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.
10 top wine buys from Aldi
Aldi held their (socially distanced) autumn wine tasting in London the other week. As usual there were some really good buys, mostly under £7 with a couple of more expensive ones that are well worth the money. These were my standout buys.
Terrenal Garnacha
Marks & Spencer might not be the first place you think of looking for a wine bargain but their Terrenal garnacha from the Cariñena region of Spain is an absolute steal.
Heston’s Lazy Sunshine Gin
What to make of Heston’s Lazy Sunshine Gin, his latest collaboration with Waitrose?
Le Malbec d’Hervé, Pays d’Oc 2019
The Languedoc probably isn’t the first place you think to look for malbec and if you’re in love with the seductively, lush Argentinian style you may even be a touch disappointed but as someone who sometimes finds new world malbec a bit too full on this Malbec d'Hervé is right up my street.
Domaine Gueguen Sacy Cepage Confidentiel Coteaux Bourguignons 2018
It’s always a thrill to come across a grape variety you don’t know, especially from an area with which you’re fairly familiar and when it adds another dimension to the wines already on offer there.
Bosman Adama Fairtrade Red 2017
The South African wine industry has had a torrid 2020 so far with a ban on exports back in April and now a ban for the second time on domestic sales, citing the pressure that hospitals are under dealing with the high levels of alcohol abuse on top of the COVID crisis.
Morrisons The Best Muscadet Sevre et Maine sur Lie
If you're looking for a crisp dry wine to drink with seafood muscadet fits the bill perfectly.
All Angels Classic Cuvée and sparkling rosé
There’s so much English fizz around now it takes something special to make them stand out. These two All Angels wines, have the advantage, for a start, of coming from Berkshire, a county which is not as well known for its wines as more southerly counties such as Hampshire, Sussex and Kent.
Wine of the week: Rafala Tinto Tempranillo
It may be so-called flaming June but the weather is anything but summery this weekend so I’m abandoning rosé for the time being and thinking about red.
Yonder Raspberry Gose
Anyone who doubts the value of being on Twitter - as I do myself from time to time - should factor in the bonus of having access to insider knowledge.
Two really good wines to buy from Help 4 Hospitality
As I'm sure you know the hospitality industry - i.e. restaurants, pubs and hotels - is in dire straits with no clear idea when businesses can reopen or even if they’ll be viable if they do.
6 wines from grapes that begin with VE to drink on VE day
With VE day coming up on Friday you may have already made plans for what you’re going to eat and drink which could well be home-grown, UK produced, wine, beer or cider.
Wine of the Week: Rothley Wine Warhorse Red
Leicestershire isn’t the first place that comes to mind when you think about English wine but I’ve been very struck by two wines I’ve tasted from Rothley Wine.
Wine of the week: Ventisquero Root: 1 Carmenere
Recommending a specific wine is a bit of a lottery at the moment. I had planned to tell you about this seductively velvety Chilean red a few days ago but couldn’t get get into the Morrisons site. But I’m hoping you can find the odd bottle in store although its current sharp promotional price of £6 (until April 4th) may make that a long shot.
10 wines to buy from Lidl
With supermarket wine aisles looking severely depleted it was good to hear this week that Lidl was going ahead with its usual bi-monthly Wine Tour in the UK, starting today. Not all the wines might be available in all branches and there may be restrictions on the number you can buy but take advantage while you can.
Chianti in magnum from Lidl
The more, er ... mature ... among you may remember when you went to an Italian restaurant and found a round straw-covered bottle of Chianti on the table, often with a guttering candle stuck in the neck and wax (always red) dripping down the side. It’s rather weirdly called a fiasco - which is Italian for flask as well as referring to a disaster. Like Brexit. Or Boris.
The Society’s Saint-Aubin 2017: a poor man’s Puligny-Montrachet
This wine is a winner on three counts - it’s from a lesser-known - and very good value - Burgundy appellation, Saint-Aubin, which is just next door to the better known and more expensive Puligny-Montrachet, it comes from the excellent 2017 vintage and it's an own label bottling from the admirable Wine Society,
Wine of the week: Artesano de Argento Organic Malbec Cabernet Franc 2018
In the past Fairtade Fortnight has been nothing to get excited about in wine terms, so much so that I’ve tended to give up writing about it but - hallelujah - here is an absolutely cracking Argentinian red I’d be happy to snap up, Fairtrade or not.
Il Passo Segreto Appassimento Sangiovese
Confession time. Off-dry reds like this 2017 Il Passo Segreto Appassimento Sangiovese are not really my thing but it’s hard to think of a more romantic looking bottle and if you’ve got a sweeter tooth than I have (not hard) you’ll love it.
Jukes Cordiality 6
Of all the alcohol-free products I’ve tasted recently - and I’ve tried a lot - this is the most ingenious. It’s not a full-size bottle for a start but a smart looking box of phials - 9 of them - each containing 30 ml of a concentrated cordial you dilute 10 to 1 (or to taste) with still or sparkling water or tonic.
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