Wine of the week: Casal de Ventozela Alvarinho 2015

If you’re a fan of Spain’s fashionable white wine albarino you’ll almost certainly like its Portuguese cousin alvarinho which is made just over the border.

It also tends to be slightly cheaper and more consistent in quality than the Spanish version

This one comes from Casal de Ventozela and is labelled Minho - a denomination that has the same boundaries as Vinho Verde but slightly different regulations - and is as fresh and crisp as a blast of sea air.

It costs a very fair £8.99 a bottle from Majestic on their Mix Six deal (by far the best way to shop at their stores) and would be perfect with any kind of fresh shellfish , especially clams and crab. Or a fish barbecue. (Think mackerel and sardines.)

Check out other good matches for alvarinho (and albarino)

Taylor’s Chip Dry White Port

Gin isn’t the only drink you can serve with tonic and this is the perfect time of year to try a delicious alternative: white port. Which, as I’m sure you know, comes from the Douro region of Portugal.

At 20% rather than 40%, it's lighter (and sweeter) than gin so you need rather more of it - about 40/60 I’d say (although the Taylor’s website recommends 1/3 to 2/3). Simply pour both drinks into a tumblerful of ice, stir and top with a slice of lemon and a sprig of mint. Simple and incredibly refreshing.

You can find it on special offer at Ocado at the moment for £10.63 instead of £13.29 which is the price Waitrose is currently charging but that still compares well with other stockists who are typically listing it for between £15 and £16.

Although it’s a drink you’d have Portuguese-style as an aperitif it’s also a great match with melon and ham.

Tantalus Old Vines Riesling Natural Brut 2013

I don’t often pick a wine you can’t buy in the UK for my wine of the week but as it’s Canada Day I’m making an exception. (Plus there are regular Canadian visitors to the site who may be able to get their hands on it. Lucky them!)

It was one of the highlights of my recent trip to the Okanagan Valley. Tantalus specialises in riesling but this sparkling version which costs 34.70 CA$ (£20.70 at the current rate of exchange) from the winery + shipping is quite exceptional, with true riesling character, gorgeous lime-streaked fruit and an incredible persistence and minerality. The vines which were planted back in 1978 are grown without recourse to herbicides or pesticides

I'd drink it as an aperitif with some south-east Asian-style nibbles

Cheeringly I have discovered that an outfit called Tour de Force, which specialises in Canadian wine, does import the rest of their range into the UK including the 2013 Old Vines Riesling, which is also amazing, for an admittedly pricey £34.99. They also supply a number of top restaurants including Social Wine and Tapas which has it on their list. (How about putting it on by the glass, fellas?)

Reichstrat von Buhl Riesling Sekt

In the meantime if you’re curious to find out what sparkling riesling tastes like Laithwaites is stocking a delicately, grapey, honeyed sekt from Von Buhl in the Pfalz at £18.99 which would make delicious summer drinking (and a welcome break from prosecco). Avery's, bizarrely given that it's part of the same group, charges £23.99.

Rioja - and rioja drinkalike - bargains

Rioja remains one of the most popular reds in the UK, not least because of its price, and there are two bargains right now that any rioja-lover should snap up.

Majestic has 25% off all riojas this weekend which brings their gold medal-winning* own label 2009 Definition Rioja Reserva down to £8.99 if you buy six bottles instead of the ‘normal’ price of £11.99 (though admittedly it’s usually discounted to £9.99 on the ‘mix six’ deal). That’s a really good price for a nearly seven year old wine that still shows plenty of opulent ripe fruit. Unusually it’s aged in French and Caucasian barrels rather than the usual - for Rioja - French oak. One for your Sunday roast.

The other is a more unusual wine from Sainsbury’s - the Taste the Difference Graciano 2014 which actually comes from La Mancha, not Rioja, but is made from one of the grapes used in the Rioja region. It’s a younger wine - a deep, exotic, fragrant red that would work well if you were cooking a middle-eastern Ottolengi-ish lamb dish and is fantastically good value at £6 a bottle with a further 25% off from next Tuesday if you buy six. So just £4.50 - a no-brainer really.

I’ll be posting my selection of Sainsbury’s wines early next week so you can take advantage of that offer.

*At this year’s International Wine Challenge