As many of us grow used to acquiring more grocery related items online, this is a good time to look at wines that can be procured that way.
So, I have gathered together half a dozen wines I can recommend that are available online and fused them into a feature I have (corny I admit) called “Pick of the Clicks”.
Online services by major supermarkets are excluded from this feature (my other posts suggest what to buy from them) to concentrate on operations I do not often mention.
The price criteria have also been tweaked slightly to put a spotlight on the £6 to £10 range – just below our Sunday Best selections.
As before, pictures appear next to commendations as this helps to ensure you are ordering the correct wine.
Expanding this Site
Today also sees a significant extension to the MidWeek Wines site.
I wanted to do something to help in these desperate times for the hospitality industry where the “on-trade” has effectively disappeared for over three months
And, being a child of the “Exchange & Mart” generation, I remember how eagerly folk scoured the classified advertisements that publication used to contain.
So, I have created a “MidWeek Wines Market Place” page which works on similar lines.
Carefully selected members of the wine trade now submit a brief classified ad style item about something they think offers exceptional value for money.
I charge them a nominal up-front fee having absorbed as much of the cost as I can and you – gentle reader – get access to some pretty good wines by clicking through to the retailer’s site.
No commission is involved on sales and we plan to refresh what is being offered regularly.
As today’s main article implies, buying wine online seems poised to catch up on the recent surge on online groceries – and this gives you a chance to be one of those so-called “early adopters”
Don’t leave the site today without having a look at all of the wines that appear in this new feature!
But back to today’s more normal recommendations – click pickers!
White
Interesting to see how Languedoc is not just creating tasty and great value wine from classic red Rhȏne Valley grapes but is now doing so with white ones too. Here the (once very exclusive) viognier is skilfully fused with a classic Rhone white -marsanne.
The result – 2018 Heraldique Cuvee Prestige Blanc (£8.15 at www.strictlywine.co.uk and 13%) – is aromatic white wine (from the viognier) embellished with spicy and mineral centred depth (from the marsanne) that combine to contrast agreeably with the wine’s backbone of apple fruit that also contains a dash of peach.
And to California
Edinburgh’s Great Grog wine merchants (who now have an almost normal delivery service) sell this attractive chardonnay that charts a sure-footed path between that variety’s twin disaster areas – excessive oak influences and bland characterless wines.
In 2017 Helter Skelter Chardonnay (£8.80 at www.greatgrog.co.uk and 13.5%) though you will find lots of the ripe peach, sweet vanilla and creamy butter flavours that drinkers want from sun-soaked California, yet enough lemon-focused acidity to provide balance and freshness too.
Rosé
Do try excellent Italian rosé from Verona made there using a blend of grape varieties led by (an unusual component of rosé), corvina. Avoid overchilling this wine though – it works best if taken out of the fridge 15 minutes before you drink it.
Floral and quite soft, 2019 Alpha Zeta Rosato (£7.33 at www.thefinewinecompany.co.uk and 12.5%) has nippy grapefruit acidity that delightfully enlivens the wine’s red currant, rhubarb, cherry and mandarin fruit and its counterbalancing mocha-based savouriness.
Red
For anyone new to online wine operations, this delightful and great value pinot noir could be just the place to start. It is from the western end of Romania (towards Hungary) and is made by one of the country’s top producers.
I particularly enjoyed the floral raspberry and cherry fruit that almost oozes from 2018 Lautarul Pinot Noir (£6.99 at www.houseoftownend.com and 12%) especially as that fruit is neatly complemented by blood orange acidity and supported by skilfully balanced tannin and a long, clove based finish.
Staying in Romania
Pleasingly, Romania’s Sanziana brand has some lovely wine and I am full of praise for its lively, aniseed and grapefruit influenced rosé and floral yet savoury edged white. Both of those are from pinot grigio grapes but here we move onto merlot.
Darker than many merlots, 2018 Sanziana Merlot Recas Cramele (£8.25 at www.corneyandbarrow.com and 13.5%) has a real brightness to its classic cherry and plum fruit and the firm acidity – but touches of sweetness – that accompany it.
Getting more traditional
Summertime is perfect for the lightness and freshness of Beaujolais and this example is discernibly superior to most Beaujolais Villages because it is from the region’s most northerly (best) part and made from older vines.
Sophistication is exuded by 2018 Château d’Emeringes, Beaujolais-Villages Vieilles Vignes (£8.50 at www.thewinesociety.com and 13%) with its vibrant acidity, herbal infused cherry and loganberry fruit and earthy mineral depth that, together, make this exceptional value for money.
See you again on Monday everyone when we explore any offers that are about to begin and enthuse over the latest Top Tips from the High Street.
