just for interest, if you were looking for a bottle to drink tonight, and had, say ?5-?6. if you could only choose wine from Australia or France, which would you choose, and why.

this is just for a normal weekday drink plus supper, nothing specifically spicy, special and not with a particular friend in mind. the question is a) would you choose Australia or France and b) do you have a wine in mind, if you were right next to the store that sells it.

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mel

I would choose a south of France wine say a Languedoc or Minervois. I am sick of Australians for whom anything under 15% is a sissy.

and another thing! Australian wines are often too sweet to drink with food. however, this balances with the (generally) more reliable quality of Australian wines at this price.

i agree with you that for ?5-?6 Languedoc/S France wines offer something interesting and these days fairly reliable. however, in several of the AC regions of France (Bordeaux, Rhone, Loire, Alsace) ?5 is really scraping the barrel and you end up with something inferior and disappointing.

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mel

Hi (this is my first post, by the way).

It would depend on what I was eating.

If I had a big steak, I'd go for a big Shiraz, but for almost everything else, I'd go for France. Having said that, the French selection at my local supermarket (Tesco) is pretty poor, so maybe not.

My wife and I don't go for oaky Aussie Chardonnays, and I'm not sold on New World Riesling (yet), so it would be France. I'm not that bothered with alcohol levels, but when it comes to finesse, for me, France wins every time.

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'El vino did flow' – David Brent