ON THE GRAPEVINE
SAM WYLIE-HARRIS SHARES FIVE WINES TO TOAST THE OSCARS
WHETHER you’re hosting a gathering or toasting quietly, to mirror the biggest event in the Hollywood calendar we’ve rounded up the critics’ choices stealing the limelight.
1. Blossom Hill Pale Rosé, Spain Currently reduced to £5 from £6, Tesco
CALIFORNIAN wine brand Blossom Hill romped home with Product of the Year Award 2019 in the wine category (voted for by the British public) for their Spanish dry rosé – showing how our rosé romance is far from fickle and we love to sink this holiday pink whatever the season.
2. Martini Prosecco, Italy Currently reduced to £7 from £10, Asda
WHO doesn’t love a prosecco party? To mirror this sparkling occasion, you may as well go for gold and pick this star serve, which the judges took a shine to at the International Wine and Spirits Competition 2018 where it won gold. It also scooped a silver at the San Francisco International Wine Competition 2018. Floral, fruity and fresh enough to complement a long acceptance speech.
3. Berry Bros & Rudd Extra Ordinary Claret, 2015, by Chateau Villa Bel-Air, Bordeaux, France £16.95, Berry Bros & Rudd
AN iconic own-label that’s fondly referred to as ‘EOC’, wine-lovers don’t have to worry about making an expensive mistake with this International Wine Challenge silver medal-winner. Highly rated, and Berry’s bestselling wine for decades, it’s from a very good vintage, merlot dominant with ample dark, fragrant fruit, a note of dark cherry and smoothly textured with a velvety long finish.
4. Greyfriars Rosé Reserve Brut 2014, England £21, Greyfriars Vineyard
ENGLISH sparkling wines are still going from strength to strength, and this multiaward-winning Surrey-based vineyard boasts some impressive silverware, having been awarded gold by the International Wine & Spirit Competition 2018.
5. Champagne Delacourt Vintage Brut 2004, France £35, Marks & Spencer
EXCITINGLY, according to a study by the International Wine Challenge (IWC), bottles of wine labelled with one of their foil stickers can sell seven times more than an identical bottle of wine with no sticker. Elizabeth Kelly, wine specialist at M&S said the store had seen a “great uplift on our wines following the IWC award stickering, especially at the gold and silver level”.