Light, elegant red wine

This is a consistently excellent wine that really over-delivers for the money. Like most Southern Rhone reds, it's based on grenache, that delicious boozy warm climate variety, spiced up with some carignan, syrah, cinsault and mourvedre. As you'd expect, it's packed full of flavour but where it real

Chile is the home of good quality affordable pinot noir. This example from the Central Valley shows how good wines from this country can be. This is light in body but not short of character. It's a very versatile wine but it would be particularly good with Chinese crispy duck. Mmmmmm.

From Portugal's Niepoort winery comes Dão Rótulo 2018, made from a blend of touriga nacional, jaen, tinta pinheira, and alfrocheiro grapes. The idea of the Rótulo series was to create light, fresh wines that make the perfect accompaniment to food – this is no exception, making a particularly good pa

From the Yarra Valley in Victoria, one of Australia's cooler wine regions, this is light and deliciously juicy. Serve it cool with grilled tuna.

The word 'ripasso' is a good sign on a bottle of Valpolicella. It means that some of dried grape skins left over from the production of Amarone, the incredibly rich and expensive speciality of the region, are added to the fermenting Valpolicella grapes. The word means 're-pass' or 'go over again.' T

Fleurie is one of the best-known crus in Beaujolais, where the gamay grape is known for producing delightfully light, fruity and fragrant wines. Domaine de la Madone’s 2021 release is no exception. It’s grown on a hillside that benefits from exceptional sunlight and pink granite soils. Fermentation

A light, fruity Argentinian red here from Cara Sur! This 2018 vintage is made with the Criolla grape (also known as the Mission grape) harvested from 80 year old organic vines. The result is a light and vibrantly acidic wine that complements roasted meats very well. Fun fact: the Criolla grape was

With a name like Gigondas, you expect wine from this part of France to be gigantic. But while they are not short of alcohol and fruit, from producers like Domaine les Pallieres, the wines can be surprisingly perfumed and elegant. This is made from 80% grenache with the rest made up of syrah, cinsaul

Ever wondered how to pronounce 'agiorgitiko'? Just say 'a yee or jitiko'. Done. It means St. George and it's one of Greece's premier red grapes making everything from serious age-worthy wines to simpler ones like we have here. This is fruity, spicy and fun and would suit all kinds of dishes like piz

Enjoyably bright with ripe red fruits, though well balanced with warming oak, the 2018 vintage Crianza from Faustino is impressive indeed, and great value for money, too. It's made with 100% tempranillo grapes, and spends at least 12 months in American oak barrels, allowing for the flavour profile t

This laid-back red wine hails from Italy's Salcheto winery, produced with the 2021 harvest of sangiovese grapes, supported by small portions of canaiolo, mammolo, and merlot varieties. A portion of the wine is matured for four months in American oak imparting a silky profile, and leathery tannic not

A superb Spanish red wine from Raúl Pérez, produced with the 2019 harvest of Mencía grapes. Rested for a year in oak vats and barrels, the wine is then combined into one master blend before bottling. A top choice if you're planning tapas for dinner!

Central Otago is the most southerly wine producing region in the world, and is the source of fantastic expressions of both Riesling and Pinot Noir, both grapes which enjoy (if grapes are capable of enjoyment, which frankly, we're hoping they're not - otherwise wine making is plain cruel) warm days a

A gorgeous Burgundy Pinot Noir from Alain Gras, the 2019 vintage Saint-Roman Rouge is made with hand-harvested grapes from vines over 35 years old. A light and fruity red that'll pair with game dishes very well.

From Piedmont, Italy, this Contero Brachetto D'acqui Di Strevi is a rather tasty sparkling wine bottled at 5.5% abv.

Deliciously expressive 2014 vintage Chambolle-Musigny from Domaine Felettig, which is run by Gilbert and Christine Felettig (the children of the founder, Henri).

Martinborough is in the south of the north island of New Zealand (not to be confused with Marlborough, which is the north of the south island - wine can be tricky sometimes) and is the source of some of the best Pinot Noir in all of the world, let alone New Zealand. Ata Rangi are one of the original

The word 'ripasso' is a good sign on a bottle of Valpolicella. It means that some of dried grape skins left over from the production of Amarone, the incredibly rich and expensive speciality of the region, are added to the fermenting Valpolicella grapes. The word means 're-pass' or 'go over again.' T

This starts with a Spanish red made from garnacha (grenache) and syrah grapes. It then has the alcohol removed using the power of real science to leave a drink with much of the flavour of wine. It's nice on its own but we think it's particularly nice mixed with ice and soda or into a zero ABV Sangri

South Africa makes some lovely shiraz, or syrah as it's known in France. Full of delicious dark fruit and with a smooth, slightly smoky finish, this would be hard to resist with grilled meats, BBQ or rich aubergine dishes.