8 good wine buys at Sainsbury’s

The season of discounting has started again with supermarkets all announcing or due to announce dramatic money-off deals if you buy six bottles or more.

As I’ve said before I have mixed feelings about this. It does indies no favours but on the other hand the majority DO shop in supermarkets, they ARE good offers and they DO help if you’re on a tight budget.

So here to kick off with are eight from Sainsbury’s whose 25% off six deal starts today and goes on until Sunday November 3rd.( Except in Scotland which doesn’t allow multibuys.) If you miss these offers or don’t find them in a branch near you* don’t panic. There will be plenty more over the coming weeks.

Sainsbury’s Blanc de Blancs Brut Champagne
(368 stores) Originally £22.49 currently £16.86 (until 5/11/13) but £12.64 per bottle if you’re buying 6 bottles
An old faithful in the Sainsbury’s range this attractive creamy champagne is made for the company by Duval-Leroy. An ideal match for smoked salmon and crisp cheesy biscuits and canapés

Yalumba Y Series Viognier 2013 (395 stores) Originally £9.99 but £7.49 but if you’re buying 6 bottles
South Australian winery Yalumba are Viognier specialists and this is a super vintage of this exotically scented white. Lovely with creamy chicken dishes and korma curries. Check the vintage is 2013 when you're buying. It needs to be fresh.

Taste the Difference Hunter Valley Aged Semillon 2006 (266 stores) Originally £9.99, but £7.49 if you’re buying 6 bottles
With its smoky, almost oily flavours Hunter Valley Semillon is definitely a Marmite wine but if you love it, as I do, this is an amazing deal on a 7 year old wine. (It also won a gold medal from the IWC this year). Locally they drink it with oysters and seafood - I’d go for an Asian-style salads with a sesame dressing or smoked fish.

Winemakers’ Selection Portuguese Red (591 stores) Originally £5.99 but £4.49 if you’re buying 6 bottles
If you’re looking for a basic wine for mulling for Hallowe’en or Bonfire Night this ripe, slightly porty Portuguese red would be ideal. It's also a good bottle to chuck in a beef stew. If you can’t be bothered to mull your own Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Mulled Wine (554 stores), originally at £5.79 (on offer at £4.34 and just£3.25 if you're buying six bottles) is actually very good, especially at this price. I like the idea of keeping a thermos of it handy. (see pic))

Winemakers’ Selection Costières de Nîmes 2011 (390 stores) originally £6.99, but £5.24 if you’re buying 6 bottles
If you’re a fan of Côtes du Rhône you’ll love this warm generous red from the neighbouring Costières de Nîmes - a versatile wine that would go with all kinds of hearty wintry dishes from bangers and mash to a slap-up Sunday roast.

Mas de Victor Graciano Rioja 2012 (390 stores) Originally £8.99 but £6.74 if you’re buying 6 bottles
Graciano is a grape variety that's much less frequently used than Tempranillo so this isn’t a typical Rioja but a ripe, exotically scented one (think Mourvèdre if you’re familiar with that). I’d drink it with slow-cooked shoulder of lamb and some Ottolengi-ish salads or venison with a dark fruity compote or sauce.

d’Arenberg The High Trellis Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 (174 stores) Originally £10.79 but £8.09 if you’re buying 6 bottles)
Another super Aussie buy - a gloriously smooth, blackcurranty (but not jammy) Cabernet from one of the most colourful producers in the McLaren Vale, Chester Osborn. Delicious now but will keep at least another 2-3 years in good storage conditions. A red meat wine, definitely.

And don’t forget the discount brings the excellent range of Taste the Difference sherries, already a risible £7.99 down to £5.99. I’m stocking up with those.

* Note that some of these wines are only available in a comparatively small number of branches. The ones I've linked to are also available online but the Sainsbury's website isn't the easiest to search.

