Not a Wine Merchant by any stretch of the imagination, but Majestic Wine (Warehouse) usually have a few bottles open for tasting, and do sell some good wine.There's likely to be one near you.
I’ve just remembered where there is one, but it’s the wrong side of town. Now, do I brave it? Haha! data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7
My local Majestic branches are really helpful, as were the guys in Oddbins (when we had them) - so I echo the advice above to try them.
An alternative option is to look at the online Winer Clubs. I'm a regular customer of Virgin Wines, for example, and they sell excellent wines at reasonable prices. I prefer some more than others, but never had one I couldn't drink. The downside is you have to buy a case of 12 bottles, but they usually provide a good mix, so you'l get to sample a range of different wines. Then, when you find some you like, you can sale them to substitute (for example, I'm not a fan of Pinot Grigio, but they'll replace with a Sauvignon Blanc for me - maybe a bad example, being white wines, but you get the drift).
On a more general point, while your experimenting, if you look at "new world" wines, from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Chile, Argentina, etc, you won't go far wrong, IMO. And I can't remember the last time I had a "bad" wine - the predominance of screw-top bottles in recent years has helped enormously.
Screw tops and fake corks are a no-go here!
I drink pinotage from lidl when I'm at home, I've learned to open any red wine a while before pouring to allow it to breathe before drinking.
And it's under 5 quid a bottle
Airing red makes a huge difference to the taste. Any red should be opened at least an hour before drinking.
Though this is about red, another thing to note is not to store white, rose and champagne in the fridge. An hour or so chilling prior to opening is optimal for taste.
Thanks all.
So air the bottle if you’re just having a glass?
I like a visit to Majestic too.
I like both red and white where the OH mainly likes white (Sauvignon Blanc).
As a rule we both hate cheap wines, that was until we tried a few from Aldi (award winners I might add).
Also the myth about corks and screw tops is rubbish in my opinion. Ok it used to hold some weight years ago but it’s no longer the case now.
This is one of our favourites for a fiver from Aldi.
https://www.avforums.com/attachments/b744ca3e-5687-4cbc-bb03-6eb35ae8f3ee-jpeg.952912/
As for white try Villa Maria SV or Graham Norton SV. Both under a tenner from Tesco, screw top and very nice.
Yeah always.
If you fancy doing a taste test to see why. Buy 2 bottles of the same wine, crack one open an hour prior and leave the other. After an hour,pour yourself 2 equal measures from each bottle and see what you taste.
"Also the myth about corks and screw tops is rubbish in my opinion. Ok it used to hold some weight years ago but it’s no longer the case now."
That only holds true for new world wines. French wine with either is cheap swill.
If I’m only having a glass I pour it and leave it