Wine of the week: Bohoek Semillon 2017

One of the grape varieties that has impressed me most over the last few days in South Africa has been semillon and here’s a chance to try it at a really good price.

It’s the 2017 Bohoek Semillon which has been made for Marks & Spencer by Boekenhoutskloof and is on offer in store only at £8 (down from £12) as part of their Spring Wine Festival until the end of March

It’s a lush white with a lick of oak made in the style of white Bordeaux - i.e. smooth with a touch of fresh pineapple and other tropical fruit. It’s very drinkable now (with salmon, chicken satay or Asian-style salads I suggest) but will drink well for another couple of years at least. Not as good as the the winery's own superb semillon in which I may also indulge in at some point but then that’s over three times as much (£26.99 at James Nicholson)

While you’re in M & S you might also fancy the Caruso e Minini Perricone - a bright juicy Sicilian red which is selling for £6 instead of £9 and the 2017 Underwood Oregon pinot noir (down to £9.33) though the latter could do with another few months in the bottle, I reckon.

I’d serve both lightly chilled with seared tuna or, in the case of the perricone with a pizza.

Mas Querido white field blend

In these early days of September it’s good to drink a wine that reminds you it is still summer and I found it at the Majestic tasting this week in a Spanish white from La Mancha called Mas Querido.

It’s what is called a field blend - a wine made from vines that are all mixed up together in the same vineyard as opposed to being grown separately as is usual nowadays (although field blends used to be the norm way back). I’m not sure why - I’ve never managed to get a satisfactory explanation from a winemaker - but they seem to give the wine a special vibrancy.

In this case the grapes are apparently macabeo, airen, moscatel, chardonnay, pedro ximenez, merseguero, sauvignon blanc, verdejo and albillo - a real hotchpotch of varieties which results in a deliciously fragrant, almost gewürztraminer-like wine that would go really well with Asian-style (particularly Cantonese and Thai) food. Think light stir-fries and noodles.

It’s £7.99 a single bottle which isn’t a bad price but is on a mix six deal at £6.99 currently which makes it a bit of a bargain.

(If you don’t want to make up the six with the Mas Querido I suggest a couple of bottles of the cheerful, gluggable El Aviador tempranillo which appears to be only £4.66 on the mix six deal (good for end of season barbies), the very decent Vaison la Romaine Côtes du Rhone (£8.99) and - a more serious wine altogether - the 2010 Parcel Series Chilean Blend which is available as a limited parcel at £14.99 if you buy any six bottles and knocks spots off most Bordeaux at the price.

Ramona Grapefruit wine spritz

With no end to this sizzling hot summer in sight you may even be tiring of rosé so here’s something cool and different to drink that I came across the other day.

It’s a grapefruit-flavoured wine spritzer called Ramona and comes either singly or in a 4 pack of cans that are easy to stash in the fridge.

It’s based on an organic Sicilian wine called Zibibbo with natural grapefruit flavours and is just joyously zesty and refreshing - and a modest 7% to boot. Just the thing you need to carry with you on a hot sticky journey on the train. (You can buy it from Vinoteca King’s Cross, their other branches or their online shop)

The only downside is that at £4.50 for a single 250ml can or £17 for a pack of 4 it’s pretty pricey but it’s imported from the US which accounts for the cost. And it's cheaper than a glass of wine in a wine bar*. I just love it.

Since I wrote this post I stumbled across another interesting wine in a can called The Uncommon which is made from Bacchus, an English grape that tastes like an elderflowery sauvignon blanc. Again, cool packaging and very refreshing. You can buy it from Selfridges for £5 a can.

* No, not ALL wine bars I realise - but bear in mind it's bigger than the average wine bar glass!

Wine of the Week: Weiber Crémant d’Alsace

If you’re popping into Lidl this weekend to buy the wines I’ve recommended in my Guardian column*, try a bottle of this inexpensive sparkling wine too.

It’s from the Alsace region of France and is made entirely from riesling which makes it a bit different from the champagne-style sparkling wines out there. It's light (11.5%) and peachy with a touch of honeyed sweetness which should appeal if you’re a prosecco drinker. I’d serve it as an aperitif or possibly with a light dessert like a fresh fruit tart - or maybe to kick off a summer barbecue. Good value at £7.99

There’s also an attractive 2016 Tüzko gewürztraminer which is part of Lidl’s new Hungarian range. It’s also made in a sweeter style that I think would go particularly well with hot Thai food (though maybe not a Thai green curry) and would be also rather delicious with those milky Indian desserts (especially with mango). That’s just £6.99.

Both these wines are available on a WIGIG (when it’s gone it’s gone) basis so you may or may find them in store when you visit.

* the Zenit Tornai Princeszet 2016 (£5.99; 12.5% abv) and light red Dornfelder (12.5% abv), from the Pfalz (£4.99) Read more about them here.