It takes a lot to surprise me these days, but I'm still amazed by sales of British fortified wine (the ghastly liquid formerly known as British 'sherry'). Who on earth drinks this stuff? I'm no wine snob, but I'd rather swallow sulphuric acid than a glass of VP Fortified British Cream. I'm willing to believe that there are people out there who only buy British, which must make it increasingly hard for them to find a car that doesn't fall apart after a few thousand miles, but surely the British National Party doesn't have that many members. As far as I can see, British fortified wine has only one raison d'être: it's a cheap way to get pissed. Seventy centilitres of supermarket own-label British Cream can cost as little as £2. As it has 15 per cent alcohol by volume, chugging an entire bottle is guaranteed to make you forget or fall over. That's why it's so popular with crumblies and the park-bench set. Most of us drink wine for other reasons. The effect of alcohol is part of the appeal, but so are aroma, texture, flavour and diversity, not to mention health benefits.

Wine is a thrillingly complex drink, and to measure it only by its alcoholic content is grotesque. All the same, it would not be wine without alcohol. If you doubt this, try drinking a non-alcoholic 'wine'. Surely, it's preferable to add water to your wine, or buy a spritzer. Besides, it is possible to find genuine wines with restrained levels of alcohol. best internet wine sitesFortified wines such as port and sherry may have 22 per cent alcohol, but, at the other extreme, Moscato d'Asti weighs in at a delicate 4.5 per cent. best wines released in 2015Further up the scale, you'll run into German white wines, some of which start at 7 per cent. can you buy wine after 9 in wiMosel Riesling is my chosen summer wine, perfect for Sunday afternoons in the garden. best red wine for asian food

Of course, the irony is that beer drinkers would consider an ale or lager with similar alcoholic strength a head-banger brew. Moscato and German wines apart, the number of bottles with alcohol levels below 10 per cent is small and shrinking. In fact, it's getting tough to track down table wines with less than 13 per cent alcohol. popular wine brands australiaThis is fine for certain styles, such as Châteauneuf du Pape and California Zinfandel, both of which can attain 16 per cent potential alcohol in the vineyard. best wine bar downtown chicago(Judicious, and at times illegal, dilution is required to get them into the sub-15 per cent duty bracket.) It is also fine for most Chardonnays. The late Vincent Leflaive of Domaine Leflaive in Puligny-Montrachet once told me that a white Burgundy with less than 13.5 per cent alcohol wasn't worth drinking.

But, all too often, power is confused with complexity. I've got nothing against full-bodied styles, but unbalanced, top-heavy wines that bludgeon the palate are a waste of shelf space. Most of the worst culprits are found in the New World, but the phenomenon does exist in the Old World. My hunch is that the alcohol content of many of the top Bordeaux wines has increased by 1 per cent or more in the past 20 years, as producers have sought to counter the threat of the New World and conform to prevailing tastes. However strong they are, the best wines are balanced. That is, the component parts (fruit, acidity, sugar, tannin and alcohol) complement one another to the extent that it's difficult to tell them apart. Far too many winemakers have ceased to recognise this simple fact. It's easy to sneer at VP British Cream drinkers, but when the liquid in our glass is smothered by alcohol, we might as well join them. Double Trouble Fire in the Rye - Light & Hoppyaromas of toffee, orange peel, cereal, pine and spice;

on the palate it is medium bodied and moderately carbonated, with flavours of up-front hops, bready malt and spiced citrus. Double Trouble Brewing Co. NOTE: Prices subject to change without notice. Prices include container deposit fees where applicable. All products may not be available in all stores. Select products may be available to customers in limited quantity. Value Added Products are subject to limited availability and may not be included with online purchases. Earn 1 AIR MILES® reward mile for every $30* spent each month. *Excluding HST, container deposit, and charity donations. Air Miles for online purchases will be awarded on the date of shipment and not the date of order. The above-noted alcohol content may differ from the alcohol content displayed on the bottle label due to the timing of changes in vintage dates or production lot codes. Customers are advised to read the bottle labels to confirm the actual alcohol content of their purchases. Please select a language /

S'il vous plaît sélectionner une langue YOU MUST BE 19 YEARS OF AGE TO PURCHASE ALCOHOL. PLEASE NOTE THAT WE ONLY DELIVER IN ONTARIO / VOUS DEVEZ AVOIR AU MOINS 19 ANS POUR ACHETER DE L'ALCOOL. VEUILLEZ NOTER QUE NOUS NE LIVRONS PAS À L'EXTÉRIEUR DE L'ONTARIO. The temperature at which a wine is served is important, and it is worth spending a few moments thinking about it. old adage of serving white wines chilled and red wines at room temperature is a useful starting point, although not nearly detailedA wine served a little too cold or a little too warm can lose an awful lot of character, particularly with respect to aroma. Most domestic refrigerators maintain their internal environment at about 4�C, which is far too cold for mostChampagne and dry white wines of quality are best served at a temperature between 8�C and 10�C (sometimes even a little higher), which is very close to the temperature in many underground cellars for much of the year.

Many whites, therefore, are best served straight from the cellar, but for the majority whose homes do not possess such a feature, a bare hour or so in the fridge door will do fine here. wines, cheaper sparkling wines and sweet white wines are best a little colder, perhaps 4�C to 8�C, so two hours or so should bring these bottles down to a reasonable temperature. Red wines often also need a littleThe 'room temperature' which many regard as the ideal serving temperature for red wines is not an excuse to leave wines languishing in the warmth of today's insulated, centrally heated houses. serving temperature for many fine red wines is perhaps 14�C to 18�C, somewhat cooler than modern houses, although this was a common temperature indoors in centuries gone by! stored somewhere cool, will benefit from half an hour in theThis is particularly the case for Beaujolais and young Burgundy, as well as Pinot Noir from the New World.

Good claret, Rh�nes and other reds from warmer climes are generally fine at 16 - 18�C. When bringing the wine to the correct temperature, its obviously important not to damage the wine. cooling in the fridge is best, and cooling in a bucket of water and ice is also safe, and more rapid. It will have the effect of bringing the wine down to 0�C, which is far too cold to appreciate the wine, so you will need to remove the bottle before it gets this far. warm a bottle which is too cold, there is a more significant risk ofWarm the wine gently, preferably by planning ahead and bringing the wine from its cool storage area, be it wine cellar or fridge, several hours in advance. tempted to try and accelerate the process by placing the wine near radiators or other sources of heat. This is a recipe for likely disaster, with the end result quite possibly a stewed, soupy, over-heated wine, especially left their too long as the mind is occupied elsewhere.

Even the supposedly knowledgeable are guilty of wine mistreatment when it comes to storage and serving temperature. A wine waiter in a respected local restaurant at which I was tried to warm a bottle just up from the cellar by placing it next to the open fire - I was quick to stop him, preferring to warm the wine in my had as it wasn't really too cold. In another, a red wine came to the table obviously too warm, it even felt warm to the touch. I suspect it had been stored somewhere very close to, if not within, the kitchen. My request for an ice bucket may have prompted some strange looks, but it was simple remedy. Five minutes later we had a wine that tasted much better for being a few degrees cooler, and once we had it at a sensible temperature we discarded with the ice and left the wine on the If uncertain about serving temperature, always err on the side of caution and serve the wine a little too cold. A wine served in the way will soon warm up in the glass, probably