$50 Small Town Supermarket Wine Survival Guide for a Weekend Away!

You know that moment on a weekend away when you’re standing in a local supermarket with bananas in one hand and a basket in the other, staring at a random wall of wine and thinking, “How am I meant to pick something good from this?” That’s the problem we set out to solve with a simple challenge: we’re heading to an Airbnb with mates, we each get $50, and we have to buy wine that delivers on both value and drinkability. No swapping bottles back onto the shelf, no overthinking, and yes, we absolutely forget to check whether the place has a corkscrew. 

We taste our way through supermarket sparkling wine (including a proper method traditional bottle), then get practical about what to look for when the shelves are slow-moving. Meg breaks down the hidden “lot number” clue that can tell you when sparkling was disgorged or bottled, and we talk honestly about how serving temperature can make a good pick feel even better. From there it’s a tour of budget whites with real holiday utility: Clare Valley Riesling as a sharp, zesty safe bet, Pinot Grigio marketing that doesn’t quite match the glass, and a $15 Soave that surprises us by being genuinely crowd-friendly. 

Then we push the budget to its limits with a litre bottle of Chardonnay and unpack why cheap Chardonnay can end up tasting sweet, overly tropical, or simply built to please the broadest possible palate. On reds, we land on a French Vin de France “mystery blend” that’s far more drinkable than it has any right to be, before debating whether cheap Sangiovese is a smart gamble in Australia. If you want straightforward wine shopping tips, supermarket wine picks, and a few laughs for your next holiday, hit play. Subscribe, share it with a mate who always panics at the bottle shop, and leave us a review with your own best budget wine find.

Winning Wines right here!

https://bluepyrenees.com.au/collections/sparkling/products/2022-blue-pyrenees-vintage-brut

https://winesellersdirect.com.au/products/pasqua-delle-venezie-soave-doc-2024-italy

https://www.thewinecollective.com.au/products/2023-la-ptite-pierre-rouge?currency=AUD&variant=41800285782125&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Google%20Shopping&stkn=848595b13a55&/?utm_source=google_ads&utm_medium=ppc&utm_campaign=TWC_PMax_Shopping_TWC_Warehouse_AU&utm_term=51045064&utm_content=warehouse&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21044783965&gbraid=0AAAAADv9ltxqmYF5cfpBqLRRnkpQV8YCL&gclid=Cj0KCQjwj47OBhCmARIsAF5wUEGYNHdfoOHP4yLI1yix-UONZZH9KqcE7HsPaKANW9Xa2oh1jyPBQIAaArjoEALw_wcB

Follow us on instagram @winewithmegandmel

and TikTok! @winewithmegmel

Transcript

Welcome To Wine With Meg And Mal

The $50 Airbnb Wine Challenge

SPEAKER_00 0:08

Hi and welcome to Wine with Meg and Mal. We are here to help you navigate the world of wine. I'm Melville Chris. We've got Master Wine, Meg Brockman, and we have producer Austin, who is also behind a mic today. Thanks for joining us, Austin. We needed a voice of the people for this one. Meg, what are we doing today?

SPEAKER_01 0:25

So we're all going away for a weekend.

SPEAKER_00 0:27

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_01 0:27

We've got an Airbnb. I've given you$50 each to go out and buy some wine. So we're going to share it with some mates over the weekend. We've got all our mates coming down. You've got$50, go out and buy the wine. And we are in a town which just has a local supermarket.

SPEAKER_00 0:44

So and I feel like we've all been there before. 100%. Like you're at a local supermarket, you're buying like your bananas and your groceries from the same place. There's always like a really limited amount of wine, and it's so random, you have no idea what's going to be there. And it's like, Meg specifically, when you pitched this, you said what to buy when you're looking at a wall of what the fuck.

SPEAKER_01 1:07

And then I didn't know what I was talking about. I must have been having an inspired marketing whole moment.

SPEAKER_00 1:12

So the three of us, we just had a little journey to the exact kind of place that we've got in mind. And we had a budget of$50 each. Now we're gonna pick a winner on vibes. We're not gonna bother putting an actual attributing factors against everything. But the key was you have to deliver on quantity and quality.

