Wine of the week: Ventisquero Root: 1 Carmenere

Recommending a specific wine is a bit of a lottery at the moment. I had planned to tell you about this seductively velvety Chilean red a few days ago but couldn’t get get into the Morrisons site. But I’m hoping you can find the odd bottle in store although its current sharp promotional price of £6 (until April 4th) may make that a long shot.

Carménère as you may know was originally a Bordeaux grape which popped up in Chile where for a long time it was mistaken for merlot.

This Root:1 Carmenere 2018 from Ventisquero comes from the Colchagua Valley and is a rich, lush almost chocolatey wine that will make lovers of full-bodied new world reds very happy. It would go well with red meats like beef and lamb, especially cooked on the barbecue and could also handle a curry

The best food pairings for carmenère

If you miss the special offer which ends on April 4th, the normal price of £7.75 is still fair. Or you could buy Morrisons own The Best Carmenère which is also £7.75 instead.

What else you could buy at Morrisons

In general the The Best range - and their premium Wm Morrison wines - are pretty reliable. Prices are accurate at time of writing but may well have changed by the time you read this.

The Best Chablis 2018 on offer at £10

In fact their whole The Best Chablis range which includes a Petit Chablis and a Premier Cru is decent. A really good buy at this price

The Best Gruner Veltliner 2018 £8.25

Engaging, slightly peppery dry white. Good with south-east Asian food

Masseria Petrosa Verdeca 2018 on offer at £6.50

Attractively fresh crisp white from Italy - fruitier than many of Italy’s whites Good with punchily seasoned seafood or salads

The Best Rioja Blanco Reserva 2015 on offer at £11

Rich weighty full-bodied white you’ll like if you’re a fan of oaky chardonnays.

J Boulard La Verdier Carianne 2018 £10

Exuberant, juicy Cotes du Rhone. Think garlicky sausages and beans or roast pork

The Best Primitivo 2018 (£7.50) and The Best Negroamaro 2018 (£7.25)

Two characterful southern Italian reds that would be particularly good with cheese and baked pasta dishes like lasagne

CVNE Ribera del Duero 2018 on offer at £8

An alternative to Rioja though made in a brighter fruitier style than is typical for the region. Would go well with lamb.

The Best Douro Red £7.50

Rich full-bodied red from the same area that produces port. Good for a beef stew.

The Best Single Vineyard Pinot Noir 2018 Chile on offer at £10

Sumptuously fruity pinot noir but with some real elegance. Chill lightly and serve with roast chicken, a mushroom risotto or seared salmon

MV Reserve organic malbec 2018 on offer at £6.50

More of a classic European style than a typically Argentinian one (think Bordeaux) but incredibly good value for money. Good for homey dishes like cottage pie.

Vinalba Patagonia Malbec 2017/18 on offer at £7

Vinalba is a reliable name to look out for from Argentina - I almost always like their malbecs and at this price this is pretty well irresistible. Drink with steak if you have it.

Morrisons The Best English Sparkling Wine £18

One of the best own label English sparkling wines I’ve tasted.

Morrisons 10 year old tawny port on offer at £11

Tastes (yummily) of roasted nuts and salted caramel. One to sip with the Easter eggs.

Two Sainsbury’s Fairtrade wines to try

Every Fairtrade Fortnight I seem to end up bleating about the quality of Fairtrade wines so I thought this year I would give it a break. And then I found - too late for my Guardian column - a couple of better than average examples in Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference range.

I wouldn’t get over excited - they won’t blow you away - but they’re decent, more than fairly priced and some at least of the proceeds will go towards Fairtade projects.

The first is the Taste the Difference 2014 Wild Valley Fairtrade Chenin Blanc (13.5%) a smooth dry white from the Wellington region of South Africa that would make a useful after-work white and a good partner for light chicken dishes and creamy pasta sauces. And it’s only 98 calories per 125ml glass (Sainsbury’s now usefully putting calorie content on their own brand wines).

And the second Sainsbury’s TTD Fairtrade Carmenère 2013 (14%) from Chile which is typically lush, ripe and fruity - a little soft for my taste but I might well be in a minority on that. A good red to drink with a lamb curry or other spicy lamb dish. Or with sausages.

Both are £6 until March 25th which I think you’ll agree is a bit of a steal. I’d have willingly paid the full £8 for them.

The Co-op also has a large selection of Fairtrade wines of which I’ve most enjoyed the Argentinian wines in the past. The vintages are different but here are my recommendations from last year.