"Very acceptable" is how paulagoddard.com's roving reporter described the 31.5 yuan Great Wall Dry Red purchased from a Chinese supermarket in Hangzhou. That's just £3 for what appears to be a well-made quaffable cabernet sauvignon, what a bargain. But is it?
When a simple Chinese takeaway meal of a bowl of rice with meat topping costs just a pound in Hangzhou then paying three times as much for the wine seems rather extravagant. In the eyes of a typical Chinese supermarket shopper that 31.5 yuan bottle costs about the equivalent of £15. Not such a bargain after all.
But it is if you are a British shopper who requires some liquid sustenance after a hard days sight seeing.
Should you want to trade up then the Great Wall wine range can offer you something a little more classy at 78 yuan (£7) and there's even another bargain basement wine at 35.9 yuan (£3.36) for that last day in China when you're scratching around for local currency.
Sherry, whisky and freshly squeezed orange juice are sampled this week as I get started stirring the Christmas mincemeat. Recipes for this booze-soaked Christmas preserve always say you should let it 'mature' for at least a week before you use it. But home-made pies (individual or one large ‘un) will still taste wonderful if the minced fruit and nut mixture is spooned straight into pastry cases as soon as the alcoholic moistness testing has ceased.
Not wine this week but cider as October is National Cider Month according to CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale. Late October is when cider apples are at their ripest and are hand picked, pressed and fermented into a fruity beverage that is a real alternative to wine.
Wine, dark chocolate and tea improve thinking and memory skills in men and women aged over 70. A study conducted by researchers from the universities of Oxford and Oslo found that a combination of wine, dark chocolate, and tea, consumed in moderate amounts, enhanced cognitive performance in the elderly. All three food stuffs contain relatively high levels of flavonoids.
