Wine Box: Last of the summer wines
Steve Pryer10 April 2012
It's great to defy convention, which is why I often serve red wines on hot summer days when everyone expects chilled white. I'm not being awkward, it's just that while whites can be great as an ap?ritif or with salad or seafood, gutsy reds are essential for barbecued food. And for a cheese course, summer reds make eminent sense. If we have any warm days left, fire up the coals and stock up with hearty reds.
- Grand Pr?bois, Vin de Pays de la Principaut? d'Orange (Adnams, 01502 727 222, £4.95). Classy Rh?ne raver from the famed Beaucastel boys in Ch?teauneuf-du-Pape. For a fiver, this is fruit-driven, elegant, spicy stuff. Perfect for glugging with chunky meat dishes.
Wine of the week
- Araldica Albera Barbera d'Asti Superiore 2000 (right, Safeway, Sainsbury's, Waitrose, Co-op, £4.99). This big Piedmont producer has some hits and misses in its portfolio, but this is bang on. Well-balanced, mid-weight, it tastes of plums wrapped in hot chocolate sauce. Ideal with bangers and mash, or a barbecue.
