The similarly aromatic crisp profile of these grape varieties makes it easy to see what might cause this confusion, but the surprise arises due to the very different receptions to these two wines.

Riesling is somewhat of an unpopular wine in the UK, perhaps owing to its association with the mid-1970s when there was a relative lack of sophistication amongst British wine drinkers and limited choice on the high street.

Off-dry incarnations of German Riesling alongside their country “cousins”, Piesporter and Liebfraumilch, were widely available but didn’t make for particularly enjoyable drinking. Their popularity was also hindered by the angry-looking depictions of eagles or kitsch castle scenes emblazoned on their labels, and unappealing Teutonic font.

Those labels can still be found today, but there has thankfully been a commercial realisation in Germany that this anachronistic sweet style is no longer commercially viable and that the UK consumer overwhelmingly prefers drier whites.

German producers have always produced dry Rieslings of conspicuous quality and elegance, they just rarely exported them to the UK due to a lack of interest. With the demise of the off-dry style, it’s time Britain reacquainted itself with the “new” Germans.

To find the drier style, look for the term “Qualitätswein” on the label to indicate the wine’s level of sweetness. Bottles with the word “Trocken” on the label will have less than nine grams per litre of residual sugar, a similar level to other popular dry wines.

I adore the crisp acidity of a Riesling balanced with its fruity flavour, and, with more modern labels appearing in the market, the rise of German Riesling could be something to look out for in the future. You never know, it might come to replace Sauvignon Blanc as your favourite tipple.

 Here are some delicious examples that I would encourage you to seek out.

The biodynamic one:

Sybille Kuntz Riesling Qualitätswein Trocken – £15.99 from de Burgh Wine Merchants

The big one:

Riesling Troken Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt – (Magnum) £49.00 from Yapp Bros

The fun one:

Allendorf ‘Save water drink Riesling’ Dry – £13.35 from The WineBarn

With this level of complexity, as far as wine is concerned, the Italian peninsula can be split into the “aristocratic” north, the “agricultural” centre and the “peasant” south. Although this can be seen as a touch anachronistic, there is truth in the monikers due to the historical spread of the famous and “high ticket” wines from this beautiful country.

Northern Italy is home to multiple famous wines that have significant provenance and, in most cases, a cultlike following, such as Barolo from Piedmont, Amarone from Veneto and Chianti Classico and Brunello di Montalcino from the central province of Tuscany. My advice, however, is to direct your gaze to the deep south for a really interesting glass.

Calabria, Basilicata and Puglia are the three provinces of Italy that make up the toe, instep and heel of Italy. Although historically these regions have suffered from great poverty, it is also a part of the country that is breathtakingly beautiful. If you have seen the most recent Bond film, the opening shoot-out was filmed in the stunning town of Matera, in Basilicata and the diminutive conical stone-roofed “Trulli” of Puglia is also a sight to behold.

That said, the true gems of these southern areas are their wines; ancient grape varieties that predate even the Romans.

Arguably the most famous of these southern stunners is the Primitivo grape (literally meaning “the primitive one”) of Puglia. The darkness of this grape’s skin and its sugary pulp make it a generous and well-loved workhorse of the Pugliese winemaker.

Italy’s mountainous “toe” is the province of Calabria, an area dominated by two grape varieties; Gaglioppo, a red and Greco, a white. The most famous is the Greco which came with the early settlers from Greece and found its calling when air-dried before pressing to produce a high in alcohol, succulent sweet wine known as Greco di Bianco.

Then we get to Basilicata, the “instep” of Italy that produces very exciting wine at the moment, specifically from the Aglianico del Vulture grape. This intensely flavoured and well-structured red wine has tremendous ageing potential. It has been so highly lauded in recent years that the Aglianico del Vulture Superiore has been recently promoted to DOCG — Italy’s highest quality level for wine and a superb signpost of the quality being produced.

Establishing a reputation with often hard-to-pronounce and unfamiliar grape varieties is desperately hard and a long, drawn-out process. Please don’t be shy though, as your favourite merchant (if they’re worth their salt) should be able to point you in the direction of a superb value southern Italian that will have you zipping back for more.

The Calabrese

Ippolito 1845 ‘Colli Del Mancuso’, Rosso Riserva – £19.49 from Winebuyers.com

The Basilicatan

Basilisco ‘Sophia’, Basilicata 2019 – £16.37 from Winebuyers.com

The Pugliese

Schola Sarmenti Nerio Reserv Nardo DOC – £14.99 from Virgin Wines

Unlike the United States to the north, where the colonising Europeans made their wine from the indigenous Vitis Labrusca grapes, Argentina and its next-door neighbour Chile were wholly reliant on the Vitis Vinifera vines brought from Spain by the first fleets. The Spanish and their predecessors on the Iberian Peninsula had, of course, been making wine since Roman times — taking vines with them was a perfectly natural thing to do.

It is interesting to note there is a rivalry between Chile and Argentina not dissimilar to our own rivalry between England and Scotland, which is particularly acute when it comes to wine. Some believe the success of Argentina’s wine production can be demonstrably shown to be due to Chilean
intervention. Others strongly disagree.

