W I V Internatianal Wines

Lotus-eater

brasso wrote: »

While we're at it, I also think that Laithwaites aka Sunday Times Wine Club are overpriced, though this is partly balanced by some of the excellent special offers they run.

If you know your stuff, but aren't looking for anything too exclusive, it's hard to beat the big supermarkets. Waitrose in particular are excellent. Oddbins and Majestic are best among the big specialist chains, with knowledgeable staff and interesting ranges.

I've been buying a bit from Laithwaites recently, I've had some very good wines.
I suppose the problem is that although I know a decent wine that I like when I taste it, I don't know what to look for in the shops.
Is there a web site that helps people like me find good wines in the shops? Without having to go out and try 20 mediocre wines, to find one decent one.

brasso

Lotus-eater wrote: »

I've been buying a bit from Laithwaites recently, I've had some very good wines.
I suppose the problem is that although I know a decent wine that I like when I taste it, I don't know what to look for in the shops.
Is there a web site that helps people like me find good wines in the shops? Without having to go out and try 20 mediocre wines, to find one decent one.

There's a lot of good things to say about Laithwaites/Sunday Times Wine Club. They buy very well i.e. they source interesting and unusual wines, and have a genuine passion for the stuff. I think if you buy their occasional special offer mixed cases you're generally getting good value.

I live near one of their shops, and occasionally call in. Again, the range is good and you can taste some wines before buying, but at shop level their wines are expensive. I'm keen on single village Beaujolais for instance but last time I was there, they had several examples but nothing under about £12.50. Crazy. I'm sure they are good, but I won't buy at that price. I'll stick with the perfectly good Flueurie and Morgon from Waitrose and Sainsbury's at about £7-£8.

As for learning more, this is tough. Even a website may not tell you what you need to know. Have you thought about a wine appreciation course at evening classes? Just a personal view, but as a wine lover I'm rarely disappointed in anything I taste apart from the real cheapies. Unlike 20 or 30 years ago, I genuinely find it quite difficult to buy a bad bottle of wine over £5. So my advice would be, when you find something you like, make a note of it, and aim to buy something similar next time, or allow it to lead you on a search.

For instance,. if you buy a Northern Rhone wine and like it, you can either buy other Rhones to compare, or you could do a web search and discover that these wines are largely made from the Syrah grape, and that hang on, you discover that Syrah is the same as Shiraz which is often seen on Australian labels. So you try some Aussie Shiraz wines and find a producer you like, so you then try other different wines from this producer including the white Riesling, which leads you back to France to try some Alsace Riesling and then onto some fine German Rieslings, and so on.

It's all an adventure.

My one over-arching piece of advice to keep it simple would be: spend a pound or two more than usual. The duty remains the same on all table wine, so on a £4 bottle of wine, duty and VAT is about £2.10. Once you include the retailer's margin plus the cost of bottle, cork, transportation etc,.the value of the actual wine is just a few pennies.

With a £5 bottle, the fixed costs are largely the same, so most of the extra £1 is actual wine. So (keeping it simple) you might be getting just 20p worth of wine in a £4 bottle, but about £1 worth of wine in a £5 bottle i.e. 5 times the quality for just an extra £1. If you push the boat out to £6 or £7, you're getting even more extra wine value for you money.

A few of my own guidelines (which may well not apply to you as it's personal taste):

• I tend to avoid suspiciously cheap Spanish wines,
• Italian reds normally decent value.
• Almost impossible to get anything decent from Bordeaux or Burgundy at under £12 or so, so I very rarely bother.
• For 'fine' French reds, look at Northern Rhone e.g. St Joseph, Cornas, etc
• Champagne at its best is wonderful wine but get someone else to pay for it. Usually very poor value for money. For celebratory fizz,, a good Cava, Cremant de Loire or anything else labelled methode Champenoise will do a more than adequate job.
• If you like hearty reds, try South African pinotage or Argentinian Malbec
• Most Australians, red and white, are good value but avoid megabrands like Hardy's, Nottage Hill etc which are uninteresting. Penfold's always reliable.
• Cheap Rioja not really worth buying any more, but for the occasional affordable luxury, top notch Reserva Rioja still one of the best options.
• New Zealand sauvignon blancs almost always delicious, though can be pricey.

Cheers!

garlini100

I received one of these letters and liked the look of the weather station. I sent off the reply and was contacted by a salesman saying he wanted to deliver the item to me and of course have a wine tasting too. A date was set and the time of 19:30. 5 minutes before he was due to turn up he called and apologised and said that he was running late and he also had another visit after me. He wanted to arrange another day when he returned to his office the following week. I saved him the time by setting the date and time there and then. We were ready and waiting at the allotted time for his arrival. Did he turn up? Of course not. We could well have bought some wine, we also had another couple interested too. Shame his commitment wasn't there!!!! :mad:

Littlesusie_2

I recieved a letter yesterday and thought the offer was too good to be without some sort of catch.

Lotus-eater wrote: »

I've been buying a bit from Laithwaites recently, I've had some very good wines.
I suppose the problem is that although I know a decent wine that I like when I taste it, I don't know what to look for in the shops.
Is there a web site that helps people like me find good wines in the shops? Without having to go out and try 20 mediocre wines, to find one decent one.

