How do non-wine drinkers buy wine?
Jun. 7th, 2015 06:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
andrewduckerI know nothing about wine. I don't drink wine. Frankly, it all* tastes like vinegar to me.
However, occasionally we need wine for something (usually to take to someone else's home, because turning up with wine is the Done Thing), and I am sent off to Sainsbury's to get some.
My current tactic is "Look for something for around £5-£7, knocked down from a more expensive price." on the grounds that it should be a bit better than the standard stuff going for that price. But equally, it could be that it's knocked down because nobody is willing to spend £9 on it, because it tastes awful.
Anyone care to recommend a _simple_ guide to how to spot something that's not going to make people retch, for a reasonable price? Or am I already using an optimal heuristic?
*Very occasionally I will find a red wine which doesn't have an overwhelming taste of bitter vinegar to it, and tastes a bit more like port, which I can drink. But even then it's not actually something I'd seek out.
However, occasionally we need wine for something (usually to take to someone else's home, because turning up with wine is the Done Thing), and I am sent off to Sainsbury's to get some.
My current tactic is "Look for something for around £5-£7, knocked down from a more expensive price." on the grounds that it should be a bit better than the standard stuff going for that price. But equally, it could be that it's knocked down because nobody is willing to spend £9 on it, because it tastes awful.
Anyone care to recommend a _simple_ guide to how to spot something that's not going to make people retch, for a reasonable price? Or am I already using an optimal heuristic?
*Very occasionally I will find a red wine which doesn't have an overwhelming taste of bitter vinegar to it, and tastes a bit more like port, which I can drink. But even then it's not actually something I'd seek out.
no subject
Date: 2015-06-07 11:05 pm (UTC)To paraphrase the 'Funny Man': I know fuck all about wine but I know what I like'. So, with that in mind, this is my rule of thumb:
If it says Prosecco or Demi-Sec (or 'half a sock' in this household) it's usually a good bet: sweet, fizzy and alcoholic.
Else M&S has some obscenely drinkable sparkling pink Pinot Grigio which is linked below.
http://m.marksandspencer.com/mt/www.marksandspencer.com/pinot-grigio-blush-frizzante-case-of-6/p/p21126758
Otherwise, Jacob's Creek does an incredible sparkling RED which can be found in most Tesco's.
And really, that's it from my point of view: sparkling wine lends a sense of occasion to almost any, well, occasion and all the above are almost guaranteed to be tasty as wine goes and affordable with it.
As opposed to 'Eau de Gak' :)
(which is wine that makes the drinker utter 'Gak! This shit tastes awful!')