Summer wines
POSTED ON 22/05/20102009 Villa Maria Cellar Selection Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough, New Zealand
A notch up from Villa Maria’s Private Bin Sauvignon, the Cellar Selection is more pungently aromatic and richer in classic Marlborough passion fruit flavour underscored by green pepper, with a grapefruity tang on the aftertaste making this a mouthwatering prospect at a bargain price. Try with warm goat’s cheese on toast and a drizzle of olive oil. £7.99 at Majestic, reduced from £9.99.
2008 Chablis Cuvée Amandine, France
In the Pink
POSTED ON 08/05/2010When the headline beamed out at me, ‘Rose attracts male following’, I was naturally flattered, albeit puzzled as to who my new friends were. What a difference an accent makes. The word was of course rosé and the story in question confirmed that real men are drinking rosé when once it wouldn’t have been sniffed at. Why? According to Master of Wine, Pierpolo Petrassi, wine buyer for Waitrose, ‘the cliché of rosé being a female drink’ is still prevalent, but less than it was, thanks to the growing popularity of drier styles of rosé and their suitability with food.
Dream Tickets
POSTED ON 01/05/2010Election night looms, so time to vote for a party, any party frankly as long as it involves drinks of celebration and consolation. I couldn’t condone getting tanked up for the polling station, however much you might need it, but a Passion Fruit Margarita might help improve on the poor turnout of the last two general elections. Take a 50 ml shot of tequila, an extra dash of triple sec optional, and a pouch of a passion fruit flavour cocktail mixer like Funkin. Shake and strain over fresh ice, stir rapidly, add ice cubes, a lime wedge and two small straws.
