Below you will find my usual tops tips for good value wines you can pick up in your local supermarket or your online shop. Highlights this week include a zesty but soft Pinot Grigio from Waitrose and a smooth £6 red from Tesco. Enjoy! And don’t forget to tell me what you think.
2019 Terre di Vita Pinot Grigio (£6.49 – instead of £8.69 until 16 February – at Waitrose)
Those ripe, floral, tropical fruit elements that make Pinot Grigio popular often mean that its grapes retain less acidity and, consequently, less freshness and verve.
Here though, Sicilian producers manage to deliver both components in a version with neat sherbet aromas, melon and pear flavours and soft tangerine acidity.
2017 Les Tuguets Madiran (£6 – instead of £7 until 15 February – at Tesco)
On its own, Tannat (the signature grape of France’s Madiran region) is too muscular and tannin-rich for today’s tastes. So winemakers there developed a smoothing process that uses oxygen to simulate barrel aging.
The result here is great value red wine with smoky bramble and black cherry flavours, good acidity, mineral centred depth and controlled tannin.
Current promotions
At Tesco
A new promotion started at Tesco last week with most discounts expected to run until 15 February (a few exceptions will end a day or two earlier). My pick from this promotion is:
- Mud House Sauvignon Blanc (Down from £9 to £7 until 15 February)
At Asda
Another new promotion kicked off at Asda last week, running until 27 February. Here’s my top tip from among the offers:
- Diablo Black Cabernet Sauvignon (Down from £10 to £8)
At Waitrose
Save up to 1/3 on wine and fizz at Waitrose until 16 February. See the website for full details of what’s included but do look out for this one, which I think is a particularly good buy:
- Sagrato Chianti Riserva (Down from £10.79 to £6.99)
At other retailers
Promotions at Morrisons and Sainsbury’s continue this week. See last week’s post for my highlights. M&S also launched a new set of offers last week, take a look in your local store before they end on 1 March.
Tune in again on Thursday for a new feature called “Under the Radar” which pinpoints unfamiliar wines and grape varieties that represent quality and good value.
And while we’re looking ahead, don’t forget to sign up for next month’s Zoom tastings.
We’ll be exploring the core ranges at:
- Aldi on 10 February
- Lidl on 17 February
See Wine Events Scotland for details and tickets.
