Gallo Family Vineyards White Zinfandel 2013 California

I would not normally buy this wine and I didn't. Someone brought it around when we had a barbecue. I got it from the wine rack without looking at the the label.

One of our friends had come over from France and it was a hot summer's day and we were in a rush to eat outside before it got cold - it was just before 6 pm. I grabbed the wine and chilled it in a wine sock. The women wanted some rosé wine and who was I to argue. But this was a chance to test out French people's ability to spot their own wine -or not.

My wife and our friend tasted the wine blind and they had no complaints and my wife made no comment about the origin f the wine. I found the wine very sweet but the sweetness was not balanced by a decent level of acidity. However, the wine went down well with some salad and ham.

The wine is made from the Zinfandel grape which is quite common in California and often used to make spicy red wine.

White Zinfandel is not the name of a grape but it's the name of  the process used to make the wine which involves stopping the fermentation of the grape must before all the sugar is used up. This is why the wine is sweet and this is why the wine is so popular.

A bottle of this wine costs around £6.50 which is rather expensive so it must have something going for it as it has to compete with cheaper rosé wine from France and Spain.

http://www.tesco.com/wine/product/details/default.aspx?id=256564781

To me this wine does not merit the the five star rating given to it by Tesco's customers - perhaps I am a wine snob. I also think that Tesco's tasting note is very much over the top.  I felt that the wine tasted as if it had been made in industrial quantities and that it had a chemical edge but maybe this was because of my prejudice; I had after all had sight of the label.  However, if the wine had been no good my wife would have told me. I did not feel inclined to open a different bottle.

I would give it a three star rating because the wine is of good quality for every day drinking but  in my opinion it is nothing special at the price. In Britain there is more duty on wines imported from outside of the EU and this is why the wine is so pricey. 

There is nothing wrong in buying wine of this quality and it is like comparing standard cheddar cheese to mature cheddar. I don't want to eat expensive cheddar every day of the week I am content with the standard supermarket product. I save the good stuff for a special occasion. I am not a lover of rosé wine but if I want to spoil myself I go for a Bandol  but of course that is much more expensive than the Gallo White Zinfandel.

http://www.waitrosecellar.com/white-wine/lafran-veyrolles-bandol-rose?gclid=CjwKEAjwpPCuBRDris2Y7piU2QsSJAD1Qv7BiXi4Oafw8sWxIM9VKpYvscqCCBjqm6fT1VlmEqkndxoCJbzw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

The Gallo wine is not strong in alcohol at 9.5% but I did not notice it. The wine is very easy to drink and you could easily find yourself opening another bottle: Cheers. 

Chantet Blanet Bordeaux Haut Médoc 2013 red AOC

Chantet Blanet is a brand name for wines produced by Oeno-alliance who are based in Bordeaux. Their Haut Médoc is a blend of red wines produced in this famous area. We bough the wine in a Leclerc supermarket in France just for every day drinking. We were pleasantly surprised at the quality of the wine. It went down very well with bavette steak. It was a wine typical of the Haut Médoc and even though it was from the  2013 vintage, which was not one of the best, it was of good quality but the wine from this brand is not for keeping.

The wine, however, was matured in oak and for around 5 euro a bottle it was a real bargain. The brand name is used on lots of wines including Saint Emilion. None of these wines are top notch but they are good quality wines to get out when you are not trying to impress someone.

We had a barbecue this weekend and the wine went down well with couscous and none of our guests complained but perhaps they were too polite. When I opened a bottle of much better quality Bordeaux later but at at six times the price they got my point that the good stuff didn't taste six times better. Perhaps the wine had dulled their senses.

If you are visiting France and have time to go to Leclerc then you will not go far wrong by selecting a Chantet Blanet wine for good everyday drinking at a fair price. Leclerc is much better than visiting a British supermarket in terms of value for money and the range of French wines.

Oeno-alliance is owned by the Castel Group who also own the Nicholas wine merchant chain. The Castel  group also own Château Beychevelle but that is another story.

http://www.groupe-castel.com/en/group/


http://www.beychevelle.com/

Pensions and Wine Investment

There have been reports in the UK press that people who are about to draw down on their pension savings are being approached by unscrupulous "investment advisers" to put their money into fine wine. Some of theses advisers are fraudsters. Recent changes to UK pension rules allow individuals more flexibility to access their funds.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-33804578

Apart from market risk where the price of wine falls there are a number of other risks that potential wine investors should beware of:

1) The people you are dealing with. Perhaps this is one of the most important dangers. To mitigate this risk you need to assure yourself that you are dealing with honest and respectable advisers and brokers, who will advise you on the best wines to invest in and how to keep your wine safe and insured. Before you invest it is best to meet the people who you are trading with rather than simply deal over the 'phone or the internet.

2) Title to the wine is important; it is best to actually own the wine rather than buy a wine contract. If you decide to buy a wine contract, where you do not have title to the actual wine, then you should make doubly sure that you are dealing with an honest trader who is financially stable  and who will not renege on the contract.

3) Real wine: be sure that the wine that you are buying is not fake; it is best to trade only with a reputable supplier.

4) High rates of return represent higher risk of losing your money. If you are attracted to a higher rate of return then you run the risk of losing some or all of your money. This principle applies to all investments. It is essential that you are wary of investment advisers who offer you higher rates of return than the market in general offers; such advisers could be incompetent or worse still dishonest.

Prospective pensioners should be aware that you can only benefit from a wine investment as the result of a capital gain. Wine investment does not generate dividend or interest income. The same is true  of  investing in gold, paintings or fast cars etc.

It is probably best to spread out your investments across savings accounts, ISAs, annuities  and trust funds etc. These types of investment generate interest or dividend income. Do not put all your eggs in one basket.

If your wine investment does not live up to expectations in the middle to long term then you could always cut your losses and sell. You can only do this , however, if your wine actually belongs to you or you have invested in a safe contract. If your wine is fake or has been stored badly then you will lose everything and it won't even taste good if you decide to drink it.

Buyer beware.