Wine lovers musings, amusings and news

Spotted this bargain in SYD duty free this morning - guess staff don’t know the difference and the label has a lot of black on it..
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There will always be a mug punter buying wine at the duty free thinking they are getting a bargain.
I was almost tempted recently when I saw a woman grab a couple of bottles in ADL, to tell her Dans is cheaper.
 
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There will always be a mug punter buying wine at the duty free thinking that are getting a bargain.
I was almost tempted recently when I saw a woman grab a couple of bottles in ADL, to tell her Dans is cheaper.
The only point of duty free for me is to buy wine on the way to Bali or likewise as it's cheaper duty free than once you are in the country.
 
There will always be a mug punter buying wine at the duty free thinking they are getting a bargain.
I was almost tempted recently when I saw a woman grab a couple of bottles in ADL, to tell her Dans is cheaper.
I've been buying Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape duty free in Sydney for several years now. $120/bot is well an truly best price here in Oz.

p.s. if Syd DF had any more Tignanello for $94 I'd be loading up the bags with that too
p.p.s. The 3L St Henri for $640 (after 5% off) is somehow somewhat tempting...
 
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TWF reviews on the recent Standish release have been posted, not surprisingly (to me) the numerical ratings are lower than Erin's and I suspect there will be comments on how tWF scores are “truth” and anyone else are rubbish
what are the scores?
 
94 Lamella
95+ Relic
96 Standish
96+ Schubert Theorem

Scores by MB
I went to the winery Friday before last and my fav. was the Schubert - more complex and multidimensional than the others. I did like the Standish as more approachable than the Lamella but wouldn't have pegged the latter down as a lessor wine...
Each to their own in the world of wine!

p.s. I wonder how long TWF had them open? These wines when this young (like Sami Odi, Agricola etc.) need to be opened days in advance
 
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"I'll have every bottle you have. Please don't open them."
(Sadly didn't even have one available to have with tea)
 

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Coles Liquor has announced a pilot program that will see select Vintage Cellars and First Choice Liquor Markets converted into Liquorland branded retailers. Initially, the pilot will be launched across all South Australian stores and select Victoria and Queensland stores this November.
Included in the pilot program are six First Choice Liquor Market and three Vintage Cellars stores in South Australia, two First Choice Liquor Market stores in Queensland, and three Vintage Cellars stores in Victoria.

We have polled customers on how they would feel about this change and the results have been very positive. In terms of asking First Choice Liquor market customers how they would feel about the change to Liquorland Warehouse, at a high level when we’ve asked would this cause you to shop more, shop the same amount or shop less we had 55% of customers saying they would shop more either slightly more or a lot more, and we only had 5% of customers saying that as a result of this change they would shop less. With Vintage Cellars customers, that was 61% of customers saying that they would shop more as a result of this and only 11% of customers saying they would shop less.
 
Not surprising. VC has really dropped the ball on premium wines IMHO. They used to have a good selection of international wines and even good back vintages. My local in Shenton Park used to be brilliant. I stopped shopping there as the selection was no better than Dan's at inflated prices.
 
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Does anyone else feel like wine doesn't taste as good, or lacks depth/individuality in a familiar setting, ie at home?

I find i lose a lot of nuance in wine when drinking at home, and I can only put it down to the familiarity. When I try a wine at a restaurant, or winery, or at a friends house, wine seems to be much more complex.

Interested to hear other's thoughts on this.
 
Does anyone else feel like wine doesn't taste as good, or lacks depth/individuality in a familiar setting, ie at home?

I find i lose a lot of nuance in wine when drinking at home, and I can only put it down to the familiarity. When I try a wine at a restaurant, or winery, or at a friends house, wine seems to be much more complex.

Interested to hear other's thoughts on this.
I think it depends on mood, stress or tiredness and how life is affecting you on the day.
 
Does anyone else feel like wine doesn't taste as good, or lacks depth/individuality in a familiar setting, ie at home?

I find i lose a lot of nuance in wine when drinking at home, and I can only put it down to the familiarity. When I try a wine at a restaurant, or winery, or at a friends house, wine seems to be much more complex.

Interested to hear other's thoughts on this.

I'd sometimes say the opposite for me. Maybe better glassware for the wine and more care when opening and decanting than some of the rubbish I see happen at restaurants. However, I think you raise a good point. A lot about wine is the sense of occasion and enjoying with other people.
 
Had a bottle of this last night, 2022 version, can’t photograph bottle since it’s black with embossed black legends. Exceptional. Very dark rich, cassis and well integrated fruits, elevated nose. Just yum.


IMG_8620.jpeg
 
I'd sometimes say the opposite for me. Maybe better glassware for the wine and more care when opening and decanting than some of the rubbish I see happen at restaurants. However, I think you raise a good point. A lot about wine is the sense of occasion and enjoying with other people.
I’m in this camp, without big noting myself I find most restaurant or pub wine of both lower quality and much higher prices than I can source myself. So a clear vote for drinking at home or at least somewhere I source the wine myself (camping, picnics, airBnb etc).

Agree drinks with friends/family are good but can do that at my/their homes. A side benefit is that many of my friends and family are pretty damned good cooks!
 
I think drinking wine with people who are moderately knowledgable is a factor in me bringing out better quality vs quaffers wines for tasting.But it's also good to bring in family and friends who are leaning towards drinking more wine.The more wine drinkers the better.
 

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