Best buys
Mostly wine but occasionally beer, whisky, gin and other drinks that I think represent really good value. Sometimes because they're on promotion, at other times because they're exceptional quality.
Zünftler Black Forest Cherry Schnapps
If you’re planning to celebrate the start of Oktoberfest this weekend (yes, in September - I *know*) snap up this full-size bottle of Zünftler cherry schnapps from Lidl for just £14.99
Wine of the week: Tesco finest McLaren Vale GSM 2015
If you’re mystified by the initials GSM they stand for grenache, syrah and mourvèdre, three Rhône grape varieties which are often blended together in Australia to make generous hearty reds.
Wine of the week: Terre di Faiano Primitivo Salento 2015
Today, if you weren’t aware, is the first day of Organic September, a month-long celebration of organic food and drink. So maybe a good opportunity to explore organic wine.
Wine of the week: Black Star 2016
This is the second of two really good German reds I’ve come across this summer*. It may surprise you that Germany makes red wine at all but it now makes up a significant amount of what the country produces
Gin of the month: Audemus Esprit d'Eté
If you've developed a bit of a collector's habit when it comes to gin here's a truly limited edition one of which only 200 bottles were originally made
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.
Morrisons The Best Marques de Los Rios Rioja Blanco Reserva 2011
I’m flagging this up not because I think you’re all going to love it - mature white wines are not for everyone* - but because I think it’s a fantastic achievement for a supermarket to stock a six year old wine of such quality in its own label range.
Drink of the week: Sawanotsuru sake
Always on the ball Aldi announced this week that it had added a sake to its drinks range. Not quite the bargain it first appears when you discover the bottle is £3.99 for just 300ml but that’s enough for two and interesting nonetheless.
Wine of the week: Millton Te Arai Chenin Blanc 2015
This is not so much a new find as a rediscovery. I’ve been a fan of James Millton’s wines since the early 1990s when he was virtually a lone pioneer of biodynamics and each time I revisit them they get better and better.
Drink of the week: Cawston Press Apple and Rhubarb Juice
I’m continually on the lookout for soft drinks that are not too sweet as I know there’s a big demand for them. This isn’t perfect - it’s still a fruit juice so quite high in sugar - but it is genuinely refreshing.
Wine of the week: Morande One to One Pais
They say that the best wine is the bottle that’s empty at the end of the evening and so it proved with this light Chilean red which I shared with my neighbours the other night.
Shackleton blended malt whisky
I’m not a big fan of buying whisky for Father’s Day - it always seems a bit of a cliché - but this new blended malt from Whyte & Mackay is such a great bottle it’s an absolute must for any whisky-loving dad (or mum, come to that!)
Best Waitrose wine buys - June 2017
Waitrose has raised the bar in the discounting war by offering a 25% discount on three rather than six bottles or more. So what should you buy?
Colinas de Uruguay Albarino
If you’re a fan of albarino, Spain’s iconic white wine, here’s a chance to get a cracking bottle from an unlikely source - Uruguay!
Earth’s Essence Shiraz 2016
If you’re someone who is sensitive to sulphur but not convinced by natural wines Earth’s Essence shiraz is for you.
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Three chocolatey beers for Easter
As you can see from the new chocolate e-book I’ve been doing quite a lot of *research* into chocolate and chocolate-flavoured drinks and beer is no exception.
Indulgent chocolate drinks for Easter
Why should the kids have all the fun at Easter? These days there are a number of indulgent chocolate-flavoured liqueurs and wines that make up for being (almost) too old for an Easter egg.
Feeney’s Irish Cream Liqueur
If you’re not a fan of whiskey or the black stuff* there’s another way you can celebrate St Patrick’s Day this week and that is with Feeney’s Irish cream liqueur.
Wine of the week: Mas Sardana Cava Brut Nature
I seem to be spending a great deal of time at the moment trying to persuade my readers to drink cava which, pound for pound, is at least equal to if not better value than prosecco.
Gundog Estate Wild Semillon 2015
As I pointed out in my Guardian column this week Australian wines are fetching some pretty steep prices but to drink a Hunter Valley semillon of this quality it’s absolutely worth it.
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