After all that history, I thought we could take a chill pill and just have a wee look at the best of the red and white quaffers again this week.
Blends still rule the red selections priced under a tenner but I guess it’s easier for winemakers to smooth out the edges with a little bit of this and a dollop of that. Shiraz seems to be the dominant grape with its rich, fruity juice backed up by spices.
It’s quite different for my white preferences where the single varietals lead the pack: Sauvignon, Chenin and the oaky Chardonnays with their clearly defined flavours. It’s been a tasty week and to be honest, I’m going to have to spend a bit more time around the midweek specials because there’s plenty to write about.
The Weather Station Malbec Shiraz, South Africa
This is a corker for the price with ripe blueberry fruits, hints of cacao and a light but intriguing hint of spice on the finish. Very smooth and easy to drink.
Marks & Spencer £7
Definition GSM, South Australia
This is a big heady style for a quaffer but it’s so appealing and easy to drink with or without food. Concentrated autumn fruits, spice and soft juicy tannins. A gorgeous wine.
Majestic Wines £10.99
Horny Owl, Lothian Vineyards
Slightly greener than the Marlborough versions I normally go for but by heck, the fruit is eye-watering. Kiwi fruit is the dominant flavour but there are gooseberries and lychees in there for me. Beautiful.
Oddbins £10.50
Follow me on Twitter @gerardfinewine or Instagram @RichardsonsWines
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here