A cheapskate's guide to the Wine Society
The merchant's recent press tasting confirmed its role as the pre-eminent and best-value British wine seller. Let me explain. Plus: what I've been drinking this week
I do not normally use this blog to make buying recommendations in the manner of most media wine columns.
The wines I write up here are literally what I happen to have been drinking the week before (or occasionally, on a wine trip, just tasting). I don't go to supermarket press tastings to mine them for recommendations, as I used to when I was the London Evening Standard’s wine critic. Most of the wines at such tastings aren’t bad; they’re just dull and predictable. This is one of the reasons I stopped writing my regular Standard wine column years ago: I got bored. If you want ideas for cheap supermarket wine, you’re reading the wrong blog.
Nevertheless, as I was heading out of the door to the Wine Society’s spring tasting last week, my wife called after me, “send some cheap wine recommendations to my Mum!” For it is true that I do regularly get grumbles from the lady in question, Janet, (and from my Dad too) that the wines I write about are too expensive. So last week I dutifully paid attention to the Society’s more affordable bottles.
This was really no hardship. The simple truth is that the Wine Society boasts the UK’s sharpest buying team, assembling a huge list which is also Britain’s best all-round retail offering. Any British wine writer or critic will confirm that the Society’s twice-annual London press tastings are among the most important in the calendar. Actually, as my friend Victoria Moore, the Telegraph’s wine critic, pointed out after last autumn’s tasting, this is in part because it acts as a try-before-you-buy session for us: I buy probably two-thirds of my wine from the Society.
But here’s the thing: not only is the Wine Society’s list wide and interesting – it’s also terrific value. This is true across its whole list, and it’s important. I may not write about many sub-£10 wines but like anyone else, I don’t want to pay more than I have to for any wine. And I like a bargain as much as the next drinker.
Value seemed to be a particular emphasis at last week’s tasting. The Wine Society are justifiably proud of having held prices for most of their range since May 2023. This is quite a feat. Aside from an inflation spike that continued until Spring of last year, in August 2023 then-Chancellor Jeremy Hunt imposed the largest single increase in alcohol taxes in nearly half a century (44p on a bottle of wine with more than 12.5 per cent alcohol). Meanwhile the ludicrously bureaucratic changes to the alcohol duty regime devised by the Tories and coming into force under Labour last month have further added to costs. Just putting systems in place to manage the changes will this year cost the Society £3.5 million.
These are simply the UK’s fairest prices for decent wine. If you check these things regularly on industry-standard website Winesearcher – and yes, I am a big enough wine nerd to do so – you’ll see that where the Wine Society doesn’t have exclusive distribution deals, it almost invariably undercuts the competition.
It does so not by mistreating staff or via dodgy sales gimmicks, like some competitors. On the contrary, the Society has an exemplary sustainability strategy which includes staff development, for example bringing on and training up two of its current buyers from career starts on the customer service phonelines. No, the Society’s prices are low because it doesn’t have to pay out dividends to shareholders or a slice to private equity vultures. It is a cooperative owned by its members: it doesn’t actually make profits as such at all.
“Our model is very simple,” says CEO Steve Finlan. “We always invest surplus cash into better prices for members. We have nobody to please except our members, no dividends, no bonuses, just a commitment to great wine, great service and great value.”
I’ve been a member for nearly 30 years. I was first urged to join by one of my mother-in-law’s exes, the late David Restrick, a lifelong booze industry exec and management consultant. He it was who first persuaded me to buy a whole case of 12 bottles at once – that time from Yapp Brothers, what seemed a wildly extravagant move on my then-risible income as a Labour Party minion. And soon after I signed up to the Wine Society: in those days a member had to second you for membership, like a gentleman’s club, which David did (they’ve got rid of this now.) I’ve never looked back.
But it’s useful to look at this list again with a fresh eye. These are the wines under £10 from the last week’s press tasting that impressed me.
White
The Society's White Rioja 2022, £9.25 – made for the Society by grand Rioja house Lopez de Haro, this is great value at the price. A modern expression of white Rioja, so a little less oak than is traditional – but still enough to give this appealing weight along with its freshness.
Kintonis G & L Malagousia 2024, £9.50 - lovely, fruity Greek white for the summer, from a biggish but reliable Peloponnese producer (see my note below about Malagousia). Their rosé at the same price is pretty good value too.
Rata Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2024, £9.50 – New Zealand wines cost on average 25 per cent more than those of any other nation exporting the UK, and with recent inflation, it really shows: the average Kiwi bottle here now costs £10.50. But this Sauvignon Blanc is above average, despite its price. Crisp, fresh, fruity and less pungent than some Marlborough Sauvignons (I’m not a huge Sauvignon fan and prefer this more restrained style.)
The Society's Vin d'Alsace 2023, £9.95 - made by the great Alsace producer Hugel, this is a fruity mix of Gewürztraminer, Pinot Gris, Riesling, Sylvaner and others. Fragrant, light and fresh.
