Warm up these chilly winter nights with a hearty bottle of red wine with your midweek meal.
The best wines to drink when it’s cold outside are rich, full-bodied vinos – ones that warm you up and are wonderful for a night watching TV or that are great for entertaining your friends and family.
Whether it’s crushed cherry fruit, or a gutsy style with layers of tannins, sort your supper with a nice bottle of red. Here’s a few worth trying and don’t bust the budget...
Extra Special Selection Valle De Colchagua Carmenere 2016, Chile (£6, Asda): The abundance of reasonably priced, good quality, everyday wines is one of Chile’s charms, and for a fail-safe red, you can’t go wrong with this smooth, spicy offering that’s ripe and satisfying, with a beam of vivid black fruits backed by herbs, spice and oak.
Plaimont Producers Madiran, Reserve des Tuguets 2015, France (currently reduced to £6 from £6.50, Tesco): The thickness of the casserole is a good indication of the weight of the wine you need, and this rustic red, with its firm tannins, can stand up to the heartiest dishes. A tannat-based blend from Gascony, its deep fruited nose, structured fruit and hints of leather and spice carry through to the finish.
Oyster Bay Merlot, New Zealand (£9, Sainsbury’s): Fragrant violet, fresh blackberry and plum with soft alluring spice. Oyster Bay Merlot is about elegance and intensity of fruit. The hero is always the freshness of ripe fruit, with spice and soft tannins on the palate.
Wine of the week:
Hardys Crest Cabernet Shiraz Merlot, Tesco, was £7, now £5.50 until Feb 12.
This Hardys Crest is a well-balanced wine with flavours of sweet ripe plum and dark berry fruits with a subtle vanilla and oak character and a soft silky finish. Medium to full body with soft balanced tannins –
great with spicy sausages, rack of lamb, cottage pie and any beef dish.
