Christine Austin's wines of the week from Booths, Waitrose, Morrisons and Tesco

E.H. Booth & Co. Fiano 2023, 12.5%, Italy, Booths £7.50: A terrific everyday price for this wine that is full of springtime blossom and peach notes. Close your eyes and it could be springtime in Italy.

Codorníu Zero Brut, Spain, down from £5 to £4 at Morrisons until January 19 with a More card: Liven up dry January with this no-alcohol Cava lookalike with dry, fresh flavours and a hint of spice on the finish.​

Mount Rozier Merlot 2023, South Africa, 11%, Tesco, down from £6.50 to £5.25 with a Clubcard until January 27: A soft supple wine with red berry fruit that goes wonderfully with pizzas, casseroles and pasta.​

Torres Ibéricos Tempranillo Crianza 2019, Rioja, Spain, 14%, Waitrose, down from £11.99 to £7.99 until January 21: A ripe, red berry-filled Rioja with peppercorn and spice notes this is a toe-warming wine for wintry days.​

By Appointment

Several Champagne houses have been awarded Royal Warrants to indicate that they are suppliers to the Royal Household. This allows them to use the Coat of Arms on the label, and the warrant is held for five years before it has to be applied for again.

Bollinger, Pol Roger, Louis Roederer, Moët and Chandon and Laurent-Perrier have all received the award, but it isn’t just French fizz that gets the accolade.

Camel Valley in Cornwall was the first producer of English wine to be awarded a Royal Warrant from the then Prince of Wales back in 2018.

Now HM The King and HM The Queen have both awarded Camel Valley their Warrants. ‘It is amazing’, said winemaker Sam Lindo. ‘We are honoured.’

Cava Goes Organic

There was a time when Cava was the poor relation of the sparkling wine shelves, but all that has changed with a gradual improvement in quality across the whole range of Cava wines including the top category, the single vineyard Paraje Calificado wines.

Now the target of 100% organic production for all Cava has been set and is due to be accomplished this year. The term ‘organic’ is starting to appear on many Cava labels and more will be added as the year progresses.

Low and no

It is at this time of year that we are all encouraged to go ‘dry’ and give up alcohol for a month. With various family birthdays, including my own, I find a whole dry month impossible, but I am happy to try a ‘damp’ January, with a few dry nights per week.

Mid-alcohol drinks at around 6 – 8% alcohol are starting to appear on the market to encourage us all to cut consumption.

6Percent is a new addition to this mid-strength range, at 6% alcohol. It is a Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from Bordeaux and has just 44 calories per 125 ml glass.

The alcohol has been reduced by technical means, leaving a perfectly fine, but unremarkable juicy, red berry style drink. Whether it is worth its £12.50 price tag (available online) is debatable.

As a way of reducing alcohol consumption, it will work, but why not just drink one glass of a decent, well-balanced wine instead of 2 glasses of mid-strength that hasn’t gone through various industrial processes to reduce the alcohol?