 

10 food-friendly wines from The Beautiful South

Wine writer Matt Walls picks out his favourite wines from Chile, Argentina and South Africa from last week's Beautiful South tasting

"I’m in a restaurant, I’m in a hurry, so I don’t have time to look at the whole wine list. It’s laid out by country of origin, so I’m forced to generalise somewhat. Do I turn straight to Chile? How about Argentina? South Africa? Well I suppose it depends what I’m eating... but it’s unlikely I’ll turn to any of these countries first. It’s not that they don’t make good wines, or that I don’t enjoy them – it’s just that when I’m looking for wines to go with food, they’re not usually my first port of call.

If I’m looking for a wine to match with my lunch or dinner, there are a few criteria I’ve got in mind. I’m looking for refreshment, balance, and something that will work in harmony with the food – so usually something savoury, and not too intensely flavoured. These are things I’ve more commonly found elsewhere – often in wines from countries with cooler climates, which push acidity and tannin to the fore, rather than fruit and flavour.

The Beautiful South tasting at Olympia in London last week brought together over 300 producers from South Africa, Chile and Argentina all in one place. It was the perfect opportunity to hunt for food-friendly wines to see if I’ve been missing out. Here are 10 wines that stood out for their food-matching versatility.

Argentina

Argentina does power with aplomb. Surging Malbecs and impressively concentrated Cabernets are still the rule it seems. But when it comes to food, what do you match them with? They stomp all over everything but the most powerfully flavoured dishes. And sadly in the UK we can’t all eat two steaks a day.

I was on the lookout for more refreshing, lighter styles. These were still the exception, but I enjoyed the Viñalba Patagonia Reservado Malbec 2012 from Rio Negro (14.5%, £12.99, Buckingham Schenk). Patagonia is a region shared by Argentina and Chile in the cooler, southern end of South America. Compared to their standard Malbec, it was lighter, with less noticeable alcohol and more acidity making it feel less intense but more drinkable.

The Achaval Ferrer ‘Finca Bella Vista’ Malbec 2008 from Lujan de Cuyo (14.5%, £69.80, Hedonism Wines) also hails from a cooler region, but it’s not just this that provides its finesse, lightness and spice. The vines are over 100 years old and give exceptionally low yields (it takes three plants to make a single bottle of wine). European Brand Manager Jevgenijs Suscinkis explains this helps them “try to balance the power of South America with the elegance of Old World wine” – and I’d say they’ve succeeded. This is a brilliant Malbec – but it had better be at nearly £70 a bottle. Both this and the Viñalba are relatively versatile and would work with fillet steak as well as fattier cuts of beef.

Even among the whites competitive bodybuilding is still in evidence, but the Terrazas de los Andes ‘Terrazas Selection’ Torrontés 2011 from Salta, (13.5%, Hailsham Cellars, £11.49 for the 2010) was restrained, refreshing and displays plenty of citrus flavours alongside its classic floral aromas. Dry and well balanced, it would work brilliantly with aromatic spices and seafood – a Thai green curry with king prawns would be ideal.

South Africa

From the start I suspected South Africa would be a fruitful hunting ground for fresher, more drinkable wines – and it didn’t disappoint. The cooler coastal areas such as Walker Bay, Overberg and Elim are brimming with exciting wines.

Cederberg’s new Ghost Corner ‘The Bowline’ Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2012 (13.5%, £17.95, Bancroft Wines) uses fruit from cooler Elim and is well worth checking out. A blend of 52% Sauvignon and 48% Semillon, this thrilling wine has a sappy citrusy tang, vibrant intensity and a long balanced finish. It would pair well with simply cooked sea bass with a salsa verde.

For dry, savoury, mineral Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs, Crystallum have no weak links in their range. Their ‘Clay Shales’ Chardonnay 2012 from Overberg (13%, winedirect.co.uk, £23.95) is particularly fine. It’s an intense and focussed wine with a long mineral finish, given roundness by even-handed use of oak. This Burgundian-style Chardonnay would give many village Puligny-Montrachets a run for their money. Try it with roast chicken with lemon and tarragon.

