Taste the very best… for a great deal less

Laura on 4 Feb 2014

TASTE THE VERY BEST… FOR A GREAT DEAL LESS

By Angela Mount – 4th February 2014

Ever wondered what top-notch Batard -Montrachet tastes like? Ever wanted to try Ben Glaetzer’s top of the range Barossa Amon-Ra? If you’re reading this, chances are that you’re interested in wine; maybe you want to learn more, or simply get to experience some of those revered wines that you’ve read about. It’s the same feeling, whatever your passion – mini tasting menu at Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck restaurant for foodies? Christian Louboutin heels on loan for an evening for fashionistas? Yes please. Wine is no different – if you’re interested, you want to explore, experience and discover.

But budget is sometimes an issue. Even if it’s not, if you’re investing in a premium purchase, you’re taking a risk; if you’re looking to buy a top of the range Mercedes, you’ll do your research, but then take it for a test drive first. The same principle can apply to wine. So now the helpful team at Great Western Wine have come up with a solution for wine lovers in Bath, just as several of the best wine shops in London have done…

The recently installed, glossy, sleek-edged, shiny chrome, Wine by the Glass machine is now a permanent fixture in the shop, giving customers the chance to taste ultra premium and unusual wines. Prices range from £1 per 25ml sample to about £10, although most hover around the £2 mark, offering some truly exquisite and sought-after wines – when I saw the machine, it was dispensing the rare and iconic Henschke Hill of Grace 2008, sold in the shop and online for £375, but on taste for an affordable £9.60, providing wine lovers with a truly memorable opportunity to taste one of the rarest wines in the world.

How does it work? The machine holds 8 bottles, each rigged up to the machine, which prevents any oxygen getting to the wine and spoiling it. You pick up a ‘wine by the glass’ credit card at the shop, load it up with a few pounds, and then use the card to ‘buy’ the wine samples; customers simply slot the card into the machine, pick the wine they want to taste, and hey presto, the card is debited, and the glorious liquid flows into the glass.

When I visited, I tasted 2 glorious wines, and assiduously scribbled notes, as these were wines I knew I wouldn’t be tasting on a regular basis – Condrieu, Les Cahillets, Vielles Vignes, Domaine Cuilleron 2011 , £55 to buy, but just £3 to get a taste and experience of this remarkable northern Rhone classic beauty; and the dreamy, heaven-sent Vosne Romanee 1er Cru Les Chaumes, Domaine Robert Arnoux 1999, at a similar price.

The wines change every 2 weeks, and at the time of writing, the list of vinous delights below are about to take the limelight. I’ll be heading straight for the much –lauded and hard-to-come by Terre de Granit, Saint Joseph, Domaine Guy Farge 2011, and a perennial favourite Trimbach Riesling Reserve 2010, both at £1.30 a sample.

If you’re fascinated by wine, or just want to try something different, and out of your normal league or comfort zone, try it. It’s a tiny bit of indulgence to experience some truly unique wines.

By Angela Mount – 4^th February 2014

White:

2012 FUN, Giovanni Puiatti, Sauvignon Bianco IGT Venezia Giulia

£17.95 per 75cl bottle, £1.20 per 25ml sample

2010 Riesling Réserve, Trimbach

£19.25 per 75cl bottle, £1.30 per 25ml sample

2012 Chablis 1er Cru Les Vaillons, Domaine Bernard Defaix

£20.00 per 75cl bottle, £1.50 per 25ml sample