Reading · MidWeek Wines Guild

Picture the scene, you’ve just turned out of aisle 9 tinned fruit and jams and next comes aisle 10, wine.

You just want to buy a nice bottle of something to go along with Sunday lunch, so after negotiating your trolley ungracefully into position, what do you see? usually, there are about half a dozen or so people staring blankly at the rows of bottles, maybe picking one up reading the back label then putting it in their trolley only to reach back a few seconds later and put it back on the shelf.

Supermarket wine aisles can be daunting to some especially those with little wine knowledge or experience who only want to find a reasonable bottle to drink with their evening meal. To others, it’s just somewhere to pick up the cheapest bottle of red or white on offer not really caring where it comes from or what it is.

Quite often I get comments like ‘had a lovely bottle of wine last night’ and when I ask what it was they shrug and say ‘don’t know but it was red’, other comments I’ve had are along the lines ‘think it was Australian or was it French, not really sure but it tasted good’ Now there’s nothing wrong with this attitude they seemed quite happy but what happens if someone generally wants to pick a nice bottle instead of blindly picking the cheapest on the shelf. Many a time I’ve tried to help by suggesting an alternative or just steering them in the right direction, sometimes they’re grateful other times I see them go straight back to their original cheapest option.

This is where supermarkets could try a lot harder to help although they have got a lot better. All of the stores split their aisles into red, white, rose, and sparkling, and generally, a section of shelving is divided into various countries, now this is where it needs improving. Most supermarkets already have a number rating for wines ranging from dry to sweet but why not in each country section have some basic information about typical grape varieties, maybe a map showing the different wine regions? For some of the popular bestsellers have a little write-up alongside the bottles, this is all pretty basic stuff that would make the wine aisles a little more interesting, or else you might as well have a row of bottles with blank labels.

Another little gripe of mine is the helpfulness of the assistants in the wine aisles, ok, I know that the person is not a wine expert and probably half the time doesn’t work in that particular aisle but I do expect a better response, as happened the other day to the question have you got anymore South African Chenin Blanc ‘dunno mate, hang on a minute’ then proceeded to look in the Australian section.

Listen I know it’s a supermarket and not a wine merchant/outlet but it’s where a lot of people buy their wines. A little more thought into giving a little more general wine information would definitely add to the supermarket wine-buying experience

A few Suggestions …….

Firstly, before blindly heading out for that bottle of wine, why not check out some recommendations, maybe check our sister site Brian’s MidWeek Wines. Always some reliable bottles to find there or check out our recommendations here at the Guild, I’m sure between us both we can find that perfect Sunday roast red, or celebratory fizz.

If you find a bottle you really like, take a picture of the label, always good for future reference, and when someone asks you what it is, whip out your phone and show them, they’ll be impressed!

I’m happy to see a few of the Supermarkets are now at least trying to help, a lot of them are trying to simplify their ranges focusing on the actual grapes boldly displayed on the label and many now have ‘Masters of Wine’ on their buying teams. Take Spar for example, not everyone’s go to shop for wine but they are doing good things, their ‘Master of Wine’ Philippa Carr has introduced a new Legends Range, we’ve featured and going to feature these wines ( look out for Paul’s articles)

So as tempting as some of the offers are in Supermarkets, have a plan before you visit, there’s some good ones out there, and remember we are here to help, and happy to recommend and make your Supermarket wine shopping much more enjoyable.

And finally………...

Why not tell us about your experience in the Supermarket wine aisle good or bad

What I’ve been drinking recently

A rather eclectic mix for me lately, partly necessitated by the need to free up some space rather than buying yet more wine. So I’ve been drinking a couple of French wines we picked up in France in the past 12 months and an all too infrequent foray into the Mosel valley in Germany. Given the series of heatwaves in the UK this summer it’s hardly surprising I turned to white wine although I firmly believe the red wine mentioned here is very much a summer wine too.

Domaine Dyckerhoff Reuilly 2024 12.5%

I have a penchant for Sauvignon Blancs from the Loire Valley firmly believing their subtlety in comparison to the vast majority of New Zealand SBs is definitely more to my taste. Of course the best SBs come from the Central Loire and in particular from Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé but the nearby appellations of Menetou-Salon, Quincy, and Reuilly are the places to look for decent wine at less inflated prices. This particular bottle is described as a ‘vin de plaisir’, very much an easy-drinking unpretentious wine but it was perfectly quaffable in the spirit of a midweek wine for the 9.95€ (approx. £8.60) paid for it in France. And I’m sure my MWW Guild colleague Paul would have chosen it given his belief in the link between a bird on a label and the quality of a wine!

Lionel Osmin & Cie Fronton Sud-Ouest 2022 13.5%

There are some fascinating appellations and grape varieties to be found in South West France, for example appellations such as Gaillac, Jurançon, Cahors, Fronton, and among the grapes Côt /Malbec, Braucol, Négrette, Gros and Petit Manseng. I picked this bottle up in a shop of the Nicolas chain in Toulouse on the basis that it was a local wine. To be fair, I knew what I was getting having rather enjoyed Domaine Le Roc Les Petits Cailloux Fronton from The Wine Society (now discontinued) which was a similar blend of majority Négrette topped up with 15% Syrah. With red fruit flavours it’s a smooth and relatively light wine characterised by floral and distinctive violet aromas. Here again a pleasant, easy-going wine that proved a decent accompaniment to our Mediterranean Chicken. Good value again in France at 10.90€ (appox. £9.40).

Peter & Ulrich Griebeler Dry Riesling 2025 12%

Most of the wines from the near vertical slopes of the Mosel valley in the UK are mid-strength, single digit % abv and relatively sweet. It was therefore good to find this bottle made by two brothers in a family-run producer that specialises in making dry (Trocken) Riesling. Pale in colour and refreshingly crisp and dry with appley flavours and pleasant minerality. Time spent on the lees has given a fuller texture to this delightful wine. A very nice aperitif in the garden when temperatures are touching 30C. Finished the bottle with the inevitable salad on such a hot day.

From £13 at Majestic but truthfully worth that.

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NL 68: Supermarket Wine Aisles + Keith's recent bottles

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