Wine and chocolate can be a great combination, and if you are planning to have a chocolate dessert or share a nice box of chocolates with that special someone this Valentine’s Day, here are three great options to consider:
This Jurançon from southwest France is a delightful wine made from Petit Manseng grapes. Not overly sweet, the wine has intense aromas of peach, apricot and nectarine on the nose, and flavours of peach and pineapple on the palate. It is a fresh and lively wine with a long finish and is a great introduction to a less well-known grape variety. Available from Waitrose £12.79 (50 cl)
This sweet wine from the Tokaj region of Hungary is made from a blend of Furmint and Hárslevelü grapes. It has pronounced aromas of honey, marmalade and dried apricot from the get-go, leading to intense flavours of peach, dried apricot, honey and orange peel on the palate. A full-bodied wine, with medium acidity and a long finish, this is a well-balanced, very good wine. Available fromWaitrose£19.99 (37.5 cl)
Campbell’s Rutherglen Muscat
This Rutherglen Muscat is a lusciously sweet wine from Victoria, Australia. Amber in colour, it is a rich wine made from a blend of vintages of Muscat à petit grains rouges (Rutherglen Brown Muscat) grapes. With aromas of raisins and caramel on the nose, and flavours of fruitcake, dates and nuts on the palate, this is smooth, wonderfully balanced wine. The sweetest of the three wines reviewed here, it is pure indulgence and wickedly moreish!
Ned Halley – The Best Wines in the Supermarkets 2021
This is a neat little book. Consider it the A-Z (well A-W anyway, Aldi to Waitrose) of supermarket wines. Now in its seventeenth consecutive edition, The Best Wines in the Supermarkets 2021 guide is a veritable mine of useful information: details of grape varieties, tips on drinking or keeping, serving and pairing and a useful wine vocabulary. And of course the all-important best buys across the supermarket range – red, white, pink, sparkling, even the odd fortified, and including the 27 wines rated a perfect 10 (five of which are under £6 a bottle).
Lots of suggestions to help you discover new wines and find something to suit your taste and budget, whether it’s a Gaillac Blanc from Sainsbury’s, a Michel Chapoutier Côtes du Rhône Villages from Tesco, a Cava Brut from Waitrose or anything else in between.
It’s the weekend and you’re looking for something to go with your fish dish. Or perhaps it’s a Wednesday and you just fancy something refreshing to drink on its own. Either way, you’d quite like a change from Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio, so how about a Picpoul de Pinet?
Picpoul de Pinet is produced in the Languedoc region of southern France, close to Montpellier, where the Picpoul (Piquepoul Blanc) grapes that are used to make the wine can enjoy the area’s wonderful sunshine and the cooling maritime influences of the nearby Bassin de Thau (Thau Lagoon) and the Mediterranean Sea. The very name Picpoul de Pinet conjures up summer holidays, seafood restaurants right by the sea, and pure indulgence. Just the ticket for a cold and grey February night. Well, any night in fact!
Lemon-green in colour, the Picpoul de Pinet Duc de Morny is a dry wine, with high acidity. Crisp apple, pear and grapefruit aromas on the nose with pleasant hints of acacia and blossom, and flavours of crunchy apples, grapefruit and melon, with a touch of tangy, saline minerality on the palate. This is a well-balanced wine with medium alcohol, medium (+) body, and a long finish.
The Thau Lagoon is the most important site for shellfish cultivation along the Mediterranean coast and so not surprisingly, Picpoul de Pinet from the neighbouring vineyards is a perfect match for oysters. But not being in the South of France, we settled for grilled mackerel and it paired very well. The fresh, lively acidity cut through the oily richness of the mackerel, and the wine and the fish were a textbook accompaniment for each other. It is also perfectly fine by itself.
If you enjoyed the Cahors Malbec the other day, you might want to try these other wines from the southwest region of France. Lying between the Pyrenees and the Massif Central, and somewhat overshadowed by neighbouring Bordeaux, this area is a veritable cornucopia of interesting grape varieties, many not found elsewhere, and is in my view, a greatly under-rated wine producing region. The huge diversity of grape varieties and wine styles found here is what makes the region so compelling for the wine enthusiast.
And with this wide variety of grapes, so too the wines they produce: from the sweet white wines of Monbazillacand the Merlot blends of Bergerac, to the historic ‘black wines’ of Cahors and the bold reds of Madiran, the dry and sweet white wines of Jurançon, at the foot of the Pyrenees, and the subtle and unique wines of the Gaillac appellation. There is something for everyone in this part of France and there are some wonderful dishes and cheeses to pair them with. It’s a gastronomic delight.
Ossau-Iraty, for example, goes well with a Gascony white; a light red Marcillac is a great match for a platter of cold meats; and duck confit with a Cahors or Madiran red go together like a horse and carriage. Try a chicken dish or seafood with a Gaillac white, and a cassoulet is a perfect match for a Gaillac red.
Southwest France is an Aladdin’s cave of new discoveries and here are three wines from the region to whet your appetite. And all under a tenner!
