Wine help needed please.

[Lumpy]

OK I have started thinking about 'that' time of year and need to know what wine somebody who knows would recommend for Daughter and SIL..

Last year we bought them a bottle of Bollinger champagne so I thought (which is not a good condition for me) that SIL thinks he is a bit of an expert so we will buy a good bottle for them.

So what I need is a recommended bottle of white and red for about £20 ish quid a bottle.

I have to ask as my knowledge of wine extends to......some wines you can cook with and some you can pickle with.

Help,,,,,,,

Oh and being able to get it from a supermarket would be an advantage as it would save all the hassle.

[JanieB]

I was the nanny for a family where the father was a wine connoisseur and collector. His advice was that the cost of the wine was irrelevant, it was whether you like it or not. You can buy ( in today's money) a £5 bottle and if it's what you like it's as valuable as a £100 bottle.

Many people like dry wines and others prefer medium, I haven't yet found anyone who likes the really sweet ones other than with their dessert (which is why they're called dessert wines).

Find out whether they prefer dry or medium. I can only suggest what I would buy. If dry I'd go for a good Muscadet or Fleurie (Budgens are generally good with wines but their Fleurie isn't good). If a medium wine a good Reisling. Others I would suggest, Cotes du Rhone, Chenin Blanc.

[SusieG]

Personally, I like (red) Chateau neuff duPape and (white) Chablis. Te.co have a good selection and you don't need to break the bank either!

[WilliamD]

For the red, a Nuits St. Georges might be an idea. A good one is plummy, chocolatey and full bodied. You'd most likely have to go to 0ddbins to get one though. Or I'd echo Janie's suggestion of a Fleurie, which you might find in a well stocked supermarket.

[Lumpy]

Brilliant - thank you.

I have just written the names down and will start mooching.
My only other problem is that the SIL really does like labels - particularly if they can be appreciated by his friends.

[mrswadders]

just to add my two pennies worth....
a good Rioja is lovely, or a Chianti, Malbec,Pinotage(especially a South African one)
I've also recently become a convert to the New Zealand whites - they're loverly

[Alison]

My only other problem is that the SIL really does like labels - particularly if they can be appreciated by his friends.

I prefer the contents to what it says on the label - used to know somebody who decanted supermarket gin into a posh bottle to make it look better, thought it was incredibly sad.

[Lumpy]

Oh Eck I went to 3 supermarkets today and got more and more befuddled - Italy, France, South America etc etc at least I have heard of that one

So thanks to all for the advice but I think plan B might be called for - another bottle of Bollinger it is then at least I know they like that.