The Society's Australian Chardonnay 2024, £7.50 - a silly price for a wine this well made (it’s by Yalumba). No fireworks but solid and enjoyable – and a fresh, barely-oaked Chardonay in the newer Aussie style.
Viña Emiliana Silbador Gewürztraminer 2024, Rapel Valley, £8.75 - another silly price for a decent wine from Chile's foremost organic producer. I visited their Los Robles estate two weeks ago and it’s an impressive operation. This is aromatic, fresh and spicy without having the sweet edge that some Gewürztraminers do.
Red
Quinta da Alorna “Lutra” Tinto 2023, Tejo, £8.75 – this is a blend of Portuguese varieties Castelão, Trincadeira Preta and Touriga Nacional, from the central Tejo region, east of Lisbon. Big, juicy flavour and appealing, chewy tannins – ideal for a barbecue.
Pisano Progreso Tannat Reserve 2024, Uruguay, £9.95 – the presence of Tannat in Uruguay, a grape native to south-west France, is just one of the country’s quirks in wine. Dark fruit with some depth and grip – but not too tannic, as this grape can be.
Domaine Raynier 2024, St Chinian, £8.75 – St Chinian has long been one of the better appellations in the sea of chunky red that is the Languedoc. This Syrah/Grenache blend is from a reliably good-value producer: solid, juicy, plenty of dark, ripe fruit.
Of course, you don’t HAVE to spend less than £10 a bottle at the Wine Society (and without wanting to confirm my mother-in-law’s suspicions about my tastes, I rarely do.) More important, if you spend just a little over £10 – anywhere between the price of a packet of crisps and a cheap pint in a pub extra, for example – you can get something like the following from the Society’s consistently brilliant Exhibition range:
The Society’s Exhibition Clare Valley Riesling 2024, £11.50 – from tattooed Some Young Punks winemaker Colin McBryde, this is as well-made example as you could wish of the classic southern Australian Riesling style: super-fresh, zesty lime and citrus, a touch of salinity. Really good at the price.
The Society’s Exhibition Limarí Chardonnay 2023, £11.95 – I’ve praised a version of this before but seriously, you won’t find another Chardonnay of this quality in the world right now at this price. This is made by Ignacio Recabarren of Chilean giant Concha y Toro, from grapes grown in Chile’s arid northern zone of Limarí: crisp and mineral with lovely depth and balance. The right white for the scary round-number birthday I have coming up? Could be…
The Society’s Exhibition Spätburgunder 2022, £13.95 – I genuinely have no clue how they can offer a German Pinot Noir this good at this price. Made by talented young winemaker Vincent Eymann from biodynamically grown grapes, this boasts pure red fruit with smoky, savoury layer – quite complex.
The Society’s Exhibition Victoria Shiraz, 2021, £15.50 – a gorgeous, spicy, fruity Shiraz yet still without the full-throttle overkill of some Barossa wines. From a cooler part of Victoria state, this has been made for the Society by leading local producer Mount Langhi Ghiran for some while now but it’s as good as ever.
Anyway, I think I’ve made my point. And possibly won brownie points with Janet.
What I’ve been drinking this week
Le Rosé de Balthazar 2023, IGP Pays d’Oc - I’m glad that Pierrick Harang has done well with his own range of wines: he was just getting going with them when I first met him in 2010, having been a consultant for years. They’re all well made and well priced. This Languedoc Syrah/Grenache blend is fresh, light and bright but well-balanced red fruit: I enjoyed last weekend with the first barbecue of the year (Waitrose, £9.)
Zafeirakis Microcosmos Malagousia 2022 - Malagousia is a Greek white grape that was rescued from near-extinction in the 1980s by northern winemaker Evangelos Gerovassiliou: now it’s grown all over the place, like this one from an unassuming area of central Greece just north of Larissa. I liked this because while it brims with peach and apple fruit, it’s not quite as wildly tropical as some. It’s fresh and elegant too, with a hint of minerality (The Good Wine Shop, Salusbury Winestore, Clark Foyster, from £23.50.)
Yangarra Noir 2022, McLaren Vale - this Aussie Grenache is a long way from the big bruiser of a red you might expect. Its inspiration is the southern Rhône, so Carignan, Mourvèdre, Shiraz, Cinsault and Counoise (the latter more-or-less unknown outside of Châteauneauf-du-Pape) join the blend - and all the grapes are biodynamic. Dark, ripe and spicy but with supple tannins, nice acid balance and good length. Appealing and different (Blas ar Fwyd, Jorvine, London End Wines, Vinum, from £21.50.)
Transparency declaration: I write occasional paid pieces for the Wine Society’s website. The Yangarra wine was a free sample.
The Greek TWS Malagousia white wine is an absolute cracker and a bargain
Great stuff! As an enthusiastic drinker who enjoys a glass of good wine - and loves a bargain - but has little understanding of what to look for this is a great pointer. More please and perhaps a level up .. £12-16?