What wine....

[DiamondEcho]

Agree with CK^, giving good wine time to breath is vital to getting the best from it.
If decanting it you might also pour it through a sieve into the container, this takes out almost all of any sediment, and adds to the initial aeration.

[redsturgeon]

Agree with CK^, giving good wine time to breath is vital to getting the best from it.
If decanting it you might also pour it through a sieve into the container, this takes out almost all of any sediment, and adds to the initial aeration.

If I am decanting a decent wine or perhaps a vintage port (or even a bottle conditioned beer) then I would just keep a careful eye on the final bit of the pour and you will spot the lees coming towards the neck and stop pouring then. I would have thought that using a sieve to take out sediment would run the risk of getting a cloudy wine or beer.

John

[RedSnapper]

Well folks, a heartfelt thankyou is very much in order. The Villa Antinori was excellent. Excellent flavour which was quite complex and long lasting (compared to our usual fayre!). Went very nicely with the turkey....can't comment on its suitability with cheese, it didn't last that long !

We decanted as advised. As it happens I have a funnel with filter given to me by my wife for use on some of the vintage port I have squirreled away but the lees were conspicuous by their absence so the filter was probably not needed.

Next - roast fore rib for my birthday next month

[simoan]

If money were no object and I could go to Byrne's of Clitheroe I'd come up with some much better suggestions

Fortunately I can and do go to Byrne's on a regular basis, and they're just as happy to recommend a bottle at £10 as one at £100. My seasonal trip there is one of the relatively few pre-Christmas activities that I really look forward to, and for those unfortunates who don't know what we're on about here's their website - http://dbyrne-finewines.co.uk/

CK,

I see you've been to Byrne's more recently...

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set ... aa97c530b0

They're never wearing their Sunday best when I'm in there BTW my last visit was a couple of weeks ago. Shame they have had to put their prices up since the New Year, so we only managed to buy 18 bottles, times being hard n'all...

All the best, Si

[Clitheroekid]

CK,

I see you've been to Byrne's more recently...

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set ... aa97c530b0

It really is appalling that one's cover has been blown!

[Halicarnassus]

Hi all, I'm looking for a bit of a special wine for xmas day but don't really know where to start with all the ramping that goes on in supermarkets these days.

It'll be a traditional dinner so needs to go with turkey and the trimmings and possible with some nice cheeses if any left over. I like spicy and full red wines, nothing too light. I love a good rioja and can be easily pleased by a decent burgundy. So can anyone recommend something(s) up to about £20 that should be fairly easily available in the major supermarkets / majestic?

For the man on a budget looking for a lovely yet inexpensive robustious red, I'd suggest the Yellowtail Big Bold Red.

[simoan]

For the man on a budget looking for a lovely yet inexpensive robustious red, I'd suggest the Yellowtail Big Bold Red.

Yellowtail !? I wouldn't even give this to my In-laws. You have to draw the line somewhere...

All the best, Si

[Halicarnassus]

For the man on a budget looking for a lovely yet inexpensive robustious red, I'd suggest the Yellowtail Big Bold Red.

Yellowtail !? I wouldn't even give this to my In-laws. You have to draw the line somewhere...

All the best, Si

I think it's rather quaffable https://www.yellowtailwine.com/wine/big-bold-red/

[simoan]

For the man on a budget looking for a lovely yet inexpensive robustious red, I'd suggest the Yellowtail Big Bold Red.

Yellowtail !? I wouldn't even give this to my In-laws. You have to draw the line somewhere...

All the best, Si

I think it's rather quaffable https://www.yellowtailwine.com/wine/big-bold-red/

Great, if you like over extracted, alcoholic red grape juice made in an industrial winery. It's the wine industry equivalent of battery farming. I'd rather drink my own urine

All the best, Si

[Halicarnassus]

Yellowtail !? I wouldn't even give this to my In-laws. You have to draw the line somewhere...

All the best, Si

I think it's rather quaffable https://www.yellowtailwine.com/wine/big-bold-red/

Great, if you like over extracted, alcoholic red grape juice made in an industrial winery. It's the wine industry equivalent of battery farming. I'd rather drink my own urine

All the best, Si

Don't let me stop you.

[simoan]

I think it's rather quaffable https://www.yellowtailwine.com/wine/big-bold-red/

Great, if you like over extracted, alcoholic red grape juice made in an industrial winery. It's the wine industry equivalent of battery farming. I'd rather drink my own urine

All the best, Si

Don't let me stop you.

Why bother though when there are hundreds more interesting wines to be drunk and enjoyed that cost no more to buy than Yellowtail? IMHO Yellowtail is wine made for people that don't really like wine.

[Halicarnassus]

Well, it's a reasonable wine and certainly one that fits the bill for the OP.

[simoan]

Well, it's a reasonable wine and certainly one that fits the bill for the OP.

Really? This is what the OP asked:

Hi all, I'm looking for a bit of a special wine for xmas day but don't really know where to start with all the ramping that goes on in supermarkets these days.

It'll be a traditional dinner so needs to go with turkey and the trimmings and possible with some nice cheeses if any left over. I like spicy and full red wines, nothing too light. I love a good rioja and can be easily pleased by a decent burgundy. So can anyone recommend something(s) up to about £20 that should be fairly easily available in the major supermarkets / majestic?

I'm not sure how a Yellowtail "Big Bold Red" fits this requirement at all? It's the very essence of taking a sledgehammer to crack a nut!

All the best, Si

[Halicarnassus]

I like spicy and full red wines, nothing too light. I love a good rioja and can be easily pleased by a decent burgundy. So can anyone recommend something(s) up to about £20 that should be fairly easily available in the major supermarkets / majestic?