SPEAKER_01 1:33

Yeah. How many wines did you buy?

SPEAKER_02 1:35

That's what I was just thinking. I think I did three. I did three.

SPEAKER_00 1:38

I did three as well.

SPEAKER_01 1:39

Okay. So we're all in quality minds. That still is around the$15 mark.

SPEAKER_00 1:44

So that's interesting, actually.

SPEAKER_01 1:46

Yeah. And although you did buy a one litre. I did. And Mel, the idiot in the party, didn't check that the Airbnb had a corkscrew first and bought a wine under cork. So she did open it with a knife.

Sparkling Picks And A Reality Check

SPEAKER_02 2:00

And to anybody that wants to see that video, that will be live on our Instagram and TikTok. So please hop on there and have a look at those ones.

SPEAKER_01 2:07

So interestingly, Mel and I both went sparkling. Mel went a little bit more primo than me. Oh my god.

SPEAKER_00 2:11

Okay, so the rule was, right? As soon as you grab a bottle, it goes in the bag. You can't put it back, and no one else can get that bottle. Meg went straight to sparkling and I went, yeah, good call. That's what I would have done. She gets a$15. I would never in my life get a$15 sparkling. Meg, explain what was going through your head.

SPEAKER_01 2:30

Because for all our mates that bring down their Aperol, they can put it in their Aperol spritz, and I won't be too concerned.

SPEAKER_00 2:36

Oh, no, no. I don't know. No, you can't claim that. We're drinking this on its own. We're not putting A parole with this. This has to stand on its own legs. It's not bad. It's not good.

SPEAKER_01 2:46

It's not bad. The residual sugar is a little bit hard. What is it? It's a Yarra burn. Maybe we shouldn't say what it is.

SPEAKER_02 2:56

No, no, as in just is it. Yarra burn Q vap. It's a cu vapor. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 3:00

I wouldn't be that happy drinking that sparkling a golly.

SPEAKER_02 3:03

Burns the throat of something. Right at the back.

SPEAKER_01 3:06

See, this is why we have a voice of the people. I was thinking Aparol. Anyway, okay.

SPEAKER_00 3:10

Move on. Next one. Move on. Okay. So then I saw Meg get that and I was like, She went, I'm gonna up here just half my budget. I spent$25 on I think it's on special, to be fair. But it's a blue perin.

SPEAKER_01 3:24

Everything seemed to be on special because it's like flares shouting at you.

SPEAKER_00 3:27

So this is a blue perinees. Now, Method Traditional is actually very, very hard to get at the$25 price mark. And anyone who knows Good Sparkling in Australia will know that Blue Perineese is in fact a really good producer. So this is Method Traditional. It only costs$25. It is from the Blue Pyrenees region in like northern Victoria. Let's see.

SPEAKER_01 3:51

Out towards the Grampians in the Pyrenees.

SPEAKER_00 3:53

Ah, yes, it is in the it is it's out towards the Pyrenees, actually. It's in the name. That does make sense. Yes. When you think about it. Okay. I'll sound really clever for a second.

SPEAKER_01 4:06

What is that? What do you think of that?

SPEAKER_00 4:09

I think it is so much better. I think it is. Do you know what? It doesn't have it doesn't have those like super brioche, like secondary characters, but it is so much crisper and cleaner and fresher and yummier. Austin, what do you think?

SPEAKER_02 4:25

Yeah, I thought I'm gonna uh say something. Often on this podcast, we are trying wines that should be very cold, quite warm. And I think this is definitely benefit from the fact that it is very cold. That that makes, and I guess if you're having a weekend away, that's probably what you want. So it is bright in that way.

SPEAKER_01 4:43

This is a case of my guess, and this is what you have to look at in these smaller supermarkets, liquor stores, slow-moving product. That seems a little bit old and developed for a sparkling wine for a non-vintage. I'm just trying to have a look at what the lot number is, but I can't see without my phone.

SPEAKER_00 5:02

I think you're reaching. You don't know what to admit I did better than you.

SPEAKER_01 5:05

Oh no, it's definitely more interesting. It's down here we laser printed.

