Home Wine Tasting
Discussion
Mrs Scruff has a significant birthday coming up soon, and COVID has kinda ruined all our plans piece by piece!
As a fallback I was thinking of getting a wine tasting we can do together at home. Problem is that Mrs. S is a bit of a wine connoisseur and while I enjoy it I’m somewhat ignorant about it.
I’ve Googled ‘home wine tasting’ and there are a lot of results but does anyone (who knows more about wine than I do) have any recommendations?
As a fallback I was thinking of getting a wine tasting we can do together at home. Problem is that Mrs. S is a bit of a wine connoisseur and while I enjoy it I’m somewhat ignorant about it.
I’ve Googled ‘home wine tasting’ and there are a lot of results but does anyone (who knows more about wine than I do) have any recommendations?
No, wasn’t thinking anyone would come in, more buying a selection with some accompanying tasting notes - like this:
https://club-vino.co.uk/product/red-wine-box-with-...
As we move into autumn she tends to move from white to red so probably more inclined towards that.
https://club-vino.co.uk/product/red-wine-box-with-...
As we move into autumn she tends to move from white to red so probably more inclined towards that.
You could visit a wine shop (not Majestic IMHO) and ask for some recommendations. An Australian Shiraz is often a good thing, and we like a Red Zinfandel - particularly the Carnivor sold widely in supermarkets for £8 to £10. In fact today it was £9 in Sainsbury's with the 25% offer on, so a snip at £6.75.
When you say "a bit of a wine connoisseur", what do you mean?
Can she identify a specific grape / vintage by tasting blind, or is it more a case of she's not that keen on that £5.99 shiraz you bought from Aldi?
How much does she normally spend on a bottle of wine you'd drink at home? £6, £10, £15, more.....
You need to figure this out, and then go two or three steps higher than this if it's a special occasion. One option would be to get a decent bottle of a well known wine from various countries, so a Rioja from Spain, a Claret from France, a Brunello from Italy, etc. £30 / bottle will get you some very nice wine and 3 or 4 bottles from different countries will make for an interesting tasting session.
Or, you could get bottles of the same wine from different vineyards, i.e. 4 different Cabernet Sauvignons from the Napa Valley - see if you, or she can actually tell the difference.
Somewhere online, or Berry Bros. Avoid supermarkets.
Can she identify a specific grape / vintage by tasting blind, or is it more a case of she's not that keen on that £5.99 shiraz you bought from Aldi?
How much does she normally spend on a bottle of wine you'd drink at home? £6, £10, £15, more.....
You need to figure this out, and then go two or three steps higher than this if it's a special occasion. One option would be to get a decent bottle of a well known wine from various countries, so a Rioja from Spain, a Claret from France, a Brunello from Italy, etc. £30 / bottle will get you some very nice wine and 3 or 4 bottles from different countries will make for an interesting tasting session.
Or, you could get bottles of the same wine from different vineyards, i.e. 4 different Cabernet Sauvignons from the Napa Valley - see if you, or she can actually tell the difference.
Somewhere online, or Berry Bros. Avoid supermarkets.
I've not tried any myself but the Wine Society has a lot of online tastings (you need to join which probably a good idea anyway)
https://www.thewinesociety.com/shop/TastingCalenda...
Are you anywhere near Bristol by any chance?
https://www.thewinesociety.com/shop/TastingCalenda...
Are you anywhere near Bristol by any chance?
If she's buying wine from the supermarket at the moment how about https://www.thewinesociety.com/tastings-at-home ? Get her a membership and some bottles to go along with the guide, so a sparkling, a sherry, couple of Bordeaux reds and a white.
After checking out the options we joined in January and have been very impressed, spent far too much there over lockdown, usually £7-10 range getting markedly better wines than similar range in the supermarket. Although the membership costs £40 up front you get £20 back on the first order and you get a presentation boxed share certificate which would make a nice prezzie
You could even pop some credit into the account for her.
ETA: LOL at 21TonyK
After checking out the options we joined in January and have been very impressed, spent far too much there over lockdown, usually £7-10 range getting markedly better wines than similar range in the supermarket. Although the membership costs £40 up front you get £20 back on the first order and you get a presentation boxed share certificate which would make a nice prezzie
You could even pop some credit into the account for her.ETA: LOL at 21TonyK
I did a few through lockdown with Corney & Barrow - https://www.corneyandbarrow.com/ - which I highly recommend.
If you give them a call they will be able to match something to your requirements, rather than a 'off the shelf' tasting so to speak.
If you give them a call they will be able to match something to your requirements, rather than a 'off the shelf' tasting so to speak.
Depending where you are based, check your local independent wine dealer.
We did a few cheese and wine tastings through lockdown with Loki Wine https://www.lokiwine.co.uk/product-category/online... and they were really enjoyable (plus the cheese and wine were delicious!)
We did a few cheese and wine tastings through lockdown with Loki Wine https://www.lokiwine.co.uk/product-category/online... and they were really enjoyable (plus the cheese and wine were delicious!)
omniflow said:
When you say "a bit of a wine connoisseur", what do you mean?