Due to an early lack of expertise and understanding of the local terroir, the original vines that came with the Spanish settlers failed to take in Argentina. Chile had made many of those mistakes already having been cultivating vines earlier and was able to bring the required knowledge and plant material across the Andes to Mendoza. After three failed attempts to establish vines in Argentina, the “fourth time lucky” was due to using these Chilean cultured vines and expertise. A humbling experience for Argentinians I am sure.

It is the skilful use of dams and irrigation utilising the meltwater from Andean mountain snow that allowed the early wine pioneers to establish their crop in the Western province of Mendoza. A huge degree of “nous” was also used to produce wines that survived the long wagon trains back to the population centre of Buenos Aires, on the other side of the country. 

Argentina has had a commercial wine industry since the late 1500s; it’s an interesting misnomer that we Brits continue to call it “New World” wine, despite the fact that Argentineans have been selling their vinous products longer than some of the famous names in the “Old World”.

The modern Argentinean wine is based on Malbec, a deep-coloured and fruity red wine made from an “immigrant” French grape variety. Ironically, this grape, widely available in the UK, has never found as widespread success when it comes from its birthplace, the town of Cahors in the south of France. 

The most likely reason for this is because the wine from this region is an intensely deep, dark and tannic Malbec that can be hugely palate — a wine to only have with the heartiest red meat-based dishes, never on its own. 

As a general rule, the Argentinean version has mastered the commercially successful art of being enjoyable with or without food, although do not be misled as there are some “big beasts” out there.

Quality producers are far more widespread across South America than you think. I believe that the British consumer fails to really investigate the superb wines that come specifically from Argentina. 

From their delicious ripe Cabernet Sauvignons to the aromatic beauty of their Torrontes wines, they have both red and white Argentinian wine varieties that can satisfy both the everyday imbiber and the most curious.

Top-shelf Argentinian wines to try:

Riccitelli Vineyard Sellection Malbec from Selfridges – £36.99 per bottle

Catena Alta Cabernet Sauvignon from North & South Wines – £199.99 for 6 bottles

Zuccardi Serie A Torrontes from 8wines.com – £10.65 per bottle

As a tall, rugby-playing man I have been a rosé drinker for most of my adult life (the drier the better) and it delights me to challenge that hackneyed nonsense that it is a feminine drink— rosé is for everyone.

Someone once told me they didn’t drink rosé as it was poor quality and often just a blend of the leftover white and red wine. This is absolutely not the case. Rosé can be made in one of four ways; and each can produce high-quality, delicious wine.

The most widely used method is a process called “limited skin maceration”. Here the hue of the rosé is directly attributable to the time the juice remains in contact with the remaining skin of the grape; always using red grapes, it is the naturally occurring dye in the skin that creates the colour. This soaking can be anywhere from six to 48 hours — the fewer the hours the lighter the rosé.

“Direct pressing” is a method used to produce the lightest-coloured rosés. Here the red grapes are vinified as one would a white wine with the natural colour tones coming from the shortest possible skin contact. The benefit of this style is the emphasis on the notes of fresh red berries — strawberry and cranberry.

Saignée or “bleeding” method is one used to produce wines that are likely to be a bit richer in style — specifically used by some of the famous Grande Marque champagne houses. Here the red wine process is begun before winemakers bleed off a portion of the juice within a few hours of the fermentation process beginning. The red wine and the rosé drawn off will then finish fermenting separately. If you have enjoyed rosé champagne from the Roederer, Laurent Perrier or Delamotte houses, this will be a style you have already tried.

The final, and probably most obvious way to make rosé is the blending method. Obvious yes, but prohibited in Europe for any wines that claim specific regions of origin —with one exception. Champagne is the only wine in Europe that can legally blend a portion of red wine into white wine to create rosé.
Here it is tradition to use a touch of the famous “Bouzy Rouge” Pinot Noir to bring the pink tones to their wines; not much is required, and it accounts for only five per cent of the final product.

I hope you’ll agree that rosé really is a serious product and a perfect wine for those long rolling days of British summer to come.

Try these:

The Unusual: Schola Sarmenti Masserei Rose, Puglia, Italy from Virgin Wines – £11.99

The “Celeb”: Ch. Miraval Provençale Rose from Fortnum & Mason – £19.50

The Superb Value Fizz: Champagne Nicolas Maillart Rose Grand Cru NV – £36

On the Queen’s coronation day in 1953, the German Moselle Brauenberger 1943 and Champagne Krug 1945 were two of the wines served at the coronation banquet; it is a sign of the times that these wines have either fallen out of the British public’s favour or become prohibitively expensive. 

Since the 1950s, our palates and day-to-day drinking habits have changed tremendously; there is a multitude of modern wines that would be viewed as little more than local curiosities when the coronation was happening. For most of us, a time before Prosecco, Pinot Grigio and Malbec seems almost unfeasible. 

We are spoilt for choice these days, but here’s my guide to what to drink over the Platinum Jubilee weekend.

Beer: Joker IPA from Williams Bros. Brewery at £1.90 per 500ml bottle – Waitrose

Kick off the celebrations with an IPA, or India Pale Ale. British sailors, on their way to India, filled their light ale barrels with hops as a preservative, which in time reduced the fruitiness and created a citrus tang that brewers now emphasise. With a cornucopia of exciting beers being produced around the UK, I’ve chosen my favourite Scottish brewer Williams Bros from Alloa and their Joker IPA.

