Sample before you commit to an offer
In my last column, we looked at "house wines" in broad terms and saw why it is crucial to make the right selection. Of course, there is nothing new in that, everyone knows that a poor product will drive custom elsewhere, but what may not be so obvious is the selection process itself. So, my focal point for this week is how to go about making the right choices. However, before we dash off to the nearest wine merchant and reach for the cheapest wine we can find, perhaps it would be wise for us to consider one or two points:
Wine drinkers are not necessarily experts or connoisseurs, but they do know what they want and will not return if the house wines that we offer are "difficult". Therefore, wines that are laden with tannin or have "in yer face" oaky flavours are best avoided.
It may seem obvious, but keep it in mind that wine is made from grapes not wood, so select wines that have lovely, clean, fresh, fruity characteristics.
In any event, nice fruity young wines are generally cheaper and sell themselves because they are a joy to drink.
The market for complex, demanding, oak-aged wines is limited both in terms of price and taste and cheap facsimiles are just that cheap. If all this has left you wondering where to start, don't worry, all the research and hard work has already been done by the large high-street stores, which employ highly-qualified and talented people to select just the sort of wines that we are looking for. So, instead of hanging around waiting for a flash of inspiration, why not try some of them and then shop around the trade wine merchants for something similar? Here are some that I have tasted recently all of them under £3: Morrisons Mont Blanc 362, Tempranillo Cabernet 2002, Conca de Barbera, Spain, 12.5% abv. A deep red wine with an almost toasty, spicy aroma; soft attack with robust red berry fruit flavours coming through, leaving a rich chocolate impression on the back palate; very good, will buy more. Asda Argentinian White, 12.5% abv. A pale, dry white wine with fresh, clean aromas; very zingy and mouth-watering with ripe apple flavours and a pleasing, peachy finish; as good as any; superb; really hits the spot Sainsbury's Vin de Pays des Cotes de Gascogne, 11.5% abv. A clean, crisp and fruity dry white wine with notes of gooseberry and apple on the palate; terrific value and very moreish. All you've got to do is find something similar. Of course, there is nothing to prevent you from going out and buying these wines and featuring them as house wines, except for the fact that you would risk your customers making a price comparison. Over the years, I have found that where dry white wines are concerned, Chile has performed consistently well. Booker for instance, features the San Andres range that includes a Sauvignon Blanc and a Chardonnay, both of which are clean, fresh and crisp dry whites and very reasonably priced. On the red side, the San Andres range includes a very acceptable Cabernet Sauvignon and a soft, plummy Merlot, which has proved to be a real favourite over the years. Apart from Booker, there are plenty of extremely good wine merchants that would be only too pleased to meet your needs. Carlsberg-Tetley, for instance, has an extremely attractive range of wines, including many that are eminently suitable as house wines. On the other hand, if you are located in the south of England, Christopher Piper Wines of Ottery St Mary in Devon has an enlightened selection of pleasing, reasonably-priced wines that it delivers on a weekly basis from Kent to Cornwall. db@adsum.demon.co.uk