Why not get your friends over and get everyone to bring a bottle, set a price limit of say £4-£5 and have your own tasting session. Keep a note of anything you like then see if you can buy online at a cheaper price or try Tesco wine club, you can often get extra clubcard points and cashback if you use any sites like Quidco.

marleyboy

Littlesusie wrote: »

Why not get your friends over and get everyone to bring a bottle, set a price limit of say £4-£5 and have your own tasting session. Keep a note of anything you like then see if you can buy online at a cheaper price or try Tesco wine club, you can often get extra clubcard points and cashback if you use any sites like Quidco.

What a BRILLIANT Idea!!!:T:T:T:T:T

Daifinn2000

Thanks all for the heads up. Looks tempting but anything misleading like this usually ends in tears. Great to have a place like this to come for the wisdom of crowds!

John:beer:

buttons13

I received this questionnaire at a time when i wanted to buy my hubby a weather station (the 'incentive' offered)..To my surprise we got a call a few nights ago telling us that someone would come round for a wine tasting evening (tonight!) hadn't kept the bit of paper...so googling like mad to see what others have to say....pretty much what i expected to find, but as it is free, (and i don't get out much!) let the wine come to me!....will happily post back if i feel pressurized into anything ....or just to let you know if it is worth it.:o

buttons13

Hi all, Well further to yesterdays post, the WIV rep came early (better for us anyway), stayed about one hour, very pleasant chap, We each got a total of 8 x 1cm deep tastings in shot type plastic glasses, white, red and rose wines, he talked us through each one and told us all about the company (Pieroth) and their principles....
I am NOT a wine person(!) so could not attest to some things said like how long the wine stays good after open, but it probably wouldn't last that long as it really was good!
It was a lovely wine selection (I have to date only had nasty, vinegary experiences)...and it was a real education for us both!
After the tasting and explanation of prices and delivery etc, he merely asked if this was something we felt we might be interested in?
We have a policy of NEVER signing up to things on a first 'date' so took his particulars and he left. We are under NO obligation to buy now, or in the future.....and have given ourselves breathing space to decide in our own time.
Bad points would be the dual pricing structure (£ plus VAT) just one price would have sufficed! ALSO the fact that there is a min order of 12 bottles, min 3 of type and it takes 1 month for delivery.
Good points are no horrid sales pitch, no pressure, orders only paid for when you receive it..
This NOT a 'club' and if you do not like a wine after it is bought then they will replace the order for something you do....
The wine itself was delicious and has converted us but it will take some planning AND saving for us to indulge, as it is NOT cheap but I am sure that we will. Hope this has been of assistance to anyone else worried about this promotion.

Ruby_heels

saint1d wrote: »

FYI Pieroth wine's are advertising for sales reps in the North East. They seem to advertise every couple of months and have been doing so for at least the past 2-3 years that I know of. I might be wrong but it strikes me that they must have a high turnover of staff. Ok maybe the job is rubbish or its too difficult to sell, then again it could be people leave once they find out it's some kind of scam. I just find it unusual to see the same company advertising month after month.

I have been buying Pieroth wines for about 7 years now and it has always been the same rep who has been working for them for about 30 years,he is lovely and is a wealth of knowledge. I can phone him at home or at work at any time. I understand that people might be suspicious as i first was but i love this wine and everybody that has tried it at my house has agreed. I never get a bad reaction from it as it doesnt contain the crap that cheap supermarket wine does. Yes you pay a bit more but it is truly delicious. If someone comes to your house and is pushy then you could call the company and complain,i have never felt obligated at all and if i decline a visit or two there is never any bad feeling. If you like wine and you don't mind paying for quality then i would go for it,if you are someone that buys £2.99 rubbish and thinks its great then stick with that!

Ruby_heels

buttons13 wrote: »

Hi all, Well further to yesterdays post, the WIV rep came early (better for us anyway), stayed about one hour, very pleasant chap, We each got a total of 8 x 1cm deep tastings in shot type plastic glasses, white, red and rose wines, he talked us through each one and told us all about the company (Pieroth) and their principles....
I am NOT a wine person(!) so could not attest to some things said like how long the wine stays good after open, but it probably wouldn't last that long as it really was good!
It was a lovely wine selection (I have to date only had nasty, vinegary experiences)...and it was a real education for us both!
After the tasting and explanation of prices and delivery etc, he merely asked if this was something we felt we might be interested in?
We have a policy of NEVER signing up to things on a first 'date' so took his particulars and he left. We are under NO obligation to buy now, or in the future.....and have given ourselves breathing space to decide in our own time.
Bad points would be the dual pricing structure (£ plus VAT) just one price would have sufficed! ALSO the fact that there is a min order of 12 bottles, min 3 of type and it takes 1 month for delivery.
Good points are no horrid sales pitch, no pressure, orders only paid for when you receive it..
This NOT a 'club' and if you do not like a wine after it is bought then they will replace the order for something you do....
The wine itself was delicious and has converted us but it will take some planning AND saving for us to indulge, as it is NOT cheap but I am sure that we will. Hope this has been of assistance to anyone else worried about this promotion.

Just a couple of points-the minimum order is fair when you consider that they deliver to your door so if you just bought a couple of bottles it wouldn't be very worthwhile sending out a driver with them. Also,and i don't know how this is possible without preservatives but if you do buy then trust me if you open it and leave it 3 days it tastes better,we usually leave it on the go for a few weeks as we don't drink loads and this is really when it tastes its best! x