Dear Editor,
Well said J. McCullock (Cheaper wines please, Algarve Resident letters, September 14).
The Resident’s wine of the week is an entertaining and informative feature but a broader range of prices would, I’m sure, be appreciated by many readers.
A long-running challenge in our family is to try and find a drinkable wine for less than €4. We have done this consistently for the 20-plus years we have been visiting the Algarve – and have had as many pleasant experiences as bad ones.
Perhaps the real challenge for any wine writer is, in my view, to find affordable good wines? So why not feature a “cheap” wine (say €4 to €8) AND a more expensive choice every time?
Patrick Stuart may feel that life is too short to drink bad wine but for some of us, money is too short to drink expensive wine.
GERALD DOUGLAS
By email
Patrick Stuart replies: Oh dear, and this week I have featured a bottle of Portuguese fizz costing €13! However, it is good value especially if readers are looking for a cheaper alternative to pink Champagne at three to four times the price. But I am on the lookout for some bargain wines around the €4 mark, even if most of what I have found so far has ended up in the cooking pot!
