I went to The Wine Society's press tasting: these 8 wines blew me away.
Brilliant wines from £8.50.
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So much of wine is about perception, and I think there is a false perception amongst this new generation of wine lovers that the big retailers don’t care about the same things we do. Regenerative viticulture, winemakers with a story to tell, fresh, modern styles of wine: these are things we know we can reliably get from the natural wine sphere; assuming, in turn, that the big retailers have nothing to offer us.
It is my pleasure to inform you that nothing could be further from the truth.
But, because of this misconception, we’re missing out on truckloads of exceptional wine. There are delicious, boutique, organic and biodynamic wines to be found under £10 at the big retailers — you just need to know where to look.
For me, one of these places is The Wine Society, a business that I once thought of as the go-to for a boomer wine rack restock — mainly declassified claret and the odd bottle of Cava for a grandchild’s graduation dinner — how very wrong I was.
For a few months this year, I was working for TWS on as a freelance copywriter, and that’s how I found out about their wines. They’ve since become a bit of a cost-of-living-crisis godsend for me. There’s a fabulous team of experienced and young buyers, who often working directly with producers to keep prices impressively low. Most of the wines are at least organic and (here’s a big one) it’s £40 to get free delivery FOR LIFE, even if you only order one bottle at a time. Why more people don’t know about this baffles me.
I was recently invited to their press tasting as a wine writer, so I thought it may be useful to report my findings, letting you know what remarkable bottles are about to hit the shelves. Below, I’ve listed the eight wines that stood out to me for their flavour, approachability and value for money.
It’s interesting to note that I’ve favoured the refreshing and aromatic in this selection — perhaps I’m pining after summer, or perhaps I’m looking for an invigorating sip now that autumn is finally here. These wines are to my palate what a chilly morning run is for my body. Read on for some brilliant autumnal quaffing, starting at just £8.50.