Re: Bordeaux-no! Wine guzzling at UK.gov events rises 20%
'That is at a lower price point. I do wonder if the cost of French wines is largely down to prestige rather than taste.'
I think what we consider everyday wines: Sauvignon blanc, Merlot & Muscadet etc in France are almost tripled in price in the UK which makes the NW wine much more attractive. Supermarket wine being generally ready for drinking now or won't mature any more although some can be kept a couple of years. It's a bit of a long running joke that inferior wine gets exported but not so in recent years, about 25 which is recent as far as wine is concerned. A lot of French drink vin de table, grown locally, its ordinary stuff and tastes anything up to quite good depending what your expectations are for a euro a litre.
As for the better stuff, unless you have deep pockets the best way to buy is 'en primeur' from a producteur where you can taste then store it in your cellar/cave. Theres ample opportunity to sample your favourite chateaus look for 'Portes Ouvertes' and promos for Hangar 54 in Bordeaux for example. Whilst some watch the harvest & weather reports etc. A very small number of producteurs will try and sell a bit higher than the supermarkets but a gentle reminder generally gets the better rates and don't expect a discount on one bottle!
Not all expensive wine is good and not all cheap wine is inferior, because next to a lot of grand chateaux is a small producteur who probably worked for said chateau but now makes his own variant on similair terrior (land) but I suspect the UK govt like most things, buys from the most expensive merchant.
My 10 cts after 48 years of drinking the stuff, hic.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
