Something for the weekend (Wine)

If you like a nice white wine that is good value then I can highly recommend these two.
Secret Cellar about Fiver at Waitrose......cracking value ,quality too.
JP.Chenet an old favourite at Tesco on special at about six quid ,I don’t know how they do it.
Guaranteed to spice up your weekend:drunk:

 

Noooooo...not the dreaded JP Chenet! It's a 'wine' that the French offload onto unsuspecting Brits by the hectolitre, both here and in the UK. It sells for about €3 a bottle here (and that's overpriced) so imagine how much of the price is tax in the UK! I don't know whether Colombelle is available there, but if it is, check it out...it's beautiful! If it's not made it's way over the Channel yet, there's an open invitation to all GC members to come over and do a dégustation in October, when it's released. (A bit like Beaujolais nouveau ).

 

Sounds lethal, FC! Have you ever made Rice and Raisin wine? Seriously strong and very yummy!

 

Steady, Tiger! I'll have to have a trawl for the recipe. I've got a lot of jars of blackcurrant and raspberry jelly that didn't gel which should be promising for a wine experiment. The last one I tried was Ginger wine, on the principle that you can't buy it here, but it didn't come off at all.
It's not worth a lot of hassle to try to produce basic grape wine here......leave it to the professionals is my motto hic....

 

Ah thanks, FC! Will have a go. I've even got home-made sultanas without oil or wax, so ahead of the game there I got the ginger wine recipe on the internet but obviously not the right one, like yourself. A very dear client in the UK (now sadly deceased) tried her brew out on me....it was fantastic....and she didn't drink alcohol

 

Thanks

 

GC word of the week award goes to @noisette47

 

Not much luck with Colombelle @noisette47 . Knowing your impeccable taste in Iris i was keen to see if I could source your recommendation. After a brief search have only been able so far to find a mail order supplier of white @ £10 a bottle (2 for £17...) . Didn't look to see delivery cost as I am much more a red wine drinker.
No doubt we in the UK get lots of the rubbish wine no self respecting French person would drink. When I was out staying with my best friend in Dordogne area we paid many visits to her local Intermarche to purchase excellent and not expensive red wine. I of course failed miserably to remember what it was called but I'll see if my friend remembers. No doubt it is unavailable in the UK or is vastly over priced!

 

Thats expensive! Its only about £9,50 a bottle here. Generally, we are about 50% more expensive than the UK. Note the word generally. I bought 3 bottles of white in Morrisons a few years ago, at £8,49 each. Same wine, same label, was no less than £56,50 a bottle here...

 

Agree @Sandy Ground if wine is inexpensive in France it shouldn't have a hefty price here. Having been fortunate (possibly could be seen as unfortunate, sadly not having the required bank balance to match the acquired knowledge of fine wine!) I had a great friend, now deceased regrettably, who was 1 of the very very few grand masters of wine in the UK. He taught me loads about good bad and indifferent wine without all the ridiculous snobbishness which is often attached to the subject. He was very clever at buying wine which was not well known and then selling for a good profit when it became the in thing. He was also quite instrumental in promoting and importing Beaujolais Nouveau some years back. The race to be the 1st to get it to the UK each season seems to not occur so much these days but maybe I am just out of touch.
He would always reckon if you paid just above the rock bottom prices for wine you would be able to find something quite drinkable for everyday, ie for a very little more you got much better. He also thought it was daft all this red wine with meat and white with fish, he maintained that you should drink what you like except don't bother to drink wine with Curry (drink Indian Beer).
His passion was Port. OMG taken in a fair quantity admittedly it used to give me hangovers from hell.He had some exceptional Ports which he had bought and laid down with a view to selling them in his hotel, but the value of the Port had gone up so much he reckoned he'd have to sell it at about £20 a glass which customers wouldn't have entertained SO we drank it yum yum yum. There were some "critical" mornings after the night before but oh so enjoyable at the time