SPEAKER_02 5:09

Oh Jesus. I need a phone. God, no, I can't see that. I quite like this, to be honest. This is this is uh more up my alley. I'm fine with this.

SPEAKER_00 5:18

Okay, so what Maggie's looking for, she's gonna do a better job of explaining it than me than me. But when there is a barcode on the back of sparkling wine bottles, and if you find it, it's actually very hard to find, but it does explain when the bottle was disgorged, right?

SPEAKER_01 5:35

Yeah, it's when it's it's finally been bottled before it's released on the market. It's a it's called a lot number. It usually has the year that it's been disgorged or bottled, so six for 2026, and then it'll have what we call a Julian date. So it'll be day one, zero zero one would be the first of January. Yeah, day ten, zero one oh would be the 10th of January, and then 365 would be the 31st of December. So I'm just looking for that. And I do tend to do it in these slow sort of moving stores, but that's it, that is an interesting one, by far a better quality than mine, but I had second, you know, motives.

SPEAKER_00 6:10

All right, all right. Well, we'll you might do better than me later because I've also got a$10 litre bottle of Chardonnay there, which I think is gonna set me back.

Aperitif Spritz That Splits Opinions

SPEAKER_01 6:19

Right, what's Austin brought? What's the somebody that funky cool thing?

SPEAKER_02 6:23

Look, call me crazy, but I like a sparkling red. I then did realise not a sparkling red, but I'm sticking with it.

SPEAKER_01 6:30

Read the bottle. So it is an aperitif spritz, is it?

SPEAKER_02 6:33

Aperitif spritz from Zonzo. No, I'm gonna say who. Yeah, yeah, you can say it. It's from Zonzo, who I do like. Roro.

SPEAKER_01 6:40

Roro, Rorro, Roro, Rorro, Rah.

SPEAKER_02 6:42

Rorro Row.

SPEAKER_00 6:44

Is it like sangria? I have a cousin who religiously drinks that Aldi sangria.

SPEAKER_03 6:51

I love it.

SPEAKER_00 6:51

It's got bitters in it. Oh, it does too. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh my god.

SPEAKER_02 6:58

It's like a negroni.

SPEAKER_00 7:00

It smells like a negroni. It does. That is medicine.

SPEAKER_02 7:03

Yeah, it tastes like cherry cough medicine.

SPEAKER_00 7:05

Yeah, it's not for me.

SPEAKER_02 7:06

It's just cloves. Yeah, it's not great.

SPEAKER_00 7:08

Cola.

SPEAKER_02 7:08

Look, oh cola, yes.

SPEAKER_00 7:10

Like cheap cola.

SPEAKER_02 7:12

No, it kind of tastes like a canotto.

SPEAKER_00 7:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 7:14

Yeah. That's now I like it more that you said that.

SPEAKER_00 7:18

There's someone in the world who would enjoy that, and that person is.

SPEAKER_01 7:21

That's all Austin's. Austin was sitting on his uh That wasn't me.

SPEAKER_02 7:24

That was the I'll put my hand up. No one's saying I'll put my hand up. That one's all on there. Yeah. Do you back it? Absolutely not.

SPEAKER_01 7:36

How much was your alcoholic kinotto? Uh it was$23.99. No, it wasn't. It was$19. Zonzo Roro, a Paritavo Spritz.

SPEAKER_02 7:46

It was$23.99.

SPEAKER_01 7:47

It was$23.99.

SPEAKER_00 7:49

I love how you're all smug.

SPEAKER_01 7:51

Like, I've a fun one. And then you're just like, yeah, no, don't worry about it.

Riesling As A Cheap White Winner

SPEAKER_02 7:54

That one's on me. Okay. Look, I'll put my hand up.

SPEAKER_01 7:57

So then Mel says to me, What do you want to drink? And I've my choices in the fridge are a Riesling, a Suave, or a random Pinot Grigio.

SPEAKER_00 8:08

Just pour a bit and then. Yeah, yeah. Let's clear out that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:11

We're asking Austin to actually clear the clean out the glasses. So I, of course, chose the Riesling. So I got myself a Clear Valley Riesling, and that's literally what it's listed under. I don't even know if it's got a brand. 15 bucks.

