos....Baggio.....