Monday 1 August 2011

Happy Birthday to Blog!

Hello all!

Yes, Wine Blog for the Frugal is one year old today! Well, ok, tomorrow, but I normally post on a Monday. I can't believe it's been 12 months since my initial post!

Firstly, I'd like to say a mega thank you for your support. Anyone who's stopped by for a look, commented, or indeed followed - you have spurred me on to continue and I really appreciate it!

Secondly, I'd like to  give a little insight as to what's coming up in the near future. Over the coming months I think I'm going to go back to my roots a bit. Taking a look at the average bottle price, it seems to have been climbing steadily over the past year, possibly as a result of my desire to try more and more wines and find "better" ones. The initial ethos was to find value for money, and although that remains central to almost every bottle I assess, I feel that I may have lost sight of that slightly. Yes, we all like a treat, but not everybody wants to spend £12 on a "value" bottle of wine for everyday drinking.

Also, I recognise that not everybody wants to buy a whole case at a time (although I highly recommend that) from my usual merchants and websites. Many of you will simply pop to the supermarket on the way home and grab a bottle or two. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that, although I feel that better value for money (quality to price ratio) can be had online or in the dedicated wine stores. However, I am aware that I have avoided the supermarkets on the most part (apart from the Co-Op reds feature a little while ago and the initial Tesco Direct case) as a matter of principle. This might be interpreted as snobbery and the antithesis of what I was trying to achieve in the first place.

So, starting fairly soon, I'm gonna head off to several of the major supermarkets and pick out six bottles of what I think should be good, taste them, and let you know whether they're worthwhile or not. I think most supermarkets' range of wines have improved over the last 12 months so it'll be good to get out there and see what's around, and whether they're much cop. The total spend is going to be £60 or less per trip, so that's an average bottle price of £10 or less. I can't guarantee that every bottle is going to be under £10, most will be certainly, but the total spend I can. If I see something potentially great for £15 then I'll get two £7.50 bottles to cover the difference. I will avoid the Mega-Brands, you won't see any Gallo or Wolf Blass (you can do so much better for the money) unless it's something unusual, and I will try to make it a good mix. I haven't quite decided on the format yet, whether it's going to be three reds &; three whites, or two of each plus some Rosé or Sparkling and something "different", or I'll just wait and see what catches my eye. What I have decided is the title: "Supermarket Sweep: Six for Sixty". Catchily alliterated, no?...."I'll get me coat"...

Anyway...along with the supermarkets I'm going to keep up; my Icons series, our search for our house champagne, other recommendations, and general wine-related stuff until Christmas where we'll probably have a damn good splurge and push the boat out. We're also glugging our way through some more wines from the Wine Society so should cover those soon too.

I hope you'll stay with me...and thanks again for your support.

As always, speak to you soon.

Cheers

WBFTF

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