Breamy white – Saint Mont 2014

Saint Mont 2014, France (£8.50, Marks & Spencer) South-west France really is a treasure trove for us wine hunters - and this Saint Mont from M&S is a brilliant example of why. It's great value. I recommended it on Saturday Kitchen to go with a delicious but tricky-to-match dish...

On ageing Sauvignon Blanc in Decanter

So come on - where do you stand in the great Sauvignon Blanc debate? Some people hate it - saying it's too obvious, boring, short-lived or just too popular for its own good (in UK shops, it's now the best selling grape variety by some margin). But...

Finest Soave Superiore 2014

Finest Soave Superiore 2014, Italy, 13% (£7, Tesco) Some Soave is so mass produced and irredeemably characterless, it isn’t much better than dish water. But the good stuff is wonderful (see this Pieropan La Rocca tip). And this cheeky little number is amazing value. Because of the way...

Guaspari Vista do Chá Syrah 2012

Guaspari Vista do Chá Syrah 2012, Brazil, 14% (£56.50, Hedonism (UK) - US$ 47.27 Baccos, Vino Mundi (Brazil)) A wine from off the radar. I first tried this ground-breaking red when I visited Brazil earlier this year, in the company of renowned local wine journalist Jorge Lucki....

Hardys Eileen Hardy Chardonnay 2010

Hardys Eileen Hardy Chardonnay 2010, Australia, 12.9% (£30, Drinks Direct or use Wine Searcher) Australian brand Hardys is a familiar name in wine. For one, it’s the biggest selling brand in the UK, shifting more than £315m-worth of wine last year. As sponsors of the England cricket...

Chalkdown cider 2013

Chalkdown Premium Quality Cider 2013, Hampshire (from £10, independent stockists inc Wine Utopia, The Naked Grape, The Good Life Farm Shop, M Wines, The Cork & Cheese, Vineking) Hampshire cider - made like champagne. Intriguing, no? 'It's all a learning process,' smiles Winchester resident Piotr Nahajski, the...

Brazilian fruit face-off

So, a Brazilian fruit face-off. Not an article of mine, but one which I was sent after visiting Brazil and features some funny faces being pulled during a tasting of Brazilian fruits put on for us by Prazeres da Mesa magazine and Enocultura. I was in...