SPEAKER_00 8:24

And and I do have to admit.

SPEAKER_01 8:26

It just says Clear Valley Riesling. Literally no brand. That is too funny. Is there a name on except nut? I would say this is it's clean skin. It's a clean skin and they've branded it with their own label.

SPEAKER_00 8:39

Okay, so I think that was a really clever call. It's 22 because that's exactly what I would have done. I was looking at the Riesling 2. Riesling famously, you can get good Riesling, especially if you see a good region. It is hard to go wrong.

SPEAKER_01 8:57

That's noise. That it goes.

SPEAKER_00 9:00

Oh my god, it smells good.

SPEAKER_01 9:01

It's got a little bit of development, a little bit of kerosene, lime, go well with our oysters, even though we don't eat oysters now?

SPEAKER_00 9:09

No.

SPEAKER_02 9:10

I love oysters.

SPEAKER_00 9:11

I was just gonna say that in the world of wine, that's a good one. This is so dumb that this is the case. I think I this is one of the things I hate about the wine world. But if something is developed and it's old enough to be developed, then it's good. But if it's developed and it's not old enough, so it shouldn't be developed yet, even if it tastes the same, people say it's bad. I don't like that. No, I agree.

SPEAKER_01 9:33

Yeah. It depends. If I'm spending$45 and it's showing that level of development and it's a 2025, I'm consumed. But why do you think that's it? Because it's going to it's going to develop very early. When I'm buying it something to lay down and I'm investing some money, I want it to be fresh. But for me, for a weekend away, that's bloody perfect. That tastes like an edge risk. It's complexity and it's got good acid and they go well with our lovely prosciutto and plastic cheese. I cheese actually isn't too bad.

SPEAKER_02 10:03

Is something that we're going to discover from this mostly that if when you are staring at a wall of what the fuck to focus on region.

SPEAKER_01 10:11

Nah, I go great variety because this does this has a region and a grape variety, but nothing else.

unknown 10:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:19

Great variety, then region, probably. Okay. Yes, yes. But drink.

SPEAKER_02 10:23

Yeah, okay.

SPEAKER_00 10:24

And also if you're going away with because if it's had Riesling and it was just from like Australia generally, I'd be concerned.

SPEAKER_01 10:31

But because it's from Claire Valley, India's going to be concerned. Yes. I would recommend for any wine people, go Riesling.

SPEAKER_00 10:37

Yeah.

Pinot Grigio Tagline Versus Taste

SPEAKER_01 10:38

You're not going to stuff up at$15, really. And you're probably likely to find some big brands. Although, interestingly, in that store, I think that was the only Riesling. There might have been a couple, but that was the only one within the price range that we are to play with, the rest of it. Next we have a Pinot Grigio. Who chose this?

SPEAKER_02 10:55

Okay, this was me.

SPEAKER_01 10:56

And again, I think part of the reason I'm choosing this and choosing the last one is that the label is meant to be so appealing to it says big on flavour, low on subtlety, like it like that at wines. Oh my god, that is so going. HW H H white. Because I can't spell.

SPEAKER_00 11:17

This is this is why we need you, Austin. You you bring something that me and Meg definitely.

SPEAKER_02 11:22

What I'm saying is it's just variety on the 19-year-old is buying this bottle. Alright. Not that I'm 19, I'm not sure. Can you see where it's from? Let's see where it's from. Riverland.

SPEAKER_00 11:34

Okay, well, we support Riverland. We're so funny right now. We're just like, we will give Riverland a pass for anything because we are so like support Riverland.

SPEAKER_01 11:46

So it's cool, it's like that wines. So it's kind of like, and it calls it Pinot Grit. It's 15 bucks. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 11:52

Okay. I don't think it should be more.

SPEAKER_00 11:54

It smells like a Pinot Grit. It smells perfectly acceptable. It's fine.

SPEAKER_01 11:59

I don't think that's very good. It's fruit dilute.

