Wine Basics
Should you buy wine in the sales?
Just as with every other kind of store, specialist wine shops have sales at this time of year largely to clear stocks that have been slow to sell through and make way for new vintages they've ordered. But is wine the sort of product you should be buying in a sale? Well it depends . . .
On the plus side it provides a chance to buy wines you might not otherwise be able to afford or good everyday drinking at a price that often beats the supermarkets. On the other hand the shop may be seeking to offload wines that have seen better days.
There are three questions to ask yourself:
1. Is it a genuine bargain?
The price may be inflated to start with or the reduction fairly insignificant. Try and find out what other stores are charging for the same wine. I normally check wine-searcher.com for this but you can simply Google the name of the wine and see what comes up.
2. Is it too old a vintage?
A slightly trickier one which depends on the price and style of the wine, how good the vintage was, and the size of the bottle (half bottles age more quickly than standard bottles or magnums.) A 2016 vintage of an inexpensive Australian chardonnay for example would taste a bit tired whereas a Chablis of that vintage should still taste quite fresh. Remember southern hemisphere vintages are six months ahead of northern hemisphere ones so a 2018 wine is already almost five years old.
Personally I'd be reluctant to buy wines that are designed to be drunk young and fresh more than a couple of years on though full-bodied reds can be fine. Berry Bros & Rudd has a useful vintage chart if you want to check.
3. Will I like it?
That might sound like a silly question but there's no point in buying a whole case of a wine you haven't tasted whatever the discount. Even if you liked it a couple of years ago the vintage on offer may not be the same one. You might like X's Cote du Rhone Villages but not Y's. If you have the option of buying a bottle and trying it before you load up it's a wise move (though you obviously have to take the risk they may run out).
And 4 tips:
1. Avoid 'mystery' cases or mixed cases that don't specify vintages
A favourite of wine clubs and on-line specialists like Laithwaite's. Despite the big reductions these usually aren't as good value as they seem, basically giving the merchant the opportunity to offload old vintages. There may of course be some good bottles but if a third are under par that's not a bargain.
2. Use sales as an opportunity to explore the wine world
More obscure wines which the merchant likes but has been over-optimistic about selling can be a good investment in extending your wine knowledge. Look out from wines from countries such as Bulgaria, Croatia and Slovenia or less fashionable wines such as German riesling and demi-sec Vouvray.
Full bodied new world reds that can be a bit over oaky or jammy when young also benefit from a bit of bottle age so snap up mature Australian shiraz and Californian and Chilean cabernet sauvignon.
3. Buy wine out of season
If you like rosé, for example, and don't mind drinking it in February you can pick it up at a good price at this time of year. Same goes for crisp, summery whites.
4. Get in early
The best bargains get snapped up quickly so get yourself on the mailing list of your favourite wine suppliers so you always know exactly when their sale starts.
What sort of wine glasses should you buy?
Much play has been made over the last few years of having different shaped glasses for different wines but for those of us with limited storage space (and a limited budget) that’s simply not practical. So what are the best type of glasses to buy and what should you expect to pay for them?
The conventional wisdom is that glasses should be clear (so you can appreciate the colour of the wine), tapered towards the rim (so you can swirl it safely) and with a long stem so you can hold the glass easily without your hand warming up the contents. They should also have a fine rim so you’re not conscious of the edge of the glass as you drink (which can be the case with cheaper wine glasses).
The problem is that many glass manufacturers have taken this to extremes creating beautiful glasses but ones that are difficult to fit in a dishwasher and tragically easy to break if you wash them by hand or knock them over.
So so far as type of glasses is concerned I would go for practicality over style. A modestly priced glass that is easy to replace. This Vino wine glass from John Lewis at £20 a set of 4 would be a good all-rounder. Take advantage of promotions too - at the time of writing there's between 20% and 30% off at Habitat. I've even bought decent wine glasses at Wilko!
How many types of wine glass should you buy?
It depends how keen you are on wine and what type you enjoy most. If you’re starting from scratch setting up home or planning a wedding list I’d probably go for two - a slightly smaller glass for crisp dry wines like sauvignon blanc, aromatic white wines such as riesling and rosés and a larger glass for oak-aged chardonnays and red wines. (The point about having a smaller glass is that you have less wine in your glass and that retains the temperature of cold wines better. Remember glasses should only be poured half full not filled to the brim)
If you’re a lover of sweet or fortified wines like sherry you might want a set of smaller glasses too - the classic sherry ‘copita’ would probably be the most flexible choice.
Do you need a separate glass for champagne?
Ah, that’s the big question. Until recently the answer has been a firm yes - a tall flute being held to preserve the fizz better than the shallow coupe that was popular at the beginning of the last century. But now many experts reckon that a more generous bowl expresses the flavour of champagne better. So you could use your regular white wine glasses.
A new type of glass you might want to consider are ones like SON.hyx and Sparkx that claim to be dishwasher proof. You’d have to use them over a period of time to verify that but they might be worth a try if you don't want to wash your glasses by hand (as, let's be honest, most of us don't)
When it's worth splashing out
If you’re keen on a particular style of wine - say burgundy - or are buying a gift for someone who is - it might be worth buying a couple of glasses for when you’re enjoying a bottle on your own or with a partner or friend. Riedel, Schott Zweisel, Spiegelau and Zalto are well-known names to look out for. I also like Richard Brendon's beautiful new one-size-fits-all wine glass, designed in collaboration with wine writer Jancis Robinson. Again sales are a good opportunity to buy more expensive wine glasses (or stemware as it’s called in the US).
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