The Exquisite Collection Rioja Reserva 2009, 14% (£8.99, Aldi online) Pretty spot on Rioja Reserva at a fair price. It's very classic and there's plenty of wine for the price here. It's a dense, creamy and juicy red with hints of coconut and orange rind to complement the...
Jean Bouchard Hautes Cotes de Nuits red 2013, 12.5% (£9.99, Aldi online) The first duty of wine - whatever its colour - is to be refreshing. Gastronomic. Uplifting, if you like. Here's a red that does just that - and at a very fair, albeit not bargain...
Empress Ale A smartly packaged, gently carbonated new ale designed to be paired with spicy food, primarily Indian. The idea was born, apparently, out of craft beer fan Surj Virk's, 'sheer frustration of not having an alternative to lager when visiting Indian restaurants'. Apparently he spent a year...
Nyetimber Blanc de Blancs 2009, England (£35, Harrods, Harvey Nichols, Farr Vintners, Lay & Wheeler) Very refined, accomplished and elegant fizz from the producer that really kick-started the modern English sparkling wine scene. This point was made particularly vividly because, at the same tasting, we were treated...
There is something gloriously ancient, mysterious and knotty about Carmenère. Its story brings together competing historical hypotheses, ampelographic hide-and-seek and remarkable powers of reinvention. It gets both winemakers and wine drinkers hot under the collar, with the power to dismay and delight in seemingly equal...
Imagine the scene. Steeply rolling hillsides, dark forests in the background, the foreground a hectic green sea of bush vines sprouting vigorously from rich terracotta soil. On a rickety table in the middle of the vineyard there is a glass of mysterious white wine. It...
Ramos Pinto Quinta do Bom Retiro 20 Year Old Tawny Port, Portugal (£35 for 50cl, Oddbins & others) There’s still a touch of fiery ruby at the heart of this gorgeous, amber-hued tawny. The nose is rich and raisined while the palate is smooth, biscuity and mouth-coating....
Jewel of Nasik Zinfandel Rosé 2015, India (from £5, Marks & Spencer) It’s not every day you get to recommend an Indian rosé on BBC1! This one’s juicy and fun, with plenty of succulent plummy fruit and a soft, easy-going feel. I paired it on Saturday Kitchen...
Taste the Difference Godello 2014*, Spain (£8, Sainsbury’s) The Godello grape variety nearly went extinct in the 1970s – it was down to the last few hundred vines, apparently – but it’s since been resurrected, to brilliant effect. It makes succulent, fresh, herb-scented whites that work superbly...
Love it or hate it there’s no doubting Sauvignon Blanc’s popularity – with the public at least. This historic grape variety – noble parent of Cabernet Sauvignon let’s not forget – tends to polarise opinion like few others. Yet the market tells its own success story. Sauvignon Blanc...