Gaillac Rouge 2019, Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference
This dry red wine is a blend of local grape varieties Braucol and Duras, together with the more familiar Syrah, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. With aromas of blackberry and cherry, and a hint of peppery spice on the nose, and flavours of raspberry, black cherry and blackberry with a hint of vanilla on the palate. Medium-bodied, with medium tannins and medium alcohol, this is a well-balanced wine which will go well with a stew or casserole. Sainsbury’s £8
Jurançon Sec, Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference
Tucked away in the foothills of the Pyrenees near the town of Pau, Jurançon has been known for its wines since the Middle Ages. This Jurançon Sec is a dry wine made from Gros Manseng and Petit Manseng grapes, both indigenous to the region. With aromas of apple, pear, peach and nectarine on the nose, and apple, pear and grapefruit on the palate, the wine has medium (+) acidity, medium alcohol and a medium (+) finish.
This is a well-balanced wine which can be served as an aperitif or with a spicy Asian dish. We enjoyed it with Korean Yangnyeom chicken – spicy, fried chicken. It’s a great introduction to this oft overlooked wine. Sainsbury’s £7.50
Gaillac Blanc 2019, Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference
This is another recent discovery. The Gaillac Blanc is made from the Len de l’El (Loin de l’oeil) grape, so called because the bunches of grapes hang quite low, so quite some way from the bud (the ‘eye’) they grew from. The grape is indigenous to the region and all Gaillac Blanc wines must contain at least a percentage of it to qualify for the appellation.
A crisp, dry white wine of medium (+) acidity, this is a medium bodied wine which is very well balanced. It has aromas of apple, pear, peach and orange on the nose, with apple, grapefruit and orange flavours, and a hint of flintiness on the palate. An excellent match for fish. Sainsbury’s £8
If you’re looking for something to brighten up these dark, grey January days, this little bit of sunshine from Surrey is just the ticket. It’s also a great opportunity to branch out from firm favourites such as Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio and Chardonnay, and explore something different – a good old English wine.
Denbies’ Surrey Gold is a blend of Müller-Thurgau, Ortega and Bacchus grapes. Older readers might remember Müller-Thurgau from the 80s when Liebfraumilch and the like were all the rage in the UK. Believe me, this is a step up from those rather bland German wines of old.
Ortega is a Müller-Thurgau/Siegerrebe crossing which adds a touch of sweetness and aromatics to a blend. And Bacchus, a rising-star in English wine making, is another German crossing (Müller-Thurgau / Riesling-Silvaner), and brings flavour and character to a blend. (Great name for a grape variety, to boot!)
Denbies have been producing wine since the late 1980s and have grown to become the largest wine producer in the UK. They now produce over a million bottles of wine a year.
Surrey Gold is an off-dry white wine with intense floral aromas of elderflower and honeysuckle on the nose, and flavours of green apple, lemon and peach on the palate. There is also a pleasant flintiness and a hint of spice. The wine has medium acidity and a medium (+) finish, and is medium-bodied. The off-dry nature of the wine makes it a good match for a spicy or an Asian-inspired dish.
Like most people you probably think of Argentina when you think of Malbec. That is hardly surprising since over 70% of wines produced from Malbec grapes are from the country. But its origin, of course, was France, southwest France, where once upon a time the ‘black wine’, as it was known, accounted for more than half of the exports from the port of Bordeaux. After a period of decline lasting several hundred years until the latter half of the 20th century, efforts were made to revive Malbec in its home region.
But this wine from Georges Vigouroux is an excellent example of what a Cahors Malbec can be. The Vigouroux family has been producing Malbec since 1887 and was instrumental in the work to raise the profile of the grape variety in the Cahors region from the 1940s.
Le Grand Retour (The Great Comeback) celebrates Malbec’s revival in Cahors. It is a dry wine with medium (+) acidity and medium tannins, and has aromas of blackberry, bramble and spice on the nose, and blackberry, jamminess and a hint of chocolate and liquorice on the palate. It is a well-balanced wine, medium-bodied, with a medium (+) finish and medium alcohol.
We enjoyed it with duck but it will go well with lamb, and it is a perfect match for cassoulet, the rustic pork and bean casserole from the region. Call me sentimental, but I do like to try wines with a back story and this is one that has a happy ending!  Majestic £11.99 (Mix Six £9.99)
For something a little different this New Year, this Grüner Veltliner white wine from Niederösterreich (Lower Austria) serves as an excellent aperitif and is a very good match for a seafood dish. A dry wine with medium (+) acidity, it has aromas of apple, pear, lemon and grapefruit, with a hint of pepper and peach on the palate.  It is well-balanced and has a long finish, and is a very good example of the high-quality yet reasonably priced wines you can find from Austria these days. Waitrose £12.49
Le Sabbie Dell’Etna Rosso, DOC Etna 2018 (Italy)
Italian wines never fail to surprise (and delight) me, and this is a little gem. Dry, with high acidity and medium tannins, this wine from the slopes of Sicily’s Mt Etna is a blend of Nerrelo Mascalese and Nerrelo Cappucio, and has pronounced aromas of redcurrant and red cherry, with hints of cedar and a touch of earthiness, on the nose, and intense flavours of raspberry and redcurrant, spice and cloves on the palate. A medium-bodied wine with a medium (+) finish. If you are looking for something to brighten up your new year, this is it! Waitrose (£12.99)
Although this year you may not be having quite as many family and friends coming to visit over the Christmas period, you’ll still want to have a few choice wines to enjoy with your food as well as a few bottles to savour when you’re watching your Christmas favourites or simply chilling out.