Wine: Platinum Jubilee Pageant Edition Whispering Angel Rosé 2021 at £22.50 from Harvey Nichols

Watching the Platinum Party at the palace should be enjoyed with a delicious glass of Provençale rose. This beautifully crisp and dry rosé from the south of France is growing hugely year on year. Whispering Angel is a fragrant and aromatic red fruit-driven wine, made famous by the superb Caves d’Escalans. As an official partner of the celebrations, they have created a special Platinum Jubilee Edition, perfect to drink over the Platinum Jubilee weekend.

Spirit: Hendrick’s Orbium Gin at £33.03 from Master of Malt

Finally, with more than 70,000 “Big Jubilee Lunches” planned in the four UK nations on Sunday, there could be nothing better than a quintessentially British gin and tonic to enjoy with the neighbours. This much-loved drink was first referenced in print as late as 1868, but there has been a gin boom in recent years. For my money, few can beat the delicious Hendrick’s. Orbium is one of the newer variations, distilled with additional extracts of quinine, wormwood and blue lotus blossom.

The tectonic battle was followed by vigorous volcanic activity that was subsequently flooded by the Mediterranean to produce the granitic soil of the Northern Rhone and the multi-layered marine deposit rich terroir of the Southern Rhone.

It is not just this ancient seismic activity that bears a relationship to the wines these areas produce; since the fourth century BC, wine has been cultivated in this region — initially by the colonising Greeks around what is known today as Marseille. The wines later became so highly prized by the occupying Romans that they made it to the highest tables in Rome itself.

Whilst wines from the Rhone may be robust and full-bodied, the clay, gravel and limestone of the Southern Rhone are what drive the flavours and structure so recognisable from this part of France. 

A Syrah found in the northern Rhone village of St. Joseph may be a “desert island” wine for me, but it is the generosity, colour and aromatics that bring me back to the Grenache of Gigondas in the southern half, almost every time.

Like the rest of the Rhone, vines have been in Gigondas since the veterans of the second Roman legion were farming their plots post their service to the state. 

The oldest written evidence dates back to the 12th century, and city ordinance shows local producers were forbidden to trade their wines with “foreigners” — they knew how good the wine was even back then.

As with all wine, a defining factor is the location of the vine. To qualify for the Gigondas appellation the grapes must be sourced exclusively from the eponymous town which lies at the foot of the “Dentelle de Montmirail” a ridge of hard limestone in this sub-Alpine range. 

This mixture of marl, a soil rich in ancient marine deposits and the limestone, creates the wine’s complexity, elegance, and subtle tannic structure.

Like its stratospherically famous neighbour Chateauneuf du Papes, Gigondas is a wine made by blending different grape varieties; in this case, wines are dominated by Grenache Noir, with an allowance of Syrah and Mourvedre. 

The concoction of these Rhone stalwarts produces a brooding dark colour and wine with spiced aromas that have a silky texture and full body. 

This bigger style of red might seem intimidating but the generous nature of the wines makes them an absolute dream to enjoy as much with a steak as with a cottage pie or lasagne. The wines from Gigondas really are worth the effort to seek out.

Try these:

Blason du Rhone Gigondas from Waitrose at £15.99

Gigondas 2016, Guigal from Majestic at £22.99

Gigondas Grand Romane Amadieu 2018 from the Wine Society

The two “aristocratic” northern regions of Piemonte in the west and Veneto in the east, produce Barolo and Amarone, probably the most instantly recognisable names of Italian fine wine. 

Both are classy and structurally complex, but they differ quite considerably in both their make-up and production methods.

Barolo is produced from Nebbiolo, a grape named after the fog (or “nebbia”) that descends on the Langhe subregion of Piemonte. This is a wine that needs judicious ageing to integrate the youthfully high tannins and balance with the other characteristics, but that showcases the benefits of leaving the liquid to mature. 

When it hits that sweet spot of ageing, tasting the highly prized signature flavour of “tar and roses” is a breathtaking experience.

Amarone from the Valpolicella subregion of the Veneto, close to the historic city of Verona, is a blend of three indigenous grape varieties; Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara. 

Meaning “valley of a thousand cellars”, there have been wines produced in Valpolicella since early Roman times, but the trademark name was only created in 1939. It was not properly marketed until 1959 by the Bolla winery.

The power and concentration of Amarone wine comes from a production technique called “appassimento” whereby the winemaker will partially dry the grapes, traditionally on straw mats in airy lofts. 

Air drying the grapes concentrates the remaining sugars and balances the medium-high acidity to create flavours of brown sugar, red cherry, fig, plum and cinnamon.

The final wine of the prestige trio is more of a concept than a specific liquid. The “Super Tuscan” was created to circumnavigate the strict regional laws which forbade the use of non-indigenous grapes such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah in wines from the region. 

Frustrated by the slow pace of change in the 1970s, rebellious producers such as Frescobaldi and Antinori blended the “foreign’” varieties into their traditional Sangiovese driven Chianti wines.

The authorities relented 22 years later, and an official allowance to blend these grapes, under the general IGT classification, was agreed upon. Today, the names Tignanello, Sassicaia and Ornellaia are revered, and the wines are collected by all who can afford the higher price point. 

Tasting notes differ from wine to wine due to the variation of the grapes used and the percentages in each wine. Still, success can be measured because the phenomenon perseveres and is ever-growing in popularity. 

