Perhaps contrary to my Friday afternoon Champagne drinking ways, I have a much more practical side. The side of me that has to think about how the mortgage and the bills are going to get paid while I'm figuring out just how I can maximise my enjoyment of life - and shopping. So where do we go for affordable wine...well, other than my trusty Sainsbury's and Waitrose deliveries (which can be very nice by the way), we tend to pop out to the nearby Co-op. I was very disappointed when my local 'around the corner' wine buying options shrank and Sainsbury's petrol station became unable to sell wine (some new law) and left me the choice of Oddbins (sorry, not a huge fan), Tesco (expensive, not very nice wine in the smaller shops) or the Co-op. So, we decided to try the Co-op - and we were oh so pleasantly surprised.
Now, don't get me wrong - this isn't wine that I'm going take to a fancy dinner party to impress someone. I'd take it almost anywhere else though - and we are happy to have some any night we happen to feel like having wine. There is always wine at 'half price' which goes for somewhere around £3.75 or £3.99 - white, red and, pleasingly, usually rose. We've had a summer full of rose bargains that were exceedingly pleasant and have already dug into couple of reds that would do a winter stew proud. Add this to other reasons to like the Co-op, fair trade and the like, and well, it's all good. Give it a try.