SPEAKER_00 12:01

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:02

Feels like someone's dropped some water in it.

SPEAKER_00 12:03

Does it? Which is ironic with the tagline. So ironic. I know. What's a big flavor? Low on subtlety, big on flavour. It's actually highly subtle.

SPEAKER_02 12:13

It's very subtle. I almost enjoy that.

SPEAKER_00 12:16

The flavour's there. Well, yes, people who want peanut butter want the subtlety.

SPEAKER_03 12:19

That's why else doesn't drink peanut butter.

SPEAKER_02 12:21

There we go. That's what I'm thinking.

SPEAKER_03 12:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 12:24

I'm sure there must be a generic line that they use on all of their wines.

SPEAKER_00 12:30

I love it when Meg makes that noise. Can we just do a whole compilation at the end of the year of every time Meg does that?

SPEAKER_02 12:37

It sort of gives your mouth the taste like after eating like sour lollies.

SPEAKER_01 12:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 12:42

And just that reality. It does, it does. It's actually quite taste in interest.

SPEAKER_01 12:46

Very basic. So far, mate, you're two for two shit wines. Yeah. Thank you so much. Can I just say Mel's done on the sparkling, I'm done on the Reese Link attack.

Soave Surprise Plus Cork Drama

SPEAKER_00 12:56

Alright, well, but now we've got my parties. No, no, we've got we've got Suave. Suave. So okay. I will saw this.

SPEAKER_01 13:04

I will admit more.

SPEAKER_00 13:06

When we walked into the store, Meg goes, look, look,$15 suave. And then we made the rule that whoever grabs the wine first, you have to, yeah. So this is the one with the score.

SPEAKER_01 13:19

This is the one with the cork in it.

SPEAKER_00 13:20

Yeah. So Austin, you have to put the knife, mate. Put the knife or a pen in.

SPEAKER_01 13:23

With the prosciutto on it.

SPEAKER_00 13:24

And you have to hold it in and then pour it. Yeah, like that.

SPEAKER_01 13:28

Have you never done this, mate?

SPEAKER_02 13:29

No, I'm just like full of class and I'll always have that.

SPEAKER_00 13:39

He's obviously never bought a corked wine. So so we're walking. So then we make the rules in the store that as soon as you pick a bottle, no one else can pick it. So Meg goes to sparkling. I'm like, Meg didn't even pick the Suave that she pointed out to me first. And I went, all right. And so then I grabbed the Suave and she was livid. So let's hope it's good. Not happy.

SPEAKER_01 14:00

So the Suave was bad, it was like$14, wasn't it? Uh$15. Yeah, Suave.$15. Now I seem to think that somewhere in my Instagram feed, people have been talking about this.

unknown 14:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:16

$15 Suave. There you go.

SPEAKER_00 14:19

That's not bad.

SPEAKER_01 14:20

It's not bad. That's not a bad suave. I drink it. Yeah, that it's on that riper style, Richard style, that sort of pineapple character. Um good acidity. Gonna sit even great with our camembert brie, which I'm sure the same cheese is just bottled packed in the channel. Imagine like sitting out front of like a cottage. I reckon they're the same. In autumn. We are eating plastic chancouterie plate, but that's all good.

SPEAKER_00 14:45

Do you know where I specifically imagine myself drinking this? In the hammock at the Airbnb? Nah, at the cottage in the last episode of Heated Rivalry.

SPEAKER_01 14:55

That is not a cottage. That is a fucking gorgeous animal's home.

SPEAKER_00 15:02

You know where you've got the fake a cottage is any a cottage is anywhere up in like in Canada where there's like a forest.

SPEAKER_01 15:10

Is that like Prince Prince Andrew's cottage is like a 17-bedroom mansion or something?

SPEAKER_02 15:15

Which one's Prince Andrew?

SPEAKER_01 15:16

Ex-Prince Andrew. Oh, yeah. Not Prince anymore.

SPEAKER_00 15:20

Just Andrew Windsor. Jeffrey's money. Blah blah blah. I don't think that's even like defamatory speak anymore. It's like very common. It is absolutely true.

