I just got devoted

[MikeH]

Spain has incredible wine diversity, even just sticking within Spanish wine if you only drink Rioja and Ribera it is probably a mistake.

You'd be missing out on some incredible stuff from the following big gun regions for a start:

Priorat, Navarra, Rueda, Penedès and have had some really good Albarino from RÃas Baixas

Navarra is home of some absolute bargains for fans of Rioja and Ribera! At least at the prices they appear in the UK (and if you can find any).

[ricketyclik]

New Zealand Marlborough region Sauvignon Blanc.

If you like wine, you will like this. I've bought nothing else in whites for three years now, the rest pale (boom-tish!) in comparison.

[Zoetstofzoetje]

Problem is, where do we get it? W/o import export it never arrives on European shores.

[DanS]

New Zealand whites used to be inexpensive in the US. They have crept up in price. Go instead, for Chilean whites. As ever, YMMV.

Spanish reds are available in the US and tend to be reasonably priced. Mostly riojas, though.

[The Mad Monk]

Chilean reds can be good, too. Conha y Toro Casillero del Diablo!!!

[Kitschum]

I'm drinking a wine called "California".

[Uncle Sparky]

I prefer Taylor-Fladgate Tawny port 20. I also like Highland Park 12 (or 18) single malt.

Wine, I drink if someone else is buying.

[Zoetstofzoetje]

Highland park is a bit snobby, because it's exported. I prefer a double dalwhinnie instead.

[Kitschum]

By my standards you're already snobby if you have a favorite whiskey at all JD excepted. GD yuppie bastards.

[KrazyHorse]

Ardbeg, Macallan cask strength & Lagavulin are awesome

[KrazyHorse]

JW black is reasonably good for a cheap blended whisky

[Kuciwalker]

Because fulfilling your requirements for liquid purely with alcoholic beverages is severely detrimental to your health.

I doubt this. I bet you could live a perfectly healthy life drinking only wine.

[MikeH]

Problem is, where do we get it? W/o import export it never arrives on European shores.

Maybe not in Spain but there's tons of Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc in England. I like it but it has suffered from over exposure in recent times.

Did move me onto Pouilly Fumé & Sancerre though.

We don't live in one of the biggest wine producing nations in the world though, so I can see why you have less need of imports.

[MikeH]

I doubt this. I bet you could live a perfectly healthy life drinking only wine.

In Europe, they used to drink only alcoholic drinks, for hygiene reasons, beer had been boiled and was less likely to immediately kill you than the water... but their life expectancy was not exactly great, and it was pretty weak stuff.

Drinking ~ 2 litres of wine a day (almost 3 bottles) is well into alcoholism territory, people drinking that amount aren't particularly healthy, but it would probably take a long time for them to die of it. And you certainly couldn't do it from birth/weaning, your liver matures slowly.

[Jon Miller]

I have seen people get liver disease/etc, it isn't pretty.

JM