Swartland may not be a cool climate area, but sea breezes create marked differences between day and night temperatures which help give fragrance and balance to the wines. The medium-bodied, peppery Mullineux Syrah 2011 (13.5%, Handford Wines, £19.99) is quite simply a brilliant wine. Dry, savoury, measured and fresh, it would go well with a simply cooked rack of lamb with green beans.

Chile

Chile for me was the big surprise of the tasting. It’s blessed with a huge variety of different terrains, and increasingly extreme areas are being planted, sometimes with extraordinary results.

Tabalí is based in coastal Limarí, an area which is getting attention for the quality of its lean, mineral Chardonnays. Talinay is the name of their new range of wines, this time planted even closer to the sea (just 12km) on 100% limestone. Their Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc are both very good, but their Pinot Noir 2011 (14%, Stone Vine & Sun, £15.75 for the 2010) in particular is worth tracking down. It has an attractive wild strawberry nose, a firm, dry, intense finish and just enough fat to place it in the New World. A versatile wine for food – great for game birds.

A little further south in Aconcagua is San Antonio, another cool climate coastal area that is coming out with some restrained, pure, fresh whites and reds. Matetic ‘EQ’ Syrah 2011 (14%, winedirect.co.uk, £16.95 for the 2010) is made here, and it was the best Chilean Syrah I tasted. Medium-bodied, with a soft silky texture, superfine tannins, bright acidity and fragrant red and black berry fruit, this would be a great match with lamb, sirloin, or other fatty red meats.

Another good tip for finding freshness is to look south – far from the equator so naturally cooler. Sebastian De Martino of De Martino Wines aims to make “gastronomic wines” from his holdings in Itata. His ‘Viejas Tinajas’ Muscat 2012 (13%, Les Caves de Pyrène, £11.52) is fermented in large earthenware amphoras with six months of skin contact. The result is a highly individual wine showing beeswax, lanolin and dried apricots on the nose, but with enough acidity and florality to keep it fresh and lively. It would be lovely served with guinea fowl with wild mushrooms.

Cono Sur claim to be the biggest single producer of Pinot Noir in the world. But it’s their snappily titled Single Vineyard Block 23 Rulos del Alto Riesling 2012 (13.5%, £11.80, New Street Wine Shop) that caught my eye. From Bio-Bio, even further south than Itata, this clean, dry Riesling had concentrated satsuma and lime skin flavour and would be a great match with a crab and grapefruit salad.

Overall I was impressed by the value for money displayed by many of the wines coming out of Chile and South Africa. Although the more subtle, leaner styles that I was looking for aren’t always the cheapest on offer, their prices compare favourably with a similar level of quality in France or Italy.

As all three countries explore new regions, and the newly planted vines mature, hopefully we will see an increasing focus on how their wines match with food. Sebastian De Martino explains “there’s a trend towards cool climate, but not necessarily towards food-friendly wines”. Thankfully, from what I tasted, the two go hand in hand.

Matt Walls writes about wine, runs tastings and works with restaurants to create wine lists. He blogs at www.mattwalls.co.uk and tweets @mattwallswine.

Should a £3.99 wine be an award-winning food match?

The results of this year’s What Food, What Wine? competition were announced yesterday and, as in previous years, I’m sure eyebrows will be raised at some of the trophy winners.

The award-winning under £10 wine with mushroom risotto, for example was a £3.992011 Toscano Rosso from Aldi while Blossom Hill’s 2012 Winemaker’s Reserve Chardonnay - Blossom Hill! - scooped the top award as a match with chicken korma.

Critics of wine competitions will no doubt feel vindicated that professional tasters can’t tell their a*** from their elbow when judging wines blind but as a member of the judging panel myself - which also included four MWs and a couple of fellow wine writers - I can assure you that these matches worked. The winning wines might not all have been ones I would have chosen personally but they were ones that the majority felt went best with the dishes which were all prepared to home-cooked recipes by TV cook Jo Pratt.

The fact is - as I remarked last year - you don’t necessarily need an expensive wine to create a successful wine match. In fact sometimes it gets in the way. And the fact that you can indulge in a spot of wine matching whatever your budget is surely something to be celebrated? It shouldn’t be the exclusive province of those who can afford expensive bottles and posh restaurants.

