Drinks of the Month
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.
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.
Leopard’s Leap Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2017
Tomorrow the annual Fairtrade Fortnight starts in the UK. I wish I could get more enthusiastic about Fairtrade wine but so many of them are underwhelming. Happily this wine which is made in South Africa is an exception: not mindblowing - you wouldn’t expect that for £5 - but a more than decent bottle for the price.
It’s made at a winery called Leopard’s Leap in Franschhoek which I visited a couple of years ago which belongs to the Rupert Family who also own nearby La Motte and has an impressive workers’ village and school called Dennegeur
It’s obviously imported in bulk (how can you tell? the small print on the back label says W1743 at CH2 4LF UK which turns out, when you Google it, to be a bottling plant near Chester called Encirc). That’s not necessarily a bad thing - it certainly reduces the cost and the carbon footprint of the wine - glass is heavy and bulky to transport.
It’s on offer at the Co-op for £5.49 and is the sort of simple fruity red you could knock back with a plate of pasta, a pizza or a burger. It’s also suitable for both vegetarians and vegans and would make a good party wine. Sainsbury’s is selling a similar bottle for £5 but I don’t know if it’s the same vintage or certified Fairtrade. And I like to shop at the Co-op who do more to support Fairtrade than most other retailers.
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