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

Savatiano 2014/15 Domaine Papagiannakos - a delicious Greek white

Even if you’re into wine I reckon there’s a fair chance you won’t have heard of Savatiano a grape that's indigenous to the Attica region of Greece and which is also used to make retsina.

On the face of it it’s one of those useful neutral Italian style white wines that goes with everything - a bit like verdicchio - but in the hands of Vassilis Papagiannakos of Domaine Papagiannakos (who makes if from low yielding 50+ year old vines) it’s got a great deal of character and ages miraculously well.

As well as the deliciously fresh 2015, I tried the 2012 and 2008 which were incredibly rich and complex - more like a mature Hunter Valley semillon than anything else but with rather more weight and intensity. They proved perfect with the fishy feast we had at Kalos Gialos a beachside taverna in Porto Rafti, a lovely little unspoilt resort where many Athenians have their holiday homes. The grilled octopus was the highlight pairing.

Most UK stockists don’t have the 2015 yet but don’t let that put you off. If means the wine will be a step nearer those older vintages. allaboutwine.co.uk has the 2014/15 vintages for £9.75, slurp.co.uk for £9.95 and Kwoff the 2013 for £9.99.

Buy enough to squirrel some away. For under £10 it’s a total steal.