Other interesting results from the competition:

* The most successful wines overall were Spice Trail White 2012* (£6.49) an inexpensive aromatic white which won two trophies (for Chicken Tikka Masala and stir-fried prawns) and De Bortoli’s 2008 Deen Vat 5 Botrytis Semillon which scored 5 stars with both apple pie and custard and Stilton. (Though the trophy for apple pie went to Brancott’s Letter Series B Late Harvest 2011)

* It was good to see an English sparkler do well: the 2010 South Ridge Cuvée Merrett won the over £10 trophy with fish and chips (Cono Sur, surprisingly picked up the gong for best under £10 wine with their sparkling brut)

* The under £10 trophy for shepherd’s pie - a new category this year - was won by Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon 2011 and the over £10 by Vidal’s 2010 Reserve Series Syrah (so much for red Bordeaux, my usual go-to match). Vidal also scooped the trophy for the best wine over £10 with stir-fried king prawns with their White Series riesling 2011. In fact New Zealand came top of the trophies’ table with 7 trophies compared to France’s 5, Chile’s 4 and Australia’s 3.

* No trophies were awarded for wines with chocolate roulade which maybe highlights the difficulty of matching wine with chocolate or for wines under £10 with Christmas turkey though the winning over £10 wine - Hurtado Reserva Pinot Noir 2011 - only just tipped that price point at £10.99.

The greatest disappointment of the competition this year was that the winning wines were quite similar in style to those that won the previous year which at least shows consistency in the judging but perhaps a lack of adventurousness among the wineries, importers and retailers taking part. Hopefully introducing some new food categories which don't have the previous year’s results to draw on for inspiration will rectify that.

You can find the full list of winners and 5, 4 and 3 star-rated wines on the What Food, What Wine? website.

* Frustratingly the 2012 vintage we tasted seems impossible to track down at the moment. Booth's may have it next month (September 2013)

So what DO you pair with a blockbuster cabernet?

Talk to chefs and sommeliers about the wines they like to match with food and only rarely will Cabernet Sauvignon crop up. Many are, in fact, quite openly critical of the blockbuster style of many modern cabs.

Even Robert Parker, when I interviewed him a few years ago, expressed a preference for simple unoaked wines from the Rhone for much of his everyday drinking. Presumably though purchasers of the new world’s top cabernets are not just buying them to lie around their cellars. Somebody out there is enjoying them - but with what?

The obvious answer would seem to be large hunks of rare, red meat but not everyone is convinced about that. “I find that simple grilled meats like steaks have insufficient power to keep up with some of these wines” admits South African chef Pete Goff-Wood of Eat in Capetown. “The only way to prevent the wine from taking over completely is to go the slow-braised route with something like oxtail or a good daube of beef.”

Some fattiness in the meat is also a help with younger cabernets. Dishes like braised belly of pork or shoulder of lamb can kick a tannic cab into touch better than a super-lean cut like fillet. That needs to be balanced with a certain amount of acidity in the view of John Campbell, chef of The Vineyard at Stockcross who has many top quality Californian Cabernets on his list. “Sherry vinegar is ideal as it allows the fruit and the tannins in the wine to overlay the dish harmoniously.”

“In general the younger the wine the saltier, sweeter and fatter the food needs to be to go well with it” says former sommelier Larry Stone, now general manager of the Rubicon Estate. Undoubtedly there is a difference between European and American palates when it comes how meat is seasoned and what is served as an accompaniment which makes the American palate more tolerant to intense fruit flavours. “American chefs like to cook with fruit and serve it as an accompaniment to savoury courses probably more than our European counterparts” says Karen Cakebread of Cakebread Cellars. “One example that comes to mind would be venison or other wild game like duck with huckleberry sauce. The wild berry flavours in the sauce act as a natural bridge to the wines picked at these higher sugar levels.”

