Food & Drink RAISE A GLASS

At this time of year I like to suggest wines to pour as our senses stretch and wake up from a dark winter slumber.

As I write it’s freezing and the wind is whipping around like a mad thing. Spring isn’t giving me a cheery wave but a wet and chilly snub.

Maybe when you read this we’ll be on the sunny side of the season. Here are some wine ideas for when that happens.

Italian whites can be deliciously moreish and such a one is Feudi di San Gregorio Greco di Tufo DOCG (left, £16.99, or £14.99 in a buy six deal exclusively at Majestic). Greco di Tufo hails from Campania, the south of Italy (which is the home of fiano, another Italian fave of mine). This greco has a full-bodied texture; it is ripe with stone fruit and prickly pear with a good lick of minerality. The Loire Valley in France is the home of chenin blanc, which can be cajoled into many styles, from dry to sweet to sparkling.

Here we have

Anjou Blanc Cheninsolite Domaine Cady 2022

(£16.50, The Wine Society) – the vineyard region of Anjou has ancient royal links (and I’ll be telling you more about it very soon).

This wine was barrel fermented, bringing a soft, honeyed, character with concentrated notes of apples and stone fruits. I’m craving it with pork, crackling and an apricot-flecked stuffing.

Loire is well-known for the sauvignon blanc-driven whites of Sancerre. Sancerre isn’t all about the whites; rosé can be found too. Such as this one from Asda: Sancerre Rosé (right, £15). Pinot noir is at the heart of this wine’s pinpoint freshness and pretty fruit accents of raspberry, cranberry. There’s a flirtation with fluttery floral notes.

New at Waitrose, in time for our springtime awakening, is Loved & Found Susumaniello Rosato (£7.99) from Puglia in the heel of Italy, where shores are soaked by the sea and the sun at the same time. Grapes are picked early to highlight freshness and acidity, which tickle the flavours of redcurrants and cherries. Also in my glass…

As a nod to this week’s Earth Day (April 22) here is Bonterra Organic Cabernet Sauvignon (left, £13.50, Tesco).

This black-fruited, toasty, vanilla-licked wine is made by Bonterra, which has commitments to sustainability, zero waste and healthy soils.

■ Jane is a member of the Circle of Wine Writers. Find her on social media and online as One Foot in the Grapes.