One of each to try:

The best of Barolo – Barolo Sperrs Angelo Gaja prices start @ £2,000 per case of 12 from Berry Bros

‘Everyday’ Amarone – Amarone della Valpollicella ‘Costasera’ @ £38.99 per bottle from Majestic Wine

The Super (value) Tuscan – Le Volte, Ornellaia, 2019 @ £24.00 from theChampagneCompany.com 

No other country has more sparkling wine-producing areas than Italy. Fizz can legally be made in more than 100 of their DOC’s (Denominazione di Origine Controllata) — the legal areas for producing wine.

The Italian sparkling wine offering, however, extends to much more enjoyable wine than the super-popular but often one-dimensional “glass of giggles” that is Prosecco.

There are two sparkling wine varieties I would suggest instead, the first one being Franciacorta. The region of Franciacorta is an ancient vine-growing area of Lombardy that dates to Roman times; the name “Franzacurta” first appeared in the Bresica city ledgers in 1277.

It was not until the creation of the Franciacorta DOCG in 1995 — the highest level of acknowledged quality in Italy — that wine was produced that could be identified as a classic Brut style — in truth, the majority of the other hundred or so areas producing fizz were making average quality liquid.

Franciacorta achieved its high quality in part by making their wine in the “metodo classico” way — wine produced in the image of champagne by the secondary fermentation method, a more costly and labour-intensive method than the cheaper and quicker “tank” (or Charmat) method used by the Prosecco producers.

Quality and complexity are evident in the wine, and in my opinion, Franciacorta is a better glass than many of the champagnes available on our high street today.

The second Italian fizz I would recommend you try — or re-try if you are of a certain vintage — is Moscato d’Asti. Moscato d’Asti is a fizz that hails from the northwest region of Piedmont, primarily from the province of Asti, although it can be produced in the smaller provinces of Cuneo and Alessandria. Like Franciacorta, the first record of the wine dates back to the 13th century and what we know as “modern” production started in the 1870s.

In some quarters, the wine suffers from an image hangover from the 1970s, but today’s wines deliver a super modern glass of off-dry dinner fizz. Made from the Muscat grape, the wine is light-bodied with really inviting floral, fragrant tones and a sweeter finish due to the naturally higher sugars found in this grape variety.

Low levels of alcohol and a deliciously cleansing acidity make this both an aperitif and digestif drink ideal to cleanse and stimulate the palate.

Here are some wines to try:

Araldica Moscato d’Asti 2020 from Virgin Wines – £9.99

Michele Chiarlo Moscato d’Asti Nivole 2020 from Vinissimus – £13.50

Ferghettina Franciacorta Brut DOCG from Masters of Malt – £21.95

Often seen as the spiritual home of the Sauvignon Blanc grape, over half the wines produced from the Loire are white, with Sancerre Blanc and Pouilly Fumé being popular and well-known styles.

Due to the long stretch of the region, there are wide variations in soil type, climate and winemaking tradition. Yet, this diversity in both grape and wine is often overlooked due to the popularity of Sauvignon Blanc. Don’t miss out on these other great wines from the Loire.

The city of Nantes is surrounded by vineyards full of the Melon de Bourgogne grape; a grape that originated in Burgundy, hence the name, but made its name in the Loire to produce the 1970s favourite, Muscadet.

Muscadet is a delightful wine, often overlooked due to connotations of yesteryear. It was the first modern vinous success story for the Loire and put the region “on the map”. The wine displays a fabulous minerality and citrus freshness that is worth revisiting. 

If you’re looking for the best examples of this wine, seek out those with Muscadet Sèvre et Maine on the label — this is the largest and most important region for high-quality Muscadet. Its fresh green qualities make it a superfood pairing with the abundant seafood that you can find in this port city.

Another Loire wine that suffers from that taint of a bygone era is Vouvray — made from the Chenin Blanc, a grape variety typically associated with South Africa, where it was historically also known as Steen. It is a particularly venerable vine and has been grown in Anjou since the ninth century and was most probably taken to South Africa on the first trading ships of the Dutch East India Company in the 1650s.

This is a true chameleon of a grape and its natural acidity makes it incredibly malleable, allowing it to be shaped into almost every white style; from crisp and dry right through to the gloriously rich dessert wine expressions. The styles I would implore you to try are the sparkling Saumur or a Coteaux du Layon — an Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée famed for its beautiful sweet dessert wines that can age for decades.

Coteaux du Layon Chaume 1er Cru from Lea & Sandeman – £25.95

Bouvet Ladubay ‘Saphir’ Saumur Brut (magnum) from Majestic – £32.99

Champteloup Muscadet Sèvre et Maine from Waitrose – £9.99

An “international” variety, Chardonnay originated as Meroué in the Levant area of the middle east. The Lebanese are to thank for its early nurturing and the crusader knights for its transport to Europe, specifically France. 

With its spiritual home being Burgundy, in the central-east region of France, it is the Côte de Beaune sub-region that arguably produces wines of the very finest quality. 

To those who value it, areas such as Montrachet and Meursault are revered on a par with the more northerly but equally beautiful Chablis wines. At the more day-to-day end wines such as Macon-Villages and St Veran from the Maconnais area of the region are widely enjoyed.