SPEAKER_02 15:32

The type of chats you have on an Airbnb weekend or whatever.

SPEAKER_00 15:34

Exactly. See, we're getting into it.

SPEAKER_01 15:36

Suave is good. My question is we're all in the know. How will our friends respond to the suave? I think you don't care. Actually, Austin answer.

SPEAKER_00 15:45

Go on.

SPEAKER_02 15:46

Look, I think that there's there's something with suave that kind of tastes like white wine. I think it's not discernible from a like a more generic white wine, but that's a good thing. I think it's often like that. Yes, and I think that's a good one.

SPEAKER_01 15:58

Right, but there is a savory itch to them. Yeah. No, I think that's a positive. Now my next non identif sorry, non-identifiable identifiable whites are actually often really interesting. Yes, okay, okay.

SPEAKER_00 16:08

Yes, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:09

Sorry.

Cheap Chardonnay And Big Brand Logic

SPEAKER_00 16:10

Actually, someone messaged me the other day and that okay. What's next? We're trying to keep online because we've got like a hundred whites. I had$10 to go and I really wanted Chardonnay, and there was I was firstly inspired by Hardee's because Hardee's delivered us that really good goonsack in that last episode. So firstly, Hardee's. I was like, yeah, oh no, Hardee's sorry, it's not Hardy's. Well, it's Banrock Station. It was Banrock Station. But it used to be part of, I don't know if it's Hillside. Okay, maybe I'm off the leg you can try. I had a connection to it. A sense of quality. Also, sometimes I just know that okay, here's the thing fruit is expensive no matter what. But big businesses who have invested in lots of winemaking can do winemaking stuff at scale and it is necessarily not extra expensive. So if you take a grape like Pinot Noir that has to have good fruit, then it's going to be expensive no matter what. But the reason that Chardonnay can be more expensive is because of the winemaking side. So big companies can do good Chardonnay at a cheaper price.

SPEAKER_01 17:17

And Chardonnay grows well in warmer climates as well. It has much more riper fruit, but it does well in cool climates and warm climates. My question is this is a litre bottle of wine. So that comes in at how much was it for the bottle? So it's$7.50 a bottle. So it's equivalent to our goon.

unknown 17:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 17:36

Yeah, it's a little bit more expensive. A little bit more expensive.

SPEAKER_01 17:38

And that's the glass bottle.

SPEAKER_02 17:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:40

Right. So I'm just expecting a little bit chippy, peachy.

SPEAKER_00 17:45

Yeah, yeah. It's more on the tropical side of shuffle.

SPEAKER_03 17:51

That's that is I hate to say it, winemaking got wrong.

SPEAKER_01 17:59

So they've gone for that sweet spot. You can feel that little sweet spot. There's a little bit of residual sugar in it. Super ripe fruit. They've thrown in some chips. And this would appeal to your most basic of friends.

SPEAKER_00 18:14

My my food. You can see me. I've gone, hmm. This isn't more tropical. I'm like straight away trying to explain how it's still okay. And I look up, and you two are both about to vomit.

SPEAKER_02 18:29

Boom. I have nothing to add. That is all right. Sorry, Mel.

French Mystery Red And Holiday Buying

SPEAKER_01 18:35

Oh, and it's bitter. Oh god. Move on. So the soave, I think, there was probably the most because Riesling is going to be polarising. You and I will be drinking the Riesling, and probably Austin, the rest of our mates will be going, What? They'll be sguzzling back the soave. And they were both$15 each. So maybe at that cheaper price point, go for like the unidentifiable white. Uh what's the first one?

SPEAKER_02 19:04

That's a great question.

SPEAKER_01 19:06

It's French. La Petite Pierre, little an histoire de familiar.

SPEAKER_02 19:12

It is an unidentifiable French red. At least it is an unidentified, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:16

Van de France.

SPEAKER_02 19:17

It is made up of doesn't say the Greek.

