Red wine drinkers - recommendations please

[SWnewstart]

I don't drink red wine but would like to gift a bottle to somebody who does enjoy it - usually Italian or French. I'd like to get something quite full-bodied, soft, fruity and mellow (the red I've tasted always hits me with a "harsh" mouth taste first which is why I don't like it). Budget £15-20 and needs to be readily available from Tesco or Waitrose. Can anyone help narrow this down from the huge variety out there - I am spending a lot of time in supermarkets (when I'd rather not be) reading wine labels and still none the wiser!

Third vote for 19 Crimes!

Off topic, but the white wine version isnt great

I started drinking red last years and i love malbec. Tried a few and I always go back to Triveneto and its about £8.

Tried 19 crimes. Nice but not as nice as Trivento.

I don't know whether you can get it in the supermarket but I always buy a case of The Full Fifteen at Christmas, my dad loves it too.

I second what Pickachew said about 19 Crimes. I had terrible stomach ache after drinking it.

We love Desire Lush & Zin from Majestic Wines and have recommended it to several friends who now drink it too. The Astronomer & The Scribbler (from Majestic) are both lovely wines too.

I also like 19 crimes, Shiraz is lovely. I would recommend an Amerone. Lovely Italian wine. Think you can get it around £15 in tesco.

Ooh!

Any of these from Laithwaites....
Cabalié
Cabalié Cuvée Vieilles Vignes
The Black Stump Durif Shiraz

Yes of course paying more on wine is worth it. On a £8 bottle only about £2.50 is wine, on a £15 bottle about £6 is wine. The rest is tax and duty. On a five quid bottle it's less than a quid - grim!

Barola is delicious but you're not going to get anything decent for £20.
I'd go for a £20 Chianti from Waitrose.

And sorry to be a snob but if you're gifting wine to someone who likes it, do you really want to give a seven quid bottle of 19 Crimes which is at the end of every supermarket aisle. Screams zero effort.

Yes of course paying more on wine is worth it. On a £8 bottle only about £2.50 is wine, on a £15 bottle about £6 is wine. The rest is tax and duty. On a five quid bottle it's less than a quid - grim

But the price of the wine has little resemblence to how much people enjoy it and even experts cannot reliably tell the difference between cheap and expensive wine in blind tests.

This thread also illustrates that tastes vary enormously and the same wine can be described as 'delicious' or grim by different people.

If you want full bodied but rounded I'd go for southern italian/sicilian, so something like a Primitivo, or a nero d'avola. French I'd go for southern rhone, chateauneuf du pap style (Grenach/Syrah/Mouvedre blends...southern Australia do some really good GSM blends as well). Rasteau for example is great value compared to chateauneuf du pap which can vary massively in price and quality.
You'll struggle to get a decent barolo for under £20, and it's a wine for keeping and aging in the bottle, not for quaffing!
19 Crimes and the like are ok for everyday drinking but not 'gifting' wine. You want something in between the two I'd guess!

I love my £4.50 pinot from Tesco. I like the taste.

A local vineyard to me sells their white wine for £20 and i don't like it as i think it tastes like vinegar.

Horses for courses, so don't be a wine snob.

Wow, so many suggestions, thank you. I have decided on two for the gift and also have a shortlist in reserve for me to try gradually and, hopefully, I will get to like and appreciate red wine

For you to try

Yellow Tail and McGuigans (black and red label) are easy drinking, inexpensive supermarket wines

Can also recommend 19 Crimes; dh and a friend love the stuff. One of their Dutch colleagues managed to collect all the different crime corks..he likes it too!

titsinknicks

19 Crimes is normally around the £10 mark, so if you can find it for less, then great. We started buying it about 3 years ago when we found some in belgium, and then found it in the UK.

I would think a bottle of Jacobs Creek would scream no effort more than 19 Crimes.

OP Waitrose sell some lovely English red at the price point you want to spend. Dh brought some back to Brussels for French colleagues, who were suspicious, but then wanted us to buy them more when we went back to UK.

Oh goodness. Wine is such a difficult thing if you are buying a gift for someone who enjoys it. Yes there is a snobbery about it but the same as anything else. I'm afraid if I was gifted a 19 crimes or Yellowtail I would be very grateful for the thought but it would go to the back of the wine cupboard to be brought out only in times of extreme desperation (dare i say cooking wine) rather than savoured and enjoyed

Think of it this way. If you enjoy cookies and someone bought you a pack of Maryland choc chip you'd feel the same way. If you enjoy cheese and someone bought you a block of standard cheddar you'd think great but it's not really special. You'd want to go for something at least a little bit special for the cookie/cheese lover so I wouldn't plump for a standard, mass produced pile em high wine as a gift either

Waitrose will have an excellent selection for £20 that will delight any wine drinker. In French look for Minervois, Corbieres, Bordeaux for full bodied, smooth, easy drinking. Avoid burgundies. They also have an excellent Zinfandel called Brazin which is really really good (not French but this and /or a Minervois is our go to)

Avoid Chateauneuf du Pape. It attracts a silly premium and anything under £20 will be pretty rough.

Waitrose often have a sommelier hanging about who can give advice too for your budget. Don't be scared of them!

More great advice . Thanks Malin52 for tip about the Chateauneuf du Pape which definitely sounds like you get what you pay for!

@malin52 is spot on. You're clearly giving it thought op and that's what will be appreciated 🙂