At the other end of the world and on a completely different scale, Chardonnay is grown successfully in South Eastern Australia in “industrial” levels of production. 

From the unquestionably aristocratic Burgundy to the significant volumes from Australia, Chile and the USA, the grape has been able to establish itself in everything from traditionally cool to almost tropical climates. It is a grape that is delightfully easy to grow or, as the revered Australian wine guru Brian Crozer once said, “the most forgiving variety of all”.

While it has been said that Sauvignon Blanc is “made in the vineyard” as its personality and flavour reflects the soil it was grown, Chardonnay responds well to whatever style the winemaker wishes to give it. This adaptability is both to its merit and detriment.

While the exquisitely subtle and balanced oak flavours of Meursault (my personal favourite) are highly prized, there was a time when winemakers in Australia were exploiting Chardonnay’s responsiveness with the mercenary use of cheap flavouring to give it an “oaky” note, which ultimately became its downfall. 

This misuse of oak flavouring is now largely a thing of the past and if a winemaker chooses to use this technique they will strive to find balance rather than dominance with this flavour.

Sadly the negativity around the use of oak persists, and when I present Chardonnay at events, I often still get hugely derogatory comments from those who still wear the cliched “ABC – anything but chardonnay” badge with pride. Very seldomly have these people tried a modern version and are harking back to a taste last found in the unbalanced wines of the 1990s.

Superb quality Chardonnay can be found all over the world, from New Zealand to California, but look out for Italian regions of Alto Adige or Lombardy. In Alto Adige you will find elegant modern cool climate wines with the most judicious use of oak, producing creamy lip-smacking palates with clean acidity and in Lombardy, sparkling wines that rival champagne for quality and value for money.

The Italian: 2019 Alois Lageder Alto Adige Lehen Sauvignon Blanc | Winebuyers – £26.21 from Winebuyers.com

The American: Au Bon Climat Chardonnay 2018, Santa Barbara County – Majestic Wine – £21.99 from Majestic

The Burgundian: Buy Domaine Vincent Girardin Meursault Les Vieilles Vignes 2016 – VINVM – £54.55 from Vinvm.co.uk

It was Captain Arthur Phillip’s “first fleet” of marines, convicts and free settlers that transported the initial vines to Australia in 1786, but all of these small vineyard plantings were unsuccessful and perished. Despite this initial setback, it took those early producers less than 40 years to start producing wine commercially. 

In 1822, James Blaxland was the first to export to London — a wine awarded a silver medal from the Royal Society of Arts for its quality.

Today, Australia has forged a reputation in quantity and quality; the country has 55 recognised wine regions, from the Granite Belt in the Great Dividing Range of Queensland to the Tamar Ridge across the Bass Straight in Tasmania. Due to Australia’s high temperatures, the majority of wine-producing regions are in the southern and oceanic parts of the country.

Measuring by quantity, production in 2020 exceeded more than 1 billion litres of wine annually, of which just over 65 per cent was exported around the world. As a global share of wine, Australia accounts for roughly five per cent, which is significant but still less than a third of the production of monoliths such as Italy or Spain.

Since those first tastings of Hunter Valley Semillons and Shiraz nearly thirty years ago, I have tried a lot of Australian wines; Penfold’s Grange, Henschke’s Hill of Grace and Cullen’s the Diana Madalene — wines of quality that rival the best the rest of the world can offer. 

My favourite, however, is Australia’s mid-range Cabernet Shiraz blends: These two French varieties have flourished in the antipodes to produce a rich signature style of luscious blackcurrant, blackberry and plum.

Australian wines to try:

Penfolds Rawsons Retreat Shiraz Cabernet – £8.89 per bottle

Wynns Coonawarra Estate Shiraz 2019/20 – £9.99 per bottle (as part of a mixed 6)

Jim Barry Riesling ‘Mckay’s Single Vineyard’ Clare Valley 2018 – £20.95 per bottle

With Christmas a distant memory and January a quiet month for eating out, producers tend to hike their prices up in February each year. Furthermore, the commercial pressures of the pandemic have made a rise in cost even more inevitable. 

However, in the face of these costly challenges, I am very much an optimist; there has never been a better time to try something new and exciting on the wine menu. 

With increased costs to the global supply chain and drastically reduced yields due to weather-driven poor harvests, the headline casualties in 2022 will be wines from Burgundy, Champagne and New Zealand. 

Pre-pandemic sales figures suggest these are all popular wines in the UK but up to 30 per cent price increases might cost them their place as favourites. But not to worry, there are plenty of worthy replacements.

For a French flavour –

If Burgundy remains your preference, seek out the lesser-known areas of that part of France; try the Côte Chalonnaise (look for Rully, Mercurey, Givry or Montagny on the label) as here the price increase is not as crippling.

Bourgogne Côte Chalonnaise 2017 La Buxynoise – Majestic Wine

For a Sauvignon swap –

Due to its unique style, New Zealand’s Sauvignon is a harder wine to directly replace but look to Chilean wines from the coastal areas of Leyda or Casablanca for a similar balance of tangy fruit and crispness.

Vina Leyda – Garuma Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2019 75cl Bottle: TheDrinkShop.com 

For a fizz fix –

If you’re after a fizz, check out the wines of Franciacorta from the northern Italian region of Lombardy. Made by the same “Traditional method” and from the same blend of grapes used in Champagne, this wine is a well-kept secret and in my opinion, better than many big brand champagnes.