Well in my opinion it fits the bill. We won't agree, but have you actually tried my recommendation?

[simoan]

[i]Well in my opinion it fits the bill. We won't agree, but have you actually tried my recommendation?

No I've not had that particular misfortune but admit to being given glasses of Yellow Tail Shiraz and Cab Sauvignon in the past. My point is that you can drink better quality wine without paying much more money. Yellow Tail is all about brand marketing to make it stand out in a supermarket shelf (even down to colour coding the different varietal bottles) with scant regard for what's actually in the bottle. If you like it great, but I'd never suggest it to someone suggesting they are prepared to pay for a decent bottle for a special occasion. Yellow tail is for getting pissed at BBQ's, nothing else.

[Halicarnassus]

[i]Well in my opinion it fits the bill. We won't agree, but have you actually tried my recommendation?

No I've not had that particular misfortune but admit to being given glasses of Yellow Tail Shiraz and Cab Sauvignon in the past. My point is that you can drink better quality wine without paying much more money. Yellow Tail is all about brand marketing to make it stand out in a supermarket shelf (even down to colour coding the different varietal bottles) with scant regard for what's actually in the bottle. If you like it great, but I'd never suggest it to someone suggesting they are prepared to pay for a decent bottle for a special occasion. Yellow tail is for getting pissed at BBQ's, nothing else.

So you haven't actually tried the wine I recommended but have been busy trashing it for the last few posts!

Er...OK.

End of this conversation, but I at least appreciate your candour in this admittance.

Best.

[DiamondEcho]

It'll be a traditional dinner so needs to go with turkey and the trimmings and possible with some nice cheeses if any left over. I like spicy and full red wines, nothing too light. I love a good rioja and can be easily pleased by a decent burgundy. So can anyone recommend something(s) up to about £20 that should be fairly easily available in the major supermarkets / majestic?

Well it's long past Xmas, but FWIW I have a suggestion.
In my experience since many of us will have call for a few bottles of better than day-to-day ones for holiday periods I favour ordering a mixed case or half-case before the Xmas shopping momentum peaks. As I live abroad, I order such a case say 2nd week of Dec to send to my parents and sister's family - the two housesholds are nearby each other, so one order covers 4 gifts [parents, sis + bro-in-law]. They split the case half each.
Advantages are: A mail-order retailer pays materially lower rent and other overheads than a town or city-centre location. Their websites have search criteria you can select. You can read tasting notes at your leisure, and x-research further on the internet if that matters to you. You can also read customer reviews, and leave your own as I've done before. You can ask for free expert guidance and suggestions. So you can make a better informed choice and access wines that on the high street would be well outside your price bracket.
The only potential negative is you can't walk into a chain supermarket shop and take it off the shelf 'today'. So it needs a bit of advanced planning.

With that in mind I use Laithwaites for my online orders. I expect there are several others that are as good or perhaps better. So far over say 10 years I've no had reason to try anyone else. [And no, I have no vested interest, of any kind in suggesting them].

So for the above^ case. I'll buy 2 sparkling wines, 2 whites and 2 reds for each household = one case. If something really catches my eye I might add a couple more bottles, perhaps a dessert wine for each, or similar. I really enjoy choosing the wines, vicarious pleasure! If only because I simply can't access such quality wines where I live, via any means.

With that in mind and re: the original question. For me I'd start with a sparkling wine, prosecco apparently is well received from me. That's as an aperitif and to go with appetisers, then switch to a meaty red for the rest of the meal. And it would be a spicy and full red [as you outline], like I order for my family. This is the vineyard I invariably select to choose the red wine from, such as this one. £9/bottle as part of a mixed case, or £10 per single bottle https://www.laithwaites.co.uk/product/T ... 2016/67599 - The Black Stump Durif Shiraz 2016

It's a pretty stunning wine for that price, in say the 10 years I've ordered it, I was there once and got to enjoy it - and WOW! It'd be fascinating to know how it would be priced in a supermarket!

[simoan]

So you haven't actually tried the wine I recommended but have been busy trashing it for the last few posts!

Er...OK.

End of this conversation, but I at least appreciate your candour in this admittance.

Best.

It's Yellow Tail which is made to the same "recipe" year in year out irrespective of any particular vintage or wherever the grapes are grown which is pretty much anywhere in SE Australia. It has no sense of place. I have no need to drink it to know what it will taste like - sweet, 14-14.5% alcohol, lots of fruit, no oak, no tannins, no acidity, no interest.

[UncleEbenezer]

Yellowtail is one I've learned to avoid, though I have no recollection of the circumstances. But I accept that other people will have different tastes.

The two of you bickering at such length is tending towards, shall we say, tedious.

As for the whole thread: the OP loves a nice Rioja or Burgundy (as do I). So there are two options for an occasion when it matters. Experiment a bit with others to expand your range when there's no occasion you care too much about: then if you find one you don't like, you can use it for cooking.

[simoan]

The two of you bickering at such length is tending towards, shall we say, tedious.

If we want to discuss the merits or otherwise of a particular style of wine I don't see the problem, just ignore it if you think it's tedious. I wouldn't be so rude myself to tell you if you wrote something I found tedious.

I'm actually making perfectly valid points about factory made, high volume wine made to the lowest common denominator. Why drink it? If you enjoy wine, do some sums... I love wine, I may only live for another 20 years, if I'm very lucky. I only drink approx. 50 bottles of wine a year, so that's only 1,000 more bottles at most. The saddest thing I could imagine is even one of those bottles being a bulk made wine like yellowtail.