SPEAKER_01 19:22

Oh, that's fun. And it's Van France with that. It's Van de France. Yeah, start with the yeah, yeah, yeah. So Van de France, for the first time ever, oh not first time ever, but when the French changed their laws, they allowed you to blend across regions. So we used to have Van de Table, which generally was with the same region but a low quality. But Van de France is you can blend Longuedoc with Longuedoceraise with Cabernet Franc from the Loire. Okay. Which never was allowed to happen before. Oh wow. Wait, where was that? It's probably about five years ago now. It's it's still a big thing for the French. And it's sort of comp competing with the New World multi-regional blends where we blend to style.

SPEAKER_00 20:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:03

It's called La Petite Pierre, it was.

SPEAKER_00 20:07

This is totally something someone would buy if they were like just wanted to bring red wine. Something$18? Or they want to bring something that looks kind of fancy, but it's like they don't really know what they're doing, but they want to look fancy, so they get something French, but they don't really know what it is. That's what this one is.

SPEAKER_01 20:26

Yeah, my guess is it's probably it's probably mostly from Longadoc fruit. You probably got some Syrah, Shirax. Yeah, yeah. It smells like Syrah. Possibly some Mouvet. Yep, and Grenache. Possibly some, yeah, some Grenache, maybe uh Carignon, Senso. It'll be all of those kind of minervoiry style of reds. I reckon it's definitely Syrah based on the nose. Right.

SPEAKER_02 20:49

So like the colour would suggest it. Is that what a GSM is or part of the side? Grenache, Shiraz, Mouvedre.

SPEAKER_01 20:55

So that came from the Southern Rhone originally, but in the Longer Doc, which is south of that, they varietally name the wines. But yeah, it probably is. You've probably got some Southern Loire, Southern Rhone Grenache in there, some Shiraz, Mouvedre, Mataro.

SPEAKER_00 21:12

That's highly drinkable.

SPEAKER_01 21:13

Sound alright.

SPEAKER_02 21:14

That's fine. Yeah. It's it's nice. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:17

Chill it down. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 21:19

Yes, chill.

SPEAKER_00 21:20

Yeah, and even like, yeah, think think autumn. Like you're outside, maybe around a fire.

SPEAKER_01 21:25

Very, very, very drinkable. I had a dog chetto last night and it's reminiscent of that. It's that sort of softness and easy. I wouldn't think about it. I'd be lying in the hammock reading my book. Yeah. And I'd just say to Mel, pour me another glass of wine and bring me something to eat. What would you read with this? Oh, the book I'm reading at the moment. It's called The Traitor Among Traitor Amongst Us. Okay. It's all about I've been reading that for a long time. Yeah, the Ritz People in Nazi Germany. I've been reading it for a long time. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 21:49

Yeah, it's I'm tired. You don't just stay on one like really academic sounding book for a while so that whenever anyone asks what you're reading, you have a good answer. What the

SPEAKER_01 22:00

No, the problem with it is, is it's there's so many there's all these individual people, and so you've got to get their names, and they've often Fritz and Halber and yeah. Yeah, okay. But it is, it is, and I'm I'm nearly there. They're not to be traited. Austin, this is your first good one. Yeah. That was good. And that was, what did we say? 18. It's getting up there, mate, in terms of pricing. But for an imported wine, can you imagine what that's worth in Europe? That'd be like a euro. Yeah, yeah. Did you drink any one euro, two euro wines when you were in every day? That's my favourite. Yeah, yeah. 100%.

SPEAKER_02 22:34

Okay, well, so anytime we went to a different city, the first stop was walk straight to the closest their version of an IGA liquor and uh grab.

SPEAKER_01 22:44

Oh, look at the wall of fuck. The wall of fuck. It takes off the wall of what the fuck in another language. Yeah. And that's why you don't want to spend more than a couple of euros a bottle. I feel like we could holiday together. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:56

We all holiday so much.

Sangiovese Debate And Final Rankings

SPEAKER_01 22:58

And the thing is, I don't, even I don't buy 40 euro bottles of wine when I'm on holiday in France or Italy. I I if I'm at the supermarket, I don't know what they are. They're invariably not going to be great. So I just buy cheap and I enjoy it. Cheap and cheerful. Yeah. What have we got now? Uh, this is yours. Oh, this is mine. I chose the Sangiovesi because I think Sangiovese is a little bit like Riesling in that it can be cheap and still pretty drinkable. Mills looking at smelling the wine going, I think you're wrong. No, I haven't. So this is Il Vagnoli.

