Wine to dine

Drinks writer Peter Ranscombe picks three wines to go with Paul Wedgwood’s recipes

SIMPSONS OF SERVIAN CUVEE MMXV SPECIALE SYRAH, 2015, £16.99 (NAKED WINES)

Scotswoman Ruth Simpson – part of the Grant whisky dynasty – has been making wine in the Languedoc region of the South of France for the past 15 years. The long hours of sunshine produce rich and fullbodied Syrah, with ripe black cherry flavours that will work perfectly with Paul’s grouse dish. The volume is really turned up on this wine, with a great balance between the bright acidity, chewy tannins and concentrated fruit.

EGHEMON PASSIMIENTO, 2015, £15.99 (VIRGIN WINES)

Nero d’Avola has become my go-to Italian red grape variety. If I’m in a rush and need to get a bottle to take round to someone’s house then Nero is a reliable favourite. This example from Virgin Wines is a grown-up version. The Nero grapes are dried before being fermented to lose some of their excess water and intensify the remaining black cherry and blackcurrant flavours. Here they’re blended with another Sicilian variety, Frappato, which brings refreshing acidity to the mix. A good hearty wine to match the venison.

VILLA MARIA RESERVE NOBLE RIESLING, 2013, £20.95 (WINEDIRECT.CO.UK)

Just as there’s a balance to be struck between the tart sea buckthorn berries and the sweet cicely, there’s also a fine line to walk between the sweetness of the dessert wine and the refreshing acidity that’s needed to make the combination work. This New Zealand wine’s attractive lemon and grapefruit flavours come from its Riesling grapes, which were left on the vine to develop ‘botrytis’ or ‘noble rot’, a benevolent fungus that sucks up the water to concentrate the taste.