On the other hand one of the US top experts in food and wine matching Andrea Robinson points out that bitterness can also contribute to a successful match. “Bitter-edged veggies like broccoli rabe, grilled radicchio and roasted brussel sprouts are real winners. I also find the more pungent, piney herbs like rosemary basil and thyme really work well to pull out the cedar/eucalyptus elements in these wines.” (To which I would also add mint)

Australian food writer Lyndey Milan author of ‘Balance: Matching Food and Wine’ reckons the flavours of North African cuisine are particularly sympathetic to Australian cabernets. “Red meats flavoured with sweet aromatic spices like cumin, coriander and cinnamon (not chilli) work well especially with the older ‘two tooth’ type of lamb.” Cakebread backs her up on Moroccan flavours, pointing to the softening effect salty ingredients such as capers, olives and preserved lemons can have on the tannins of more robust wines.

Richly flavoured carbs also build a bridge to big cabs. A luxurious mash with plenty of butter and cream, a rich cheesey polenta or some earthy, mealy beans all have a mouthcoating quality that will mitigate tough tannins.

The way a wine is treated can also make it more food-friendly. “Critics of high alcohol wines are often complaining about temperature” says John Campbell. “If a wine is above 18 degrees C the alcohol volatility is increased and takes over from the true flavour of the cabernet. These wines really need to be drunk between 14 and 16 degrees.” Larry Stone agrees. “Many people who complain about the alcohol in Californian wines are very happy to recommend sake which often pushes to 17% ABV. Part of the reason for its greater acceptability is that it is served cool. I also tend to pay attention to the temperature a big, bold wine is served and may serve it at a cooler temperature if I feel the balance of fruit intensity is being outweighed by the perception of alcohol.”

Economic pressures and consumer demand on scarce wines also result in wines being released earlier than they ideally should be. Once no-one would have dreamt of drinking a top Bordeaux within the first five years of its life yet according to Janet Trefethen of Trefethen Vineyards “over 90% of US consumers age their wine in the back of their car en route from the grocery store to the dinner table. We are drinking our cabernets too young” she admits. Michel Roux of Le Gavroche, author of Matching Food and Wine, agrees. “The minimum should be 5 years - 7 years to be food-friendly. Ten years is better.” (I agree with him up to a point though I’d probably drink my cabernet a couple of years younger than he would.)

My own tips would be to avoid vast pools of intense winey reductions which are too similar to cabernet in flavour and consistency. Just serve a couple of spoonfuls of the accompanying jus and let the cabernet help with the job of saucing. Caramelised onions always seem to help matching big wines as does roasted or slow-cooked garlic. My ideal match would be a spice crusted barbecued butterflied leg of lamb which included salt, rosemary and cumin in the spice mix. I’d defy anyone not to enjoy a cabernet - blockbuster or otherwise - with that.

Love it
I don’t see a problem in matching big red wines especially not with such a classic grape variety as cabernet. To take such a position as a sommelier or wine writer seems oddly narrow-minded to me
Larry Stone, Rubicon Estate

Linguine pasta with mushrooms and caramelized onions with a touch of thyme leads me to the Cabernet/Bordeaux section of the cellar.
Janet Trefethen

Loathe it
I hate this fashion for big, extracted wines - the Parkerized wines of high alcohol and low tannins. I find them obvious and vulgar.
Raymond Blanc

They (blockbuster reds) are made to explode in front of the competition at wine tastings but they’re not that food friendly.
Heston Blumenthal

Cutting edge cabernet pairings:
Squab, treacle and rhubarb - John Campbell of The Vineyard at Stockcross

Lievre a la royale - Benoit Allauzen, sommelier at the Greenhouse, London

Well hung loin of wildebeest - Pete Goffe Wood, Eat, Capetown

Pot roast pork shoulder with prunes - Michel Roux, Le Gavroche

A good macaroni and cheese - US food and wine writer Andrea Robinson

Venison with huckleberry sauce - Karen Cakebread, Cakebread Cellars

This article was first published in the November 2006 issue of Decanter

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