Ferghettina Franciacorta Brut DOCG Wine – Master of Malt

The country is bordered by some significant climate-influencing factors on all sides: on the west, the chilly oceanic influence of the Pacific; on the east, the lofty Andean mountain range; on the north, the arid Atacama desert and on the south, the polar chill of Antarctica. 

This unique set of influences means that most of the wine-growing in Chile happens in the middle third of the country, where the vines are distant enough from the extreme heat and cold.

Often described as “viticulturalist’s paradise”, the country’s multiple wine regions are mostly “riverbed” areas; flood plains and run-offs of the major rivers that originate high in the Andes. 

Fed by glacial run-off that originates as snow, these rivers provide amazingly pure and clean water for vine irrigation before they empty into the Pacific.

Although “discovered” by Magellan in 1520, the next Europeans to reach Chile were the Spanish conquistadors who came down from Peru in search of gold nearly twenty years later.

The Spaniards may have been the first to set foot in the country, but Spain has had no lasting influence on what is planted today. The grape varieties that have made Chile famous — Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc and Carmenere are surprisingly all French.

Until its independence in 1810, Chile was a colony of Spain, managed politically and economically by aristocratic and wealthy mercantile families from the mother country. 

With strong emotional ties to the land of their birth, they would send their heirs back to Europe to be educated socially and academically, in a similar fashion to the Grand Tour undertaken by the English landed gentry. 

Vessels returning them to Chile would often depart from Bordeaux and the wealthy young heirs would pick up of some vines — the early 19th-century “duty-free” Toblerone equivalent — to take home and plant. 

Having established a rock-solid reputation for superb value-for-money wine, most people seem to not venture beyond Chilean wines at the mid-market price bracket; this is a huge mistake. 

With its enviable climactic position, low production costs and, in places, superb winemakers, I’d urge you to buy as expensive as you can for a real treat.

Here are some top-shelf Chilean wines to try:

Errauriz Max Reserva Cabernet – £14.99 at Majestic 

EQ Pinot Noir Matetic Vineyards – £25.99 from Hay Wines

Amelia Chardonnay Concha y Toro – £30.83 (per bottle in a case of 6) from Cru World Wines

We may not be at the apex of the wine-producing world but, as a nation, we produce some fantastic wines that are slowly beginning to get some national and even international recognition.

A key stumbling block to the popularity of English wine has been the association with “British wine”, such as QC Sherry, from the 1960s and 1970s.

Most of the time the only link these “British” wines had to the United Kingdom was the factories in which they were physically made. The actual product was derived from fresh or concentrated grape juice from anywhere in the world. QC Cream, as it is now known, is still available but legally unable to call itself Sherry as it wasn’t made in the Jerez region of Spain either. Thankfully, wines like these are largely a thing of the past.

In my opinion, these inferior products have unfairly tarnished the reputation of wine produced in England or Britain. 

As a proud Scot, I love English sparkling wine. Not only that, I prefer it to a great deal of the more popular and widely distributed fizz currently available.  

In southern English vineyards near the coast, winemakers take advantage of chalky limestone soil makeup and the correct climate for grapes to reach a suitable level of sugar content. With a guiding hand from international experts where necessary, there is no reason why their wines cannot be superb.

The standard and high quality of the sparkling wines that I have tasted recently are excellent and I will be, perhaps controversially, serving them at the Christmas table this year.

It will take a great deal of time before the crown slips from the head of Champagne as the go-to celebratory drink but I think there is room for a new contender. These elegant and crafted English beauties will give it a good go. 

English Sparklers to try this Christmas…

Gusbourne Brut Reserve 2018 – £38.75 from The Whisky Exchange

Exton Park, Blanc de Noir, Hampshire – £31.99 from Winebuyers.com

Henners Brut NV, Herstmonceux, East Sussex. -£27.30 equiv. from North and South Wines

Due to Covid-19 all but cancelling Christmas in 2020, the festivities are set to be bigger and better than ever this year, but added pressure from shortages created by transportation and delays at borders indicate a challenging end of the year to come.

The traditional rush to purchase enough wine for festivities and the desire to leave it later and later every year is not good for anyone’s coronary arteries, but market indicators on demand are good and the current enthusiasm to eat out does not seem to be abating – I have my fingers crossed that the trend will carry through to Christmas and New Year itself.

While it is always lovely to receive a bottle of something for Christmas, it can be tricky to find the perfect gift for the wine enthusiasts in your life – we are, by our nature, a picky, selective type of person.

If money isn’t an object, Berry Bros and Rudd, the UK’s oldest wine merchant, has launched the ultimate Christmas present for an oenophile; a cellar of fine wine. This mega gift will be available in tiers from £2,000 to £10,000 with a boxed bottle of fine wine and a consultation with a wine specialist thrown in. 

For the rest of us, with slightly more conservative budgets, one idea is the superb annual Pocket Wine Guide from Hugh Johnson which, in 2022 sees it in its 45th edition. A publication revered in the wine fraternity by amateurs and professionals alike, this comprehensive and very readable book is the world’s number one selling wine guide.

The key to its success, I believe, is Johnson’s style; authoritative yes, but always accessible and with an unbiased rating system you can trust. I have bought it almost every year of the 25 years I have been in the wine trade.

