The Wine Society keeps it interesting with a diverse and budget-friendly summer portfolio

You wouldn’t blame The Wine Society’s buying team for playing it safe in these turbulent times. Most retailers – both generic and specialised – are consolidating their core offering around consumer favourites, avoiding more explorative options. (You could argue that tough trading times are also a great excuse for laziness...).

That certainly hasn’t been the case at The Wine Society (The Society) where instead, the various challenges faced by the wine industry and the economy at large have been used – strategically and to the benefit of the retailer’s members – to explore less obvious listings and deliver that ever more elusive price/quality golden ratio.

Where others have failed to see the obvious – that the path forward is to find hidden gems and expand geographic range rather than moan about the speculative inflation of top regions (we’re looking at you Burgundy) – The Society has long forged a path of pioneering diversification. All without weakening the reliability of its core, admittedly classic, range.

It was with particular delight, therefore, that I plunged into The Society’s spring/summer offering to discover a selection that surprised both for its intriguing diversity and cracking value proposition. We have a tough summer ahead, but at least there’s a way to stock up the cellar without breaking the bank.

Scroll down to see Decanter’s picks from The Wine Society’s spring/summer range

Not your usual bubbles

One of the categories The Society’s range has evolved in more interesting and unexpected ways in the last couple of years is sparkling (again, this is not unrelated to the madness afflicting Champagne markets).

Although, the importer’s own Champagne (produced for The Society by Alfred Gratien) remains one of the smartest buys of the French flagship fizz, I suggest you look further afield.

The Society’s buying team has sourced truly delicious and interesting bubbles that, while in some cases perhaps devise, will no doubt be memorable summer pours. Love them or hate them? Trying them is the only way to find out.

Two unexpected sparkling wines for summer

Texture and sense of place

On the white and pink fronts, I found a particularly satisfying range of textures in food-friendly bottles that deliver much more than a refreshing aperitif, at the same time as showing great sense of place.

I’d suggest exploring different geographies of the same varieties – think Sauvignon Blanc from Chile’s Leyda Valley next to a Pouilly-Fumé; a great way to train your palate while also having fun.

And definitely beyond the Provençal quasi-white rosés, favouring deeper-hued, expressive alternatives such as those from Navarra, Txakoli and Kremstal.

Rosés with a sense of place

Reds keep it cool

Few things are more refreshing than a summer, chillable red and The Society’s digital shelves have plenty of options that meet the brief, from a spicy País to a sublime Poulsard by way of a truly unexpected Cabernet Franc from Cyprus.

Alongside these refreshing pours are more modern takes on barbecue classics such as Malbec and Douro red.

Again, it’s definitely worth doing playful comparisons of different iterations of the same grape variety, showcasing the range and playfulness of The Society’s portfolio. I was particularly taken by a trio of Syrah/Shiraz, at once so classical and contemporary.

Syrah/Shiraz: three wines, three budgets, three styles

Italian Fine Wine Spotlight

While budget-friendly choices are a main concern, The Society is also developing a really exciting fine wine programme that similarly expands the offering along the top shelves. It started last year with a stand-out Spanish spotlight that included exciting new names alongside library vintages of established icons. One year on, it’s time to focus on Italy and the line-up is equally worthy of attention.

The Wine Society: top buys for Spring and Summer

All bottle prices are correct at time of publication and do not reflect special or multi-buy offers.

Wines are grouped by style and ordered by score, in descending order.

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