The Best Summer Supermarket Wines For Under £15
WHITE
Reyneke Organic Chenin Blanc, £9.99
Country: South Africa
Why I Like It: South Africa makes some of the world’s best chenin blanc. Winemaker Johanne Reyneke is riding the wave of his country’s stellar crop with his range of organic and biodynamic wines. He cares deeply about his soil and vineyards – his chenin blanc is 100% organic and a good entry point into the world of SA wines.
Pair It With: Delicious seafood, which is probably why I love it so much. A fish pie with smooth buttery mash and creamy layers of flaky fish would be perfect.
Available here
Laurent Miquel Albariño, £12.50
Country: France
Why I Like It: An Albariño from France? Yes indeed, and it’s delicious. Like blitzed-up white peaches that have been electrified with the cut and thrust of a kefir lime. Fresh, zingy and perfect for summer.
Pair It With: Albariño loves shellfish in almost any form. I like this one with plump Scottish langoustines and a simple mustard mayo.
Available here
Tesco Finest Picpoul De Pinet, £9
Country: France
Why I Like It: Picpoul is light, uncomplicated and refreshing. It has this real buzz of fresh acidity and saline citrus fruit. Perfect for a summer picnic.
Pair It With: This one is best friends with oysters. That zingy acidity teamed up with some gorgeous briny, salty oysters is the perfect combo.
Available here
Zenato Villa Flora Lugana Veneto, £11.99
Country: Italy
Why I Like It: Italy is a treasure trove of interesting local grape varieties, including this creamy Lugana grown on the shores of Lake Garda. It's rich and rounded but also fresh and floral with stone fruit flavours.
Pair It With: I love this with one of my all-time favourite Italian dishes: spaghetti carbonara, made the traditional way without cream.
Available here
RED
Guigal Côtes Du Rhône, £12
Country: France
Why I Like It: Don’t shy away from red in the summer. Guigal is world renowned for its single vineyard wines but it also does incredible entry-level wines at much friendlier prices. This is a brilliantly made Côtes du Rhône with all that lovely Rhône warmth and dark red fruit – for the great price of £12 a bottle.
Pair It With: Steak frites and a well-dressed salad. Often, simple is best.
Available here
Baron de Ley Club Privado Reserva Rioja, £12.99
Country: Spain
Why I Like It: This is a wine that always overdelivers on flavour for the price. ‘Reserva’ means it has been aged for at least three years before being released, giving it great complexity, depth of flavour and texture. It’s round and supple with plenty of warm red fruit and some cinnamon and vanilla from the oak influence. The best part is that it’s almost always on offer at Waitrose.
Pair It With: Barbecued pink lamb chops.
Available here
Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Valpolicella Ripasso, £10 (was £11)
Country: Italy
Why I Like It: This wine is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser. Ripasso means some of the grapes were dried before fermentation, resulting in a concentrated, smoother and silkier wine. Think perfectly ripe, juicy dark Italian cherries and sweet plum fruit.
Pair It With: Ripasso works well with slightly heavier dishes like aubergine parmigiana.
Available here
Le Sabbie dell'Etna Rosso, £13.99
Country: Italy
Why I like it: This red is made from the Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio grapes grown on the sides of Sicily’s Mount Etna. It's light in colour, with supple raspberry and redcurrant fruits, and you can almost taste the volcanic soils. A great entry into the incredibly complex volcanic wines of Etna.
Pair It With: A local pasta dish like pasta alla norma, or even roast lamb.
Available here
SPARKLING
Tesco Finest 1531 Blanquette De Limoux, £10
Country: France
Why I like it: This is an amazing value fizz made in the same way as much more premium champagnes, but with different grape varieties. A quality bottle for the price.
Pair It With: It’s great on its own as an aperitif, but also works well with simple shellfish, prawns or oysters.
Available here
Cave de Lugny Crémant de Bourgogne Blanc de Blancs, £15
Country: France
Why I Like It: Look for crémant when you don’t want to pay champagne prices but want the same flavour. This one is from Burgundy so will be richer and toastier than the Limoux.
Pair It With: I normally drink this before a meal, so nothing more complex than a bag of crisps – preferably the trendy Truffle Torres ones and some Perello olives.
Available here
Graham Beck The Joshua Brut, £12 (was £14)
Country: South Africa
Why I Like It: This is an uncomplicated and dangerously easy to drink Cap Classique from South Africa. It’s fresh and creamy at a price that won’t break the bank.
Pair It With: Fish and chips, ideally on the beach watching the sun go down.
Available here
Codorniu 1872 Organic Cava Brut, £10.99
Country: Spain
Why I Like It: Cava has a bad reputation for being a bit cheap and nasty, so it’s good to taste this cava brut from the great producer Codorniu. It slips down so well – a great example of the quality bottles coming out of the region.
Pair It With: Tapas – think deep-fried croquettes, calamari and jambon.
Available here
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