I just got devoted

[MikeH]

I've never had that wine and am not attempting to claim anything about its quality!

[Zoetstofzoetje]

I lived in a village 20 miles south of there for a while. Think: rain, rain, more rain, rain, grim overcast, rain, and (wait for it..) rain! And then there's mist, floods, etc. The occasional sunshine made the sheep happy. Which is good, because happy sheep taste good.

It might be good wine, but it goes against any and all common sense.

The only good thing which can be said about that area, is that it's a relatively warm location, due to being near the warm gulf stream. Mind the 'relative' bit.

[Zoetstofzoetje]

This is the view in that area on a good day:



This is what the land looks like: wet, moist, and green



This is what land looks like in prize-winning wine regions like the Ribera: arid, dry, lots of sunshine, occasional rain

[MikeH]

God, you and Ribera, you're as bad as Alby banging on about Philly.

There are cool climate wine regions. Champagne and Burgundy are very green, as is Mosel and between them they make some of the best wine in the world.

They also grow very different varieties.

I'm not saying Lancashire is up there, but as the weather stats show, it doesn't get much rain. Much less than Burgundy. It's just very cool. I imagine they struggle to get the grapes to ripen.

[Zoetstofzoetje]

Ok, so maybe I have some vested interests in the wine that's produced there, might be affecting my judgement

[MikeH]

You are putting me off it.

[Zoetstofzoetje]

That's just because you know that any acidity might be caused by myself doing a number 1 on the grapes

[MikeH]

Are you allowed to acidify in Ribera? (something of course you wont find in the UK. )

[Zoetstofzoetje]

In theory nothing is allowed. There are a few vinyards in the Ribera where I know that they spray all kinds of insecticides, and mess around with the soil to get bigger harvests. This reduces tastes and adds headache ingredients. Then, they add more chemicals so that it will not mature too quickly, which also doesn't do any favours to taste and headache-potential. They add some sugar to hide the added chemicals.

This is tablewine that tastes good after the first cup, and makes you feel miserable the entire next day. This wine goes for 26 euros per vacuum box (7.5 liters) for the locals in the province, or for export where it's sold at a premium.

What you want is the natural stuff, that hasn't been treated, messed around with. As a result, harvests are smaller, lots of grapes don't make it through the selection process, and the wine takes longer to mature. This is reflected in the price, of course. This wine is not sold in vacuum boxes, bottles only. Think 6 euros for locals and upwards. The fanciest go for 300 euros per 25cl.

I've had some of these (I get them for free) and I can't taste the difference with a 30 euro bottle. I think it's just snobbery or for wine fascinados/aficionados who can taste that tiny difference.

[MikeH]

Yeah, I tend to agree. £25-£40 is my price bracket for a really excellent top wine. Not sure I'd ever spend more than that. In the UK we don't seem to import really cheap Ribera. Most around £10-12 mark.

I would love to try some of the £1,500 Bordeaux wines one day, if I'm not paying.

(Our tax on wine is high, which inflates the price above what you pay more than the transport costs)

[MikeH]

Looking good for English wine this year.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/may/10/britain-winemakers-prospects-early-harvest

[Zoetstofzoetje]

Just got back from the Ribera where I had my wine tasting tour organized.

[Zoetstofzoetje]

Two weeks from now I'll pass through Bolton-le-Sands, will pick up a few bottles, should be interesting!

[MikeH]

Good luck!

[Zoetstofzoetje]

so I'm not passing through Bolton-le-Sands but only neighbourhood - didn't want to rent a car.

what type of off-license would sell English wine (as opposed to "British wine")?

i've seen a few, they have everything but homegrown... bought a bottle of kiwi wine, had to show my ID, lol