Supermarkets vs Independents

I was in a real dilemma this week regarding my wine purchases. Do I support the local independent wine retailer or buy my wine from the supermarket?

I had to buy some food so I was in the supermarket. In fact it was Waitrose who had an excellent wine selection and made it very tempting to buy something at some very reasonable prices. The only comment I would make about their selection which is common to most supermarkets with high turnover was that many of the vintages were 2007 and 2008 which is fine for wine designed to be drunk young. For those of us who like a drop or two of more mature wine the selection was tiny and suddenly went from a few pounds a bottle to in excess of £15.

So I left it and a few doors away popped into a new independent retailer who seemed to focus on obscure wines from France. There were two advantages to this decision. Firstly they did have a bigger selection of top wines than Waitrose so I could look longingly at the Chateau D’Yquems, Pommards and Grand Cru Bordeaux’s, all at prices that only bankers with large pension funds oblivious to the credit crunch could afford.

The rest of the stock was encouraging, mostly in the £8 to £20 a bottle range but with lots of 2004’s, 2005’s and 2006’s which are all drinking well now. I purchased a Southern French wine from an obscure Appellation ( Madiran ) which I was told was just south of Bordeaux and somewhere near Cahors. It was delicious and at 13.5% was full of fruit, alcohol with a hint of acid.
My conclusion is that it is horses for courses. If you want convenience, like your wine young or want to splash out a bit more with limited choice then shop at the supermarkets. If you want a broader selection in one location with more interesting vintages and arguably better value for money then go to your local independent. Either way, enjoy and keep drinking.

German Wine

I tried some German wine recently. A big mistake. I know this sounds harsh but its been a good 10 years or more since I last had a go and sadly not much has changed. Okay, I was trying a range of Riesling's from different countries so I felt compelled to include one from the Pfalz region. I will blame Jancis Robinson. I was watching and old series of hers wine tasting around the world and she just happened to mention that she was a big fan of the Riesling grape. Now I am a big fan of Jancis so in for a penny... Off to Waitrose and quickly I found bottles from Australia , New Zealand and the US. Their German section consisted of about 2 wines which did not bode well.

I picked a snazzy label, not the traditional German label with more words than Mein Kampf for me! The Naked Grape, I kid you not, was a real dissappointment. All of my age old prejudices came flooding back and Jancis was public enemy number one. Sweet, sickly, lacking in finesse, structure and frankly any bite. What a shame. It might take me another 10 years before I try again but I do agree something with Jancis, the Oz Kiwi and Yank Reislings were outstanding.

Medal Winners or Price?

How much are we influenced by awards as opposed to price when it comes to buying wine? Take a look at any supermarket shelf and which areas are emptied first? It always strikes me that small percentages off the price or 'sales' seem to clear the shelves, irrespective of the quality of the wine, its country of origin or grape variety. People love a bargain and seem totally influenced by this over an award winning bottle standing next to the bottle on sale. So why do growers bother? Is this a valid secondary consideration when it comes to choice? Should it really be secondary?

My own personal view is that a great deal of effort goes into these awards and competitions. I am sure the growers and shippers are massively interested in the outcome because they can probably charge a bit more for the wine to the wholesalers and retailers. But as far as the end consumer is concerned it upsets me that this flies out the window if a major retailer decides to simply run a promotion on a wine or range of wines and people buy on perceived savings.

I will continue to buy on quality and choose the odd award winner from time to time, maybe there is more that the merchants and growers can do to change buying habits based upon quality. Let's hope so for all our sakes.