4 Fairtrade reds to try

We’re now a week into Fairtrade Fortnight and if you haven’t yet bought a bottle of Fairtrade wine, now’s your chance.

As I pointed out in my Guardian column last weekend the quality of Fairtrade wine - which comes mainly from South Africa - has improved significantly but prices are still very reasonable.

Here are two that arrived after I wrote my piece - both from the Co-op which is the largest retailer of Fairtrade wines in the UK

The Scarlet Pimpernel Merlot-Cabernet Sauvignon-Malbec 2020 13% £7 Co-op

My best buy of the four - a really exuberant read and terrific value. A good all-rounder with food though I’m thinking particularly pizza

The Red Baron Shiraz Malbec 2020 13.5% £7 Co-op

Similarly bright, juicy and gulpable. They claim on the back label you can cellar until 2023 - I wouldn’t though!

Argentina is the other significant source of Fairtrade reds and on a recent tasting I liked

El Estego Don David Blend of Terroirs Malbec Malbec 2019 £9 Co-op

This benefited from double decanting (pouring it out of the bottle then back into the bottle again to aerate it) but it has some really nice dark plummy fruit. Classic malbec

Tilimuqui Organic Malbec 2020 13% £11.99 Waitrose

Annoyingly this has reverted to full price after being on promotion at £7.99 but it’s a well made, richly flavoured red and organic to boot.

What food to pair with malbec

Oh, and if you’re in the Co-op, a white I didn’t have room to squeeze into the Guardian piece is Bruce Jack’s bright zesty Fairtrade Sauvignon Blanc, also at £7 which you should enjoy if you’re a New Zealand sauvignon blanc fan.

Wine of the Week: Punta de Vacas Malbec 2020

You may remember a while back I recommended a couple of wines from Berkmann Cellars who were selling wine to raise money for the hospitality industry. Well, they’re doing it again during the current lockdown and sent me a couple of wines from their range to try.

This is the wine I chose - a gutsy malbec from Bodega Norton, an Argentinian winery I’ve always liked and which I think represents really good value for money. It’s from the most recent 2020 vintage so it’s very young and vibrant but at 13.5% not over-alcoholic - soft and rich without being flabby and just thoroughly enjoyable to drink with a plate of pasta (which is what I did! With a gorgonzola sauce in my case).

If you like malbec and feel like topping up your stocks in the run up to Christmas why not buy it from the Help for Hospitality website. It’s only £9.50 a bottle of which 20% goes to the hospitality industry

Here's an explanation of how the scheme works from the Help for Hospitality team

You can order your wine through our Help 4 Hospitality online shop where you can find an exclusive selection of restaurant-quality wines, as well as pre-selected mixed cases and spirits. All our products will be delivered to your home without any extra costs (minimum order £95).

For this second lockdown, we have increased our financial support to the hospitality industry: we will donate 20% of your ex-VAT order value to support businesses and individuals affected by the lockdown. The donations from our Help 4 Hospitality shop go towards either participating hospitality accounts, or two industry charities who provide grants to hospitality workers in need: The Drinks Trust and Hospitality Action. By using a voucher code during check-out, you can select the hospitality outlet you’d like to support - you can view them via the banner at the top of the Help 4 Hospitality website - and you will receive a 10% discount on your purchase.

Orders will be delivered within five working days nationwide, or the next working day within London.

The campaign is set to continue through December, when the restrictions on hospitality outlets are due to be lifted.

The Help 4 Hospitality shop is online at www.help4hospitality.co.uk

Le Malbec d’Hervé, Pays d’Oc 2019

The Languedoc probably isn’t the first place you think to look for malbec and if you’re in love with the seductively, lush Argentinian style you may even be a touch disappointed but as someone who sometimes finds new world malbec a bit too full on this Malbec d'Hervé is right up my street.

It’s a totally smashable bright, breezy red made from 30 year old vines in the Vallée de l’Orb, the kind you instinctively want to reach for on a wet weekend like this - or, come to think of it, with a barbecue on a much more summery day. And it’s currently under £10 (£9.99 to be exact) if you buy any 12 bottles from Averys or Laithwaites.

They say it would be ‘a fine choice' with marinaded pork chops, roast chicken or veggie kebabs. It would but frankly it would go with practically anything. (Well, not EVERYTHING, but you know what I mean. More than just steak.)

Wine of the week: Zarper malbec

I was going to recommend a rosé this week having got the misguided impression from the heatwave last weekend that summer was on its way. But today in my home town of Bristol it’s cold, windy and about to rain so I think malbec is more the order of the day.

This Zarper Malbec from Indomita is one I came across at the Morrisons tasting earlier in the week. It comes from Chile rather than Argentina - which is more common these days than it was a couple of years ago.

It shares the bold spicy character of its neighbour over the Andes with maybe a touch softer, riper fruit. It ain’t subtle but if you’re a fan of big reds it’s a handsome bottle at a decent price - £8 - that would be great with a barbecue or, given the weather, a chilli con carne.

What food to match with malbec

I’ve been assured the 2017 vintage, which is the one I tasted is in stock, so make sure that’s the one you buy.

The sauvignon blanc from the same producer at the same price is decent too.