'My favourite wines of the week from Booths, Waitrose, Sainsbury's and Morrisons'
Christine Austin gives us tips on the best wines of the week, as well as how you can prepare early for this year’s festive period.
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Wines of the Week
Sorcova Fetească Regală 2023, Romania, 11%, Waitrose £9 down to £6 until 28 October: Packed full of delicious aromatic honeysuckle notes with peach, crunchy apples and a sprinkle of spice, this goes well with lightly spiced dishes.
Tohu Sauvignon Blanc 2024, Awatere, New Zealand, 13%, Booths down from £14.75 to £12.75 until 21 October: From the more remote and breezier part of Marlborough, this is a lively, lean style of Sauvignon with gooseberry, passionfruit and minerally flavours.
Laurent Delaunay Les Grappillages Fleurie 2023, France, 13%, Morrisons down from £12 to £10 with a More card until 18 November: Light floral notes with blackberry, fig and just a touch of spice, this is a wine for autumn suppers alongside charcuterie or roast chicken.
Bosman Merlot Generation 8, 2023, South Africa, 13.5%, Sainsbury down from £9.50 to £8.50 with a Nectar card until 14 October: Easy drinking plums and dark cherry fruit with smooth tannins. Bosman is an outstanding company where eight generations of owners and workers have farmed together.
Chez Vin Wine Fair
Make sure you get your tickets for Chez Vin Wine Fair to be held at Otley Rugby Club on October 10.
There will be a wide range of wines on show, usually between 80 and 100 available to taste, and there will be a Hog Roast and tapas available to help the evening go with a swing.
This is always a great event, with exceptional wines available to taste. Tickets cost £30, ring David on 01943 466143 to reserve your place.
Festive Specials
Campbells of Leyburn are the first of our Yorkshire independent merchants to mention that upcoming winter festivity and have a whole rack of special buys to tempt you to stock up early.
Top deals include Altano Douro Branco 2023, a white wine from Portugal that has all the right flavours to sit alongside a roast chicken or creamy pasta.
With orchard and peach fruit flavours backed by citrus, this is a winter weight white and is now down from £13.49 to £10.99.
Also well worth snapping up and maybe tucking a couple of bottles away is Seriously Old Dirt 2022, down from £29.49 to £23.99. This is the ‘starter’ wine from the Vilafonte estate and is seriously good.
Smart Travelling in Tuscany
I love going to Tuscany out of season. It is the only time to wander those gorgeous streets of Florence without getting trampled by hordes of tourists being led by a lady with a flag and a megaphone.
But if you want to visit vineyards, then go when there is sunshine, and you can wander through vineyards and taste wine at wineries.
The Smart Traveller’s Wine Guide by Paul Caputo, published by Academie du Vin Library (£12.99), starts with a map – just a rudimentary map, but this is vital to understand the region.
It leads on through a snapshot of history, a summary of grapes grown and then expands into where to go to appreciate the countryside and towns of Tuscany; places like Siena, San Gimignano, Montepulciano and Bolgheri.
Then comes the vital information – the wineries that welcome visitors, followed by where to eat. Pocket-sized, this is an essential guide to getting the most out of a visit to Tuscany.