Seriously Funny

Credit: id-iom

The funny thing about wine is that, despite being one of the perks of life, it’s often treated very seriously indeed. Which is why things like this (points to the picture) really make me laugh. And if you’ve ever wondered just how to pronounce Chateauneuf-du-Pape properly, watch this*. But if I can be serious for a moment: when you buy a bottle of wine for £6, more than half of that goes on tax alone. Once you add in the packaging, shipping and the retailers’ cut, you are looking at less than 50p’s worth of wine. At this end of the market, you really do get what you pay for – wine at a very low cost. By spending a few quid more (and choosing wisely, obviously) chances are you’ll find better value for money as the quality of the wine increases. Once you get to £7, chances are you’re getting more than double the value of wine than a £5 bottle. Beyond £20 and you’re buying something that is probably in limited supply and priced by desire. Still, it’s far cheaper than buying a pair of limited edition, desirable trainers. Which explains why I’ve got a lot more bottles than desirable trainers in my house.

Current white in the fridge: Tesco Finest Pecorino, £5.99 (normally £7.99), Tesco
There’s 25% off any 6 wines bought in store until Sunday, so if you have any tried and tested favourites, now’s the time to fill those boots. This is one of mine, and actually you only have to buy a single bottle to get this for under £6 until the 29th April. A few bottles found their way into the trolley at the weekend and given that our Easter included a broken boiler and The Husband being struck down with tonsillitis, they were just the thing. Pecorino is the grape and this one’s made in the Italian region of Abruzzo. Brilliantly lemon-fresh, and to my knowledge no actual nuns were used to make it. 

Current red in the rack: Sette Vigne 2010, £8.99, Waitrose
This one’s limited edition, according to the label on the shelf. And happily, it’s pretty desirable too. It’s all about seven: that’s the number of grapes in the blend and the number of regions across Italy that it’s made from. The grapes include Nebbiolo (the one used to make Barolo), Sangiovese (the one used to make Chianti) and Corvina (the one used to make Valpolicella), along with Barbera, Montepulciano, Aglianico and Primitivo. It’s a clever idea and the result is a bit of a mish mash. But it’s a big, black fruit-flavoured, spicy mish mash and I loved it. Not a quiet wine; needs big flavours when it comes to food. Sausages were a great match. 

Peace out, winos x

*with thanks to Becky and Laura for making me laugh with this one. And the red definitely doesn’t taste of snozzberries.