I'm known among my friends now as a bit of a wine snob. The consequences of this are people are afraid to choose wine when I'm around. They'll hand me the wine list in restaurants and in supermarkets they'll look at me before putting anything in their basket. It's a burden I have to bear. But out of curiosity, and to redress the balance, I couldn't resist trying this ridiculously cheap wine when I was in France last week. You won't have to scratch your memory banks too far to know that I'm a big fan of Alsace wines and we'd just had a Riesling week, so when I saw this beauty in Lidl in La Grand Motte for €2.55, I just had to try it. You won't find it in Lidl UK store, and even if you did, you'd be paying a lot more for it than that, since at around £2.30 a bottle, you barely cover the cost of the Chancellor's cut on every bottle sold in the UK. Tax on wine is a tax on happiness!
I drunk this with a couple of friends, one of whom lives in Alsace, and one of whom would claim no knowledge of wine. Our review is simple: "It still gets you drunk". It was a very hot summer's day and we were all in high spirits with plenty of dancing ahead. The wine was simple, uncomplicated and by no means undrinkable, but as far as Alsace Rieslings go, it was definitely scraping the bottom of the barrel. That said, I'd sooner quaff this at a summer picnic than most of the £7.50 Pinot Grigio on sale in the UK... When on holiday, we try different things and accept different standards, but I'm very glad I have some decent Alsatian wine to cleanse my palate courtesy of my good friend.
I drunk this with a couple of friends, one of whom lives in Alsace, and one of whom would claim no knowledge of wine. Our review is simple: "It still gets you drunk". It was a very hot summer's day and we were all in high spirits with plenty of dancing ahead. The wine was simple, uncomplicated and by no means undrinkable, but as far as Alsace Rieslings go, it was definitely scraping the bottom of the barrel. That said, I'd sooner quaff this at a summer picnic than most of the £7.50 Pinot Grigio on sale in the UK... When on holiday, we try different things and accept different standards, but I'm very glad I have some decent Alsatian wine to cleanse my palate courtesy of my good friend.
Other delights I sampled last week were the local Picpoul de Pinet, which I'd recommend trying if you are looking for simple summer whites, gallons of local Provence rosé which is light and fruity, and a paler pink Gris, which is for the less sweet-toothed rosé drinker. My most outlandish drink was a Kir made with Violette rather than Cassis (blackcurrant liqueur). It looks stranger than it tasted. I'm a fan of floral flavours like rose and violet but this wouldn't be to everyone's taste. It made a lovely aperitif prior to an excellent seafood celebration dinner though my friends were much happier with their cocktails!
When in France, it's a great opportunity to drink those things we'd normally think twice about paying UK prices for, and an opportunity to appreciate just how overpriced our wines are! The way wine is sold in bars and restaurants in France also strikes me as far healthier than our third of a bottle buckets (large 250ml glasses often come in at more than your daily safe alcohol allowance). With carafes to share in anything from 250ml and up to a litre, while a glass is a far more reasonable serving of 125ml. It makes it much easier to experiment, and to enjoy a glass without it greatly affecting your next day.
Sadly that's the end of my planned trips to France for this summer. Next stops are Norfolk and Blackpool - neither of which is renowned for it's local wine. So, it'll be back to regular "Wine of the Week" service next week. My suggestion for you is coming soon.
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