Stocking fillers for the oenophile in your life:

Pocket Wine Guide by Hugh Johnson – £12.99

Wine Folly: A Visual Guide to the World of Wine by Madeline Puckette – £25

The Noble Rot Book: Wine From Another Galaxy by Dan Keeling & Mark Andrew- £30.00 

The 24-Hour Wine Expert by Jancis Robinson – £10.78

Winemaking Phoenicians and Carthaginians brought their expertise with them to the region. As Spain became part of the Roman Empire and the pacification by Caesar Augustus in the second century BC, they even started to export their wines – records show that amphorae were sold in Rome, Gaul and even as far-flung as England.

After the collapse of the Roman Empire, winemaking continued on the peninsula under new rulers, the Visigoths, who themselves fell to the Moors in the early sixth century. The Moors allowed vine growing and winemaking to continue as the emirs and caliphs seeing the taxation revenue from the product as a valuable source of income.

In a British context, we can see from merchant records in the Guildhall dated 1350 that wine imports from Spain had been established through the ports of Bristol, Southampton and London for roughly a hundred years, and it was a wine called “Sack” that made the mark for the Spaniards in the UK.

A forerunner and very similar fortified wine to our modern Sherry, Sack was mentioned by a great number of writers of the time, but probably most famously when praised in the famous speech by Sir John Fallstaff in Shakespeare’s Henry IV part 2. It continued to be widely drunk even through the darker times of the Puritans, with even Cromwell accepting a gift of a “pipe [a barrel] of sack” on a visit to Bristol.

In more modern times it is the “explosion” of foreign travel, specifically to Spain through package holidays that has made Spanish wine so popular again and nicely priced. Coincidentally, the producers of Rioja were being awarded the highest status of wine quality and a new Spanish star was born.

What’s more, holidaymakers wanted to continue drinking the “soft brand” of the juicy, approachable and drinkable red with lovely round vanilla tones which has led to a big demand for the wine.  Most Rioja drinkers are a bit sketchy where in Spain the wine comes from, or know which grape this delicious red (mainly Tempranillo) comes from.

But at the end of the day, who cares? What’s important is you enjoy the glass. Still, why not try a few of Spain’s other great wines.

Here are a few for you to try:  

Neleman Organic Bobal 2018, Valencia (majestic.co.uk) (£9.99)

ASDA Extra Special Albariño Rias Baixas – ASDA Groceries (£7.00)

Juan Gil Monastrell 75cl – North & South Wines (northandsouthwines.co.uk) (£16.99)

The modern concept of Champagne is a deliberately created sparkling wine from the eponymous region. Wine with a “sparkle” has existed since Biblical times, and the process known as the “méthode ancestrale” is the oldest in the world.

This involves bottling the still fermenting juice and sealing the vessel to capture the carbon dioxide gas, creating a Pétillant Naturel or gentle carbonation.

Other than through this process, if a wine had a fizz, it was perceived as a fault. An erroneous sparkle could be started by a rogue yeast being present in the bottle through poor winery hygiene, creating contamination within the sealed bottle.

This yeast would restart the fermentation process by “eating” the residual sugar in the liquid, creating a little more alcohol and the all-important spritz which would be trapped by the stopper.

This was a dangerous occurrence, as the French did not have the technological know-how to make glass bottles strong enough, so exploding bottles were common.

Who, then, was the first to create the go-to “luxury” liquid we use to celebrate all manner of things today? The legend goes that it was the Benedictine monk Dom Pérignon who famously shouted, “Come quickly, I am tasting the stars!” when he first tasted the concoction in the cellar of Abbey of Hautvillers.

But, in 1662, an Englishman called Christopher Merret presented a paper to the Royal Society in London outlining his process to create fizz in the wine of the Champagne region by adding molasses to deliberately restart the fermentation. Merret’s paper preceded Dom Pérignon setting foot in the Champagne region by six years; the monk did not start his role at the abbey until late on in 1668.

This Dom Pérignon myth was actually a genius piece of early “marketing” instigated by one of his successors, Dom Groussard, who in the 1820s attributed the fictitious quote to Dom Pérignon to raise the profile of their product.

Although Dom Pérignon followed the path set by an Englishman, he can demonstrably be credited for a number of advancements which makes the product of today some of the finest wines you can drink.

Champagne, however, is a wonderful glass of wine no matter who “invented” it.

Champagne worth celebrating with:

Champagne Bollinger, Special Cuvee, NV – a Pinot Noir dominated juicy wine.

Champagne Taittinger Brut NV – an aromatic wine of finesse and elegance.

Champagne Billecart-Salmon Brut Rosé NV – stunningly sophisticated pink fizz.  

New Zealand produces great reds from instantly recognisable varieties such as Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, but they only just register the smallest ripple on the sales ledger of most merchants. 

One exception is Pinot Noir: a French “colonist” that was first planted on both islands in the late 1800s and has recently been climbing into the public consciousness through the world-class product grown in the South Island region of Otago, New Zealand. 

The more northerly Marlborough region accounts for 70 per cent of the Pinot plantings in New Zealand, but their final product does not quite match the quality as their southern contemporaries. This is due to the pioneering Marlborough producers planting the wrong vine for their soil, a Swiss clone that resulted in wines with little depth and structure. 

