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!

Why did they not drink it while they were with you? I thought generally people bring what they themselves would like to drink, so tend to give my guests what they brought themselves.

So is £11 a cheap bottle then Kerela?

Having lived in the Marlborough region of NZ I disagree with you strongly.

I'm a wine snob in that I know what I like. I drink from Aldi as well as various other places. If you've got some Oyster Bay, op chuck it my way, damned fine wine, but New World so you obviously won't manage it.

I love new word wines.

I always take what I enjoy to be quite honest you sound really pretentious

I've tried that Villa Maria and it wasn't awful at all. I prefer a NZ SB these days - Cloudy Bay, The Reach and Oyster Bay have been my Christmas staples.

I'm no wine expert but largely deviate to the new world wines.

I do hate it when people bring over a 'McWine' though, mainly because you could get much better if you picked something up on offer.

I think YABU that only French, Italian, and Spanish wines are nice.

YANBU to expect guests to bring a nice bottle (though everyone's got different definitions, clearly!). I read once about someone who wrote the guest's name on each bottle they received and served it with the meal the next time the guest came over. I loved that idea, though wine rarely lasts long enough for that in our house...

...Apart from one bottle of Blossom Hill white zinfandel that someone brought to a bbq (they then refused to drink it, saying that they knew that I would be providing nicer wine, as I like wine and know a fair amount about it. Clearly not inviting them again...) that I chucked under the sink and will donate to the tombola at the school fete this summer.

I like Villa Maria sb wine very much, so if that makes me a pleb, so be it

Wine snobs are not educated about wine. That's the point. They're just snobs.

What is a Mcwine?

Villa Maria Private Bin? Cellar Selection? Single vineyard? What year? There can be a great variation in wine produced by a vineyard even when it's the same grape. Villa Maria is a big producer and the different wine makers will have their own style and their wines can taste vastly different from each other.

Don't dismiss what you don't know!

Ok as a kiwi, I'd point out that villa Maria, whilst perfectly drinkable, is also pretty passé as a brand. I'd take it along to a BBQ or casual gathering, but a fancier party would get The Ned or Cloudy Bay as referenced above. It's definitely more of a mass market wine as opposed to a boutique blend. Still nothing wrong with it though!!

Can't believe as 15 year + wine drinker I am having to ask what new world wine is?

(Am on phone so cba to Google)

I don't see how being educated about wine is a thing really. You can go to as many wine tasting classes as you like, but you won't know what wine I like.
I like blossom hill. How can you tell me it's rubbish, when to me it tastes nice? It makes no sense!

nosey McWines are Echo Falls, Ernst and whatshisface...that type of plonk.

Sorry to caveat above - I'm talking about the big standard SB you buy at the supermarket, not the more specialized blends or private bins as per PP!!

I am a white wine drinker. Pinot Grigio is my choice and I'd never take something I wouldn't drink to a party /dinner.

Also like Chablis and Frascati

What is a McWine?

Big standard = bog standard

I drink NZ Sauvignon Blanc all the time and the Villa Maria one is very nice, what sort of wine would you find acceptable?

It is hard giving wine to friends, not every one has the same taste but surely anything around the £8 mark is going to be a perfectly good wine. If you don't like it just open it for your guests and share it the same evening.

Or perhaps I am just a pleb.

Gah, should have refreshed before posting!

I did discover a nice Echo Falls once. Can't remember what it's called though and am not drinking my way through bottles of diluted cats piss the stuff to find it again.

We served villa Maria at our wedding. We thought it was lovely.

I am not a fan of the op's attitude as displayed in this thread but I do feel a little of what she is saying. For example, my very dear friend drinks white so I would always take white. I know she hates Chardonnay so I wouldn't take it.

Considering the wines being taken are not desperately cheap then it either the case the the op and her guests are on opposing sides of the wine taste spectrum / don't know her very well / deliberately winding her up.

My non-drinking parents proudly handed my DH and I a bottle of asti Spumante. We thanked them graciously and drank it when we were needy!

Bizarre that someone would write off new world wines, and only deem italian, french and Spanish acceptable. You sound like someone who hasn't a clue about wine.

Villa Maria is bloody lovely. We had a crate before Christmas and drank the lot!

In my young days cheap Spanish wine was the one to avoid.
I quite like a glass of Blue Nun though :)