If sherry is your pre-prandial tipple, the Don Gaspar Dry Amontillado Lustau from Waitrose (£11.99) has a pleasant nutty and dried fruit flavour on the palate with a hint of tanginess. Perfect with cured meats, manchego and olives.
Tesco’s Finest Prosecco Valdobbiadene DOCG is very good value at £10. Produced from grapes grown on the steep limestone hills northwest of Venice, this is a refreshing sparkling wine with flavours of apple, pear and peach, and a smooth, lively fizz.
The St Aubin Premier Cru Domaine Thomas 2018 white Burgundy is a very good wine with flavours of lemon, lime and peach, and buttery, toasty undertones. A well-balanced wine, it has a textual richness that will handle the multitude of flavours associated with a festive turkey (or other richly flavoured dishes) perfectly well if you prefer white wine with your main. Waitrose (£25.99).
Sainsbury’sTaste the Difference Marques de Almeida Albariño is a steal at £8.50. With fragrant fruity aromas and flavours of peach and tropical fruits, this is a dry, light and crisp wine that goes well with smoked salmon, and is perfectly fine by itself.
Red wines
With all the complex interplay of flavours associated with a traditional Christmas turkey lunch, a wine with lower tannins will cope better. The finely balanced tannin and acidity of the Mud House Pinot Noir 2019 from Central Otago in New Zealand has the fresh fruit flavours and dash of spice to be an excellent match for your turkey and trimmings. Majestic Wine (£13.99/ £10.99 Mix Six); Waitrose (£10.99)
A Beaujolais will go well with duck and this Fleurie Beaujolais 2018 Georges Duboeuf is tried and tested. A light, refreshing medium-bodied wine with medium acidity, the intense fruity flavours of raspberry and strawberry stand up well to the strong flavour of the meat. Majestic Wine (£12.99/ £10.99 Mix Six)
For something bolder, this Bardos Romantica Ribera del Duero 2017(Crianza) Spanish Tempranillo is a very good full-bodied wine with intense black fruit flavours and a hint of spice and vanilla from the barrel ageing. It will hold its own with roast beef or similar strong flavours. Majestic Wine (£14.99 / £11.99 Mix Six)
Dessert wines
Christmas, especially this Christmas, is a time for indulgence. And what nicer indulgence than a glass of port? Taylor’s 10-year old Tawny Port has a fruity, nutty flavour to be enjoyed with cheese, dessert or post-lunch while watching the Queen’s speech. Well, anytime really. Waitrose (£22.49)
Another treat isthe Hungarian Disznókö Tokaji Aszú 5 Puttonyos 2017 from Waitrose (£19.99). This is a well-balanced, very good wine with flavours of peach, dried apricot, honey and orange peel. A perfect match for cheese or dessert.
Or perhaps a Sauternes? Les Garonelles, Sauternes 2017 is a blend of Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadelle grapes. With flavours of passionfruit and apricot , it is an elegant, well-balanced wine which is a perfect pairing for dessert. Great Wine Co. (£11.50 half bottle).
Merry Christmas! Look out for more wine suggestions from around the world in 2021. Cheers!
Made from Gamay grapes grown on the alluvial plains of the Beaujolais region of Eastern France, Beaujolais Nouveau is specifically made for early drinking. Bottled just weeks after the grapes have been harvested, and using a wine-making technique known as carbonic maceration, the wine is typically lighter-bodied, fresh and fruity.
The wines cannot be released for sale until the third Thursday in November … today … and though this year’s celebrations will be rather muted, typically Beaujolais Day is a good excuse to party, whether in Lyon, Paris, London, Tokyo, New York or elsewhere.
I ordered my bottle of Jean Loron Beaujolais Nouveau 2020 in advance and was able to enjoy it earlier today. Here are my thoughts –Â Â
the wine is medium purple in colour and has intense aromas of raspberry, strawberry and cranberry with a hint of bubble gum on the nose, and intense red fruits flavours on the palate. Dry, with low tannin and medium + acidity, it is a light bodied wine with a medium finish. It’s a perfectly agreeable wine, fine to enjoy by itself or with something light to accompany it. We had it with gyoza (Japanese dumplings).
I hedged my bets and ordered two bottles. I’m so glad I did – I can now look forward to enjoying the second bottle in January or February when we’re in the depths of winter and I need something to put me in a cheery mood!
But for now, let’s celebrate the Beaujolais harvest.
