STEPHEN LEWIS talks to the man dubbed the 'Vinnie Jones of wine-writing' about his latest book - and how to get a decent bottle of wine for a fiver.
HE may be Britain's best-known wine buff, but Malcolm Gluck has no time for wine snobs.
He's firmly on the screwtop side in the screwtop vs cork debate - those who champion corks are just being affected, he insists - and he's particularly incensed by that particular breed of 'collector' who will fork out thousands for a single bottle of vintage wine.
"No wine is truly worth thousands of pounds and no civilised individual would pay it," he writes in Super Plonk 2005, his new guide to good, great-value wines.
He heard recently that a bottle of Chateau Yquem 1869 went at auction for something like £6,000.
Obscene, he says, speaking in advance of a visit to York next week for a book signing and wine-tasting. "I feel there are so many people that could do something with that £6,000. It would change their lives." And chances are that after all those years the wine wouldn't even be much good.
There probably aren't that many readers of the Evening Press who would consider forking out £6,000 for a bottle of wine to go with their Sunday lunch.
Malcolm's message is that you don't need to pay much more than a fiver to get a really decent, drinkable bottle of wine.
Partly thanks to the buying power of the big supermarket chains, there are some great wines around at bargain prices.
There are also, however, plenty of awful ones. So how does the ordinary punter, faced with racks and racks of wines down at their local supermarket, know how to find one that's not going to taste like paint-stripper when they open it back home?
That's where Super Plonk comes in. Malcolm has the unenviable job of tasting wines for a living. And in Super Plonk 2005 he's rated 1,000 of his favourites among those readily available in supermarkets and High Street offies. Each has been given a mark out of 20 - with any that gets a rating of 16 or more being a "very good wine indeed" as well as great value.
A quick flick through his book reveals that you really don't have to pay a fortune. Asda, for example, offers an Alsace Gewurtzraminer Reserve du Baron de Turckheim 2002. Malcolm gives it a rating of 17, and describes it as having a "staggeringly delicious smoky lemon/ pear/lychee spiciness, very controlled and fresh." The price? A very reasonable £6.12.
Or how about the Chilean Merlot 2003 at Tesco, which has a "stunning softness yet characterful tannicity" and also rates a 17. That one will set you back just £5.50. Or if you really want outstanding value, what about this from Aldi. The Casa Alvares Cabernet Sauvignon NV has "chunky, very open-hearted, even buxom fruit with classy tannins which plummily linger".
Malcolm rates it a 16.5 - and it will set you back a mere £2.99 a bottle. Beat that.
In general, Malcolm advises those looking for a decent wine for between £5-10 to look at South African or Chilean wines, or wines from the less fashionable Languedoc region of France.
Or, of course, you could always get hold of a copy of Super Plonk 2005.
Super Plonk 2005 is published by Collins, priced £7.99. Malcolm Gluck will be at Waterstone's in York at 7pm on Wednesday November 3. Tickets are £3 from the shop on 01904 628740.
Updated: 08:42 Wednesday, October 27, 2004
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