This mistake has taken a good deal of effort to rectify, but by planting a more suitable Burgundian version of the vine and taking time to alter negative public perception, they are getting there.

Central Otago put itself on the Pinot Noir lovers map at the start of the Noughties by taking a big, ripe and oaky wine to market. It helped to establish them, but, in the twenty or so years since, the region’s producers have sought to control vigour in the vine and the boldness in the wine, culturing elegance and freshness in the final product. Picking the grapes slightly earlier and fermenting at lower temperatures have helped lock in these desirable qualities.

Although the growth of Pinot Noir in “the land of the long white cloud” has only properly been realised in the last twenty years, if you are looking for delicious wines with floral, herbal and fruity complexity, don’t automatically reach for the Sauvignon Blanc. Instead, choose a Kiwi red, especially those Pinots from Central Otago in the south and Martinborough in the north.

New Zealand reds to try:

Greywacke Vineyards Pinot Noir, Marlborough, New Zealand – £33.49 from Adnams

Yealands Estate Single Vineyard Pinot Noir – £16.79 from Drinks Direct.com

Mt Difficulty ‘Roaring Meg’ Pinot Noir, Central Otago – £18.99 from Majestic Wines

This region of the country’s deep south is just under 16,500 square miles in the bottom third of France and enjoys a Mediterranean climate of mild winters and hot summers. On average, there are just over 2,000 sunshine hours per year.

This sunny weather is paired with a “Tramontane” wind that blows in from the west-north-west. The wind is channelled between the Black Mountain in the north and the Pyrenees in the south and moderates the temperature on the ground to allow superb growing conditions and phenolic ripeness in the fruit.

In a neat parallel with rugby, French wine’s real “muscle” lies in this part of the country. The reds: Grenache, Mourvèdre, Carignan and Cinsault. And the whites: Roussanne, Marsanne and Grenache Blanc. These wines are rich in stature, a flavour style that comes from the grapes’ structure and the consistent sun that shines on the plants.

One exception of note is the wine from the coastal town of Pinet, made from the Piquepoul grape. One of the oldest grapes in the region, this white wine draws its character from the Mediterranean; the great body of water locking in freshness and salinity that is just impossible to obtain inland due to the lack of cooling sea breezes.

For generations, Languedoc wines have been the staple “vin de table” in French households and even formed part of the daily ration for French soldiers during both world wars. To satisfy the cheap price point and huge volume necessary, quality suffered, and much of what was, and still is, produced in the region is of “every day” drinking quality. This image of mass production undersells the wines of significant quality and stature produced in the Languedoc.

Arguably the most significant producer of quality from the Languedoc is Mas Dumas Gassac, whose wines have garnered international acclaim and have reached cult status in some quarters. By embracing smaller yields, biodiversity and an ecological philosophy of minimum machinery in the vineyards, the owners have created a wine referred to as the “Grand Cru of the Midi”. They make the point that “top-drawer” quality is possible if time and care are taken.

In my experience, there are plenty of other areas within this large region that can deliver a super glass of wine too – here are a few I’d recommend:

The rosé: Gérard Bertrand ‘Côte des Roses’ Rosé 2020, Languedoc – £12.99 at Majestic

The white: Picpoul De Pinet Les Canots – £8.49 from Waitrose

The red: Domaine Laborie, Pays d’Oc 2020 – £6.25 from the Wine Society

Port is a fortified wine made from grapes grown in the Douro Valley of northern Portugal. The grapes are vinified the same way as regular wine but with the addition of Aguardente, a local grape brandy. The Aguardente arrests the fermentation process, killing the yeast cells and resulting in a wine that is both sweet and high in alcohol.

There are over eighty authorised grape varieties allowed in the production of port, and it is only relatively recently that larger producers have carried out research to discover which of these make the best wine. It is still a common occurrence to have between twenty to thirty different varieties within the same locale. Still, varieties are now being planted in identifiable rows and plots to assist with the research. The most commonly used grapes for red port have wonderful names such as Tinta Roriz, Tinta Cão and Touriga Nacional.

Though port has largely fallen out of fashion in the UK today, in the 17th and 18th centuries the drink enjoyed widespread popularity due, in part, to its entanglement with political unrest. In 1693, punitive taxes were levied on French wine, forcing British merchants to source alternative supplies, sending them to Portugal. The British merchants traditionally enjoyed a good relationship with the Portuguese, so much so that many ended up setting up shop there, accounting for the many British brand names such as Sandeman, Taylor and Graham we see on labels today.

There are seven loosely defined styles of the wine, with Ruby being the simplest – aged for two or three years and bottled young with a fiery personality. At the other end of the scale, there is Vintage Port, an expression of a single year, aged in wood for two to three years but only declared good enough roughly three times a decade, but these expensive wines only account for about one per cent of port production.

Try Unfiltered Late Bottled Vintage (LBV) and White Port wines instead. The unfiltered LBV style is very similar to a delicious (and much more expensive) vintage wine but ready to drink straight away. It will “throw” sediment, but decanting this is all part of the fun. White Port is a candied citrus, stone fruit and nutty dessert wine that will be sure to impress.

Some great examples to try:

The tasty white: Kopke – Kopke Fine White Port

The VFM red: Sandeman, Unfiltered Late Bottled Vintage Port

The real deal: Quinta do Vesuvio 2011 Vintage Port