SPEAKER_00 23:38

This is a really good example of not sure if faulty or just European.

SPEAKER_02 23:46

Say that about people too. The Italian side of me, sorry. There's a self-burn.

SPEAKER_00 23:54

You can say it because you're Italian. We probably would have had to edit it out if we didn't declare that. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 24:01

Yeah. Oh, based on Meg Spicy.

SPEAKER_01 24:06

Alcohol's really high and not sitting in the wine. And it's got high high VA, but I like the tenant structure.

SPEAKER_00 24:16

See, I don't agree. I don't I think it's actually hard to get a good thing. I completely disagree. I think I think that Santa Giovese is hard to get a good cheap one. I never really go that cheap on Santo.

SPEAKER_02 24:29

I would have thought though, like I obviously knowing a lot less than you, I would have thought Sanjay Vesi was one that I could get at a at a cheaper price. I mean, doesn't a Nebbiolo go to the big thing.

SPEAKER_01 24:38

I guess I'm thinking probably in Europe. Yeah, in Europe. You know, I can get it, but no, don't do it here, people. Don't try this at home. Do it maybe when you're in Italy. What's our last rent? You didn't bring a ring.

SPEAKER_00 24:49

I didn't bring a rank. That was it. Okay, so winner, winner, chump. Let's go through them all, right? Sparkling?

SPEAKER_01 24:57

Yerra Boone?

SPEAKER_02 24:58

No? No, and I think Mel Sparkling. Mel Sparkling takes up.

SPEAKER_01 25:01

That's half the budget.

SPEAKER_00 25:03

And she's good shit. So that is not twice as well. Yeah, but it was twice as good for$10 more. Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 25:10

True. I'd pop.

SPEAKER_00 25:11

Okay, round two, Soave. Suave was the best. But then round three, mine was shit and Austin's was the best.

SPEAKER_02 25:20

Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_00 25:21

And I would have thought Austin's would have been absolute shock. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 25:24

Yeah. No, I never would have chosen it. I never would have chosen it.

SPEAKER_02 25:27

Non-distinct red.

SPEAKER_01 25:28

And you got non-distinct white. So maybe that's the way to go.

SPEAKER_02 25:31

That's yeah.

SPEAKER_01 25:32

Oh my god, that's why I'm not sure. Because you don't have expectations. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 25:36

Also, speaking on the sparkling, I mean you said, you know, it to mix with Aperol. I don't think$20 is too much to mix with Aperol. And things like that. Oh, remind you. I think we were.

SPEAKER_00 25:48

Mine was 15, mate. Yeah, I wouldn't spend 25 if I was mixing it with Aperol.

Takeaways From The Wall Of Wine

SPEAKER_01 25:53

I wouldn't do method champagnoise with Aperol. No, neither. Yep. So take home message, people. What do you do when Yeah. Go for your grape variety.

SPEAKER_00 26:05

And okay. Oh, I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 26:08

Although the red didn't even have a grape variety on it. That's true.

SPEAKER_00 26:13

It was just called a red.

SPEAKER_02 26:15

Maybe what we learned was that it was nondescript.

SPEAKER_00 26:18

I think we learned that it's truly random. And we have no advice. Good luck.

SPEAKER_02 26:23

Is what I'd say. If you're traveling somewhere, buy local and maybe focus on that if you're away.

SPEAKER_00 26:30

Boom!

SPEAKER_02 26:32

Don't worry about this. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 26:34

Don't go to often the local supermarkets will have a number of local wines. Yeah. I I think it's it is literally just pot luck and it's fun. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 26:45

Yeah, it's fun. So maybe do the same exercise with your friends.

SPEAKER_02 26:48

Also, wine when you're on holidays kind of tastes better, doesn't it? It does. Yeah. Not that shiny.

SPEAKER_00 26:57

All right, we are done for this week. We'll be back with you next week. Enjoy your next glass of wine.

SPEAKER_02 27:03

Drink well.