AIBU to expect visitors to bring a decent bottle of wine with them.

[Mushypeasandchipstogo]

We have had lots of friends and relatives over to stay and for dinner over Christmas. It is lovely to see them all but why do they always bring a totally crap bottle of New World wine with them?
I have in my kitchen 10 bottles of vile red and white wine. Should I pour it all down the sink, use it for cooking or give it back to them next time I visit? Any other options would be considered!

Sounds lovely! I wish people would leave lots of new world wine in my kitchen

what QuinnTwinney said: Nothing worse than an attempt at snobbery when you don't actually know what you're talking about.

NW wines including Villa Maria are perfectly acceptable OP as safe party offerings - they hardly come into the category of cheap plonk and a bad bottle is virtually unheard of.

I wouldn't take anything more expensive - no need - unless it was a formal dinner party where I was supplying the wine or a wine 'taste-off (e.g. bring your favourite/most unusual example of Amarone) or I knew the hosts were wine buffs and knew enough to recognise and savour it (and you clearly don't fall into THAT category!)

I agree with Ohmygrood,

I would consider the OP a wine bigot rather than a wine snob

i think she was expecting us to congratulate her on her amazing style, rather than pages of disagreement.
I don't actually like most wine (have a shockingly sweet tooth), but watch, listen and read a fair bit about it (between the foods bits I am interested in) and everyone agrees that new world wines have been holding their own for quality for about 10 years now.
And spanish wine is syrup in a bottle, i know that as i like it

This must be a reverse, surely? I can't see how anyone familiar enough with the 21st century to have found MN could also be so 1980s that they are still refusing to touch 'new world wine' on the grounds it's inferior to all French wine. Unless the OP has found a time portal and is communicating with us from 1985.

Mmmmm oyster bay.

Agreeing with lots of posters... New World wine is just as likely to be great as Old World, surely?!

Also, whilst I like wine and know a little about it I would NEVER expect my guests to share this interest. Why would they? Just be grateful.

I don't know about wine and coke, but there is tinto verano in Spain, which is cheap rough red wine (sold in cartons or plastic bottles) mixed with very cheap lemonade that is very popular in Spain.

Is lambrini a new world wine? Where is the new world? Can I have yours if you don't want it please?

Nothing more to add regarding the wine ignorance of Op....

However Ilkleymoor that username is hilarious ....

Can't stop chuckling ....

I love NED Sauvignon Blanc, so if someone bought me a bottle of that I would not be serving it but saving it for myself!!

Oyster Bay which someone else mentioned also a favourite of mine. And Villa Maria which is NOT dirt cheap.

As are any of the bottles with a third off at Waitrose!

I know nothing about wine, but I have found that I have rarely liked a cheap French wine, but have found several cheaper new world wines to be very drinkable.

Lambrini - isn't that a petroleum by product though!!

We get wine from guests, but neither of us drink wine. Nor do we know when we acquired the wine we've got or if it any good, so we tend not to give it to others. Any ideas what to do with our growing collection of mysterious wine?

I serve this at my dinner parties, if you read the reviews you will order a bottle for your next get together!

www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B002ATI4VG?vs=1

I suspect the OP's palate just doesn't like the green-ness of sauv blanc, and she doesn't know enough to distinguish it from a). other varietals, or b). even other New World white wines.

I thought this was a goady wind-up thread, but the OP hasn't been back to goad further, so am assuming she has slunk away shame-faced.

I remember reading somewhere that NZ wines are, on average, the most reassuringly expensive of any country. There are so many boutique wineries here that don't necessarily export, and the small yields means good quality, especially in good vintages.

JM I think you may be right....

I think Op has headed off on an educational tour of NZ wine region with a quick nip down Napa Valley on the way home....

Also, for those who like NZ whites, there's a lot of good Pinot Gris around at the moment. 2012 was a great year.

Yes, it is Pinot Grigio by another name, but it's not Pinot Grigio is you might know it! Spend as much as you can afford, and you will get some nice wine.

I hate wine. Wouldn't know the arse of a decent wine from its elbow. So you'd be getting no wine from me.

I might bring a bottle of vodka though. Or a king size packet of After Eights.

Scoop

OP, I am a wine "snob" too.

I only really like a good Rioja or an Argentine Malbec (Terrazzas is best).

For white I prefer Chilean whites (Montes Alpha or similar)

For fizz I prefer a good French Saumur.

I hate it when people gift me bottles of cheap plonk (like blossom hill).

Having a preference does not make one a snob.

Having a preference does not make you a snob, it is just when your preferences match the generally held snob views of your parents from 30 years ago

royal

I don't think you can be a wine 'snob' if you only like one white, and one red varietal.

That just means you like what you like. Or maybe it's the perfect definition for a 'wine snob'! And no-one actually likes Blossom Hill, surely!

If you call all wine that is not to your preference "shit" then you are a twat.

I quite like a buttery oaky Chardonnay. There is a lot of anti chardonnay snobbery nowadays! My current favourite whites are from Morrisons Signature range- especially the Rueda. They are cheap too!
I don't get pino grigio, but then, once you move up from the blossom hill level, which most people would agree is crap, wine is all about personal taste. New world wines are often more fruit driven and accessible, but actually European winemakers have been adopting new world methods for years now and are emulating a more modern style so it is really old fashioned to make sweeping statement s like the OP.