Wine: Which type of drinker are you?
Saturday, 17 December 2005
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Which type of wine drinker are you: 1) Image Seeker, 2) Savvy Shopper, 3) Enthusiast, 4) Overwhelmed, 5) Satisfied Sipper or 6) Traditionalist? These six categories, identified in a survey by the wine giant Constellation, are the sort of gimmick only market researchers could dream up. Still, there's probably a bit of each of these characteristics in all of us, so I've selected a handful of wines to suit each, just in case you recognise a little of them in you.
1) The Image Seeker's champagne was once Dom Pérignon but became Cristal. But the king of bling took a knock recently when one of a pair of Goldman Sachs employees, paying £333 for a single Magie Noir cocktail, was reported to say to a barman, "We want something special, not just the usual bottle of Cristal." So the new fizz for the Image Seeker is Krug's slender-necked, supremely stylish vintage: the classic, sourdough and honeysuckle 1988 (£130-£141), the yeasty, toasty 1989 (£120-£140) or the sublime, complex, toasted-brioche 1990 (£112-£127). Stockists include Jeroboams (020-7629 7916), Berry Bros & Rudd (0870 9004300) and Harvey Nichols (020-7235 5000).
2) The Savvy Shopper's answer to Krug is Marks & Spencer's de Saint Gall 1995 Orpale Grand Cru Champagne Blancs de Blancs. The gold-labelled, thin-necked bottle, comes in a gift box, and is a creditable high-street attempt at a de luxe champagne. But Orpale scores best for what's inside the bottle: a seductive, rich champagne style shot through with a biscuity toastiness, creamy mousse and chardonnay crispness. The humble price, £29.99, is made even more attractive by its reduction to £24.99.
3) And so to the Enthusiast's last-minute red for festive lunch. The etching on the label of a Bordeaux First Growth château is a discreet mark of excellence. Penfolds' Grange is in a similar league, and its sibling, the 2000 Penfolds St. Henri Shiraz (c. £24.99-£29.99, Tesco flagship stores, Oddbins Fine Wine, Morrisons, Harrods, Selfridges), which comes at a fraction of the price, is closer in status to the second wine of a Bordeaux First Growth. The lack of new oak makes for a pure, archetypal Australian blend, chock full of tarry, liquorice aromas and packed with spicy, blackberry fruit.
4) The Overwhelmed can be empowered by the 2005 Two Hands Brilliant Disguise Moscato, Barossa Valley (£7.99, 50cl, Oddbins). This unusual Aussie fizz is based on the idea of Piemonte's fragrant, light Moscato d'Asti. The 2005 is made from the muscat-like white frontignac grape and bottled at a mere 6.5 per cent alcohol to retain the delicate sweetness and gentle sherbety spritz. With delicious aromas of guava, it's the ideal aperitif or palate cleanser for an apple, pear or apricot tart.
5) The Satisfied Sipper indulgently sips The 2002 Inniskillen Vidal Sparkling Icewine (£55, Waitrose Inner Cellar), a hedonist's delight made from the concentrated sweet juice of Canada's Vidal grapes frozen on the vine. In its impressively tall, champagnesque half-bottle, there's enough of this velvety elixir for four to sip as a great finale to a fine meal.
6) And finally, the 2000 Vin de Constance from Klein Constantia (50cl, £19.99, Majestic Wine Winehouses; £21.50, Waitrose Inner Cellar). This revival of the 18th-century traditional sweet wine is a world-class confection of crystallised peaches and pineapples with a sea-salty tang. If it was good enough for Napoleon, Charles Dickens and Europe's aristocracy, this Cape classic will please our Traditionalist.