Can she identify a specific grape / vintage by tasting blind, or is it more a case of she's not that keen on that £5.99 shiraz you bought from Aldi?
How much does she normally spend on a bottle of wine you'd drink at home? £6, £10, £15, more.....
You need to figure this out, and then go two or three steps higher than this if it's a special occasion. One option would be to get a decent bottle of a well known wine from various countries, so a Rioja from Spain, a Claret from France, a Brunello from Italy, etc. £30 / bottle will get you some very nice wine and 3 or 4 bottles from different countries will make for an interesting tasting session.
Or, you could get bottles of the same wine from different vineyards, i.e. 4 different Cabernet Sauvignons from the Napa Valley - see if you, or she can actually tell the difference.
Somewhere online, or Berry Bros. Avoid supermarkets.
Thanks for all the replies, some good points being raised.Can she identify a specific grape / vintage by tasting blind, or is it more a case of she's not that keen on that £5.99 shiraz you bought from Aldi?
How much does she normally spend on a bottle of wine you'd drink at home? £6, £10, £15, more.....
You need to figure this out, and then go two or three steps higher than this if it's a special occasion. One option would be to get a decent bottle of a well known wine from various countries, so a Rioja from Spain, a Claret from France, a Brunello from Italy, etc. £30 / bottle will get you some very nice wine and 3 or 4 bottles from different countries will make for an interesting tasting session.
Or, you could get bottles of the same wine from different vineyards, i.e. 4 different Cabernet Sauvignons from the Napa Valley - see if you, or she can actually tell the difference.
Somewhere online, or Berry Bros. Avoid supermarkets.
Usual spend would be around the £12, give or take. Hard to quantify her knowledge, I'd go for 'enthusiastic amateur'; at present she's very much into old world wines and researching different regions and areas, not to mention pairing with foods. I suspect she'd be able to identify grapes but not vintages. The idea of buying a level or two up from specific 'classic' regions is a good one, though a little out of my comfort zone.
21TonyK said:
I've not tried any myself but the Wine Society has a lot of online tastings (you need to join which probably a good idea anyway)
https://www.thewinesociety.com/shop/TastingCalenda...
Are you anywhere near Bristol by any chance?
We're not I'm afraid, High Wycombe.https://www.thewinesociety.com/shop/TastingCalenda...
Are you anywhere near Bristol by any chance?
CardinalBlue said:
I did a few through lockdown with Corney & Barrow - https://www.corneyandbarrow.com/ - which I highly recommend.
If you give them a call they will be able to match something to your requirements, rather than a 'off the shelf' tasting so to speak.
That looks like a good option, thank you. I might give them a call and see what they suggest.If you give them a call they will be able to match something to your requirements, rather than a 'off the shelf' tasting so to speak.
AlfaPapa said:
Depending where you are based, check your local independent wine dealer.
We're based in High Wycombe - sadly I'm good with different beers and breweries so other than Majestic and Laithwaite's I'm not really up to speed with independent wine dealers. To Google I suspect.Mr Scruff said:
We're based in High Wycombe - sadly I'm good with different beers and breweries so other than Majestic and Laithwaite's I'm not really up to speed with independent wine dealers. To Google I suspect.
Personally I avoid Laithwaites like the plague - they're very much style (not much of it) over substance.There is an independent wine shop in Cookham - I've only been there once, but the people in there were really nice and the selection of wines was pretty decent. As I remember, they do on-prem wine tastings. It's only a small place, so it may not be massively expensive to get them to lay something on for you. It's called Old Butcher's Wine Cellar.
As always, a flash of inspiration just after hitting submit.
There's also Oddbins - take the train into Marylebone and there's a branch in Melcombe St which is on the way to Baker St.
If you're not comfortable using the train at the moment, there's also a branch in Oxford - you'll have to google the address.
There's also Oddbins - take the train into Marylebone and there's a branch in Melcombe St which is on the way to Baker St.
If you're not comfortable using the train at the moment, there's also a branch in Oxford - you'll have to google the address.
omniflow said:
Personally I avoid Laithwaites like the plague - they're very much style (not much of it) over substance.
There is an independent wine shop in Cookham - I've only been there once, but the people in there were really nice and the selection of wines was pretty decent. As I remember, they do on-prem wine tastings. It's only a small place, so it may not be massively expensive to get them to lay something on for you. It's called Old Butcher's Wine Cellar.
Thank you for that suggestion, I had a very positive chat with Old Butchers Wine Cellar earlier on. Extremely helpful and knowledgable, seemed to understand my ramblings and hopefully coming back with some suggestions!There is an independent wine shop in Cookham - I've only been there once, but the people in there were really nice and the selection of wines was pretty decent. As I remember, they do on-prem wine tastings. It's only a small place, so it may not be massively expensive to get them to lay something on for you. It's called Old Butcher's Wine Cellar.
Happy days. Cheers!
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