We’ve now entered the second half of the year that marks the 150th anniversary of The Wine Society – and what a year it has been. Yet another important page added to the retailer’s incredible and long history. Politics, sports and the economy have kept consumers on their toes, not always with a reason to celebrate but hopefully with a sense of fortunate change.
A suitable mood to explore the range of Decanter’s Outstanding Wine Retailer of the Year 2023 which has itself undergone exciting change and expansion, especially with the release of special celebratory collections.
Generation Series
Following the initial release, in January 2024 of the Generation Series, The Wine Society has since made the following two dispatches available. Each release covers a half-century of The Society’s history and zooms in on the styles and regions more popular and/or relevant throughout each 50-year period.
After an initial exploration of the wines that marked the beginnings of The Society and the turn of the 20th century, the second and third releases offer an interesting overview of the changes in consumer demand and dominant regions from 1924 until now. The emergence of South Africa and Chile as reliable sources of good-value quality wines is recorded alongside the growth of Prosecco and Argentinian Malbec.
It’s worth exploring – and stocking up on – the latest Generation listings while still available and ahead of the fourth and last release in September. A unique opportunity to buy excellent wines produced exclusively for The Society by the likes of Susana Balbo, Ben Glover and Ricasoli, for less than £20.
Lateral thinking
One of The Society’s great strengths is, thanks to long-standing relationships with producers and a talented buying team, being able to offer extremely good value even for categories that now command eye-popping prices. Not least white Burgundy, one of the retailer’s members’ favourites. The spring/summer offering is not short on options; among our favourites are the Santenay and St-Aubin below.
But it’s worth considering alternatives to flagship styles and regions – a perfect way to discover new favourites and better-value alternatives. In lieu of white Burgundy, consider white Rioja or even a dry Furmint; explore Crémants from Loire and Alsace – both with great listings on The Society’s website – instead of Champagne; go for a Baden Spätburgunder or a Chilean Pinot in place of the obvious French counterparts. And if looking to explore new categories altogether, it might be worth looking at the structured South American whites, such as the Marsanne below.
Dark freshness
At Decanter we’re big fans of chilled reds as a perfect summer drink. The Society’s range is not short on options – not least within the Generation Series range. The South African red in the second release is an interesting and vibrant take on Cinsault, while the outstanding Valpolicella produced by Bertani at Tenuta Novare – and now available with the third release – is elegant, refreshing and superbly nuanced.
But it’s also worth playing with the serving temperature of fleshier reds – such as The Society’s Montepulciano d’Abruzzo – for a pleasant, surprisingly juicy summer drink.
The Wine Society: top buys this Summer
Prices do not reflect any special or multi-buy offers.
Prices are accurate at the time of writing