On the days when I don’t drink – and there are some, believe it or not – the time of day I most miss a glass of wine is the 6.30pm-ish glass before dinner that marks the official end of the working day (in theory) and the start of the evening. Even though I love to drink wine with food, it’s sometimes nice just to enjoy a glass on its own or with a few nibbles.
And usually, that glass is white, fresh, crisp and cold, so generally not a full-bodied, oak-aged chardonnay, although I wouldn’t say no to the ridiculously well-priced South African Trebuchet Chardonnay 2013 (13% abv) at just £6.66 from Majestic, which could easily pass for a white burgundy twice its price.
The wine I drink at this time is not likely to be particularly complex or demanding (if I’m at home, I’m usually cooking), but I take it as an opportunity to get to know grape varieties with which I’m not so familiar, or styles of wine that I can’t quite work out how to match with food. It may well be a wine I go on to drink with the evening meal (these days, I eat more fish and vegetables than I do meat, hence the prevalence of white), but it’s also invariably one that is interesting enough to enjoy on its own.
One that falls perfectly into that category is Curator’s Choice White 2014 (13.5% abv), an unusual blend of chenin blanc, chardonnay and semillon. It’s made in the on-trend region of Swartland by one of South Africa’s most talented producers, Adi Badenhorst, who manages to make an incredibly young wine taste smooth and well-integrated (no mean feat). It’s just £7.99 in larger Co-ops and £8.99 at Booths.
Portuguese whites are also rocking my boat at the moment. A name to look out for is Luis Pato, whose gorgeous, grapey Maria Gomes 2013 (£9.90 Bottle Apostle, £9.99 Noel Young Wines; 12.5% abv), from Bairrada, would make a great aperitif. And the pure, pristine Soalheiro Premeiras Vinhas Alvarinho 2013 (£22.26 Lay & Wheeler; 13% abv), from Vinho Verde, is the bottle I’d love to have to hand for a take-home pack of sushi.
There are also some really interesting whites coming out of eastern Europe right now, Recas Estate Solo Quinta 2012 (£11.70 Tanners; 13.5% abv), being a case in point: it’s 82% chardonnay with a dash of sauvignon, but it’s the tiny percentage of aromatic muscat ottonel and feteasca regala that gives it its aromatic lift. Definitely a wine that would make up for a bad day at the office, and good with south-east Asian-inspired salads, too.
