Wine to dine

Drinks writer Peter Ranscombe picks three wines to go with Angus’s recipes.

COSTADUNE GRILLO CHARDONNAY, 2015, £5.99 (ALDI)

Grillo is a magic white grape variety that can withstand the heat of the sun and still retain its refreshing acidity, which makes it ideal for the vineyards of Sicily. Here it’s been blended with Chardonnay to produce a wine that’s buzzing with zingy lemon flavours and juicy peach notes. Its acidity will help it to work well with the scallops and it’s absolutely amazing value to boot.

MONEMVASIA WINERY RED, 2007, £16.50 (ST ANDREWS WINE CO)

This was one of the stars of wine importer Hallgarten, Druitt & Novum’s recent tasting in Glasgow. Made from a blend of Agiorgitko and Mavroudi black grapes, this Greek red wine is stunning, with aromas of red cherry, redcurrant and wood smoke on the nose leading into bright redcurrant and cranberry flavours on the tongue, along with deeper and richer tastes of roast meat, vanilla, bitter dark chocolate and white pepper spice. Plus it has the tannins we want to work with the venison.

KESOI ARANY TOKAJI, 2014, £7.99 (LIDL)

Tokaji is one of the world’s most famous dessert wines and this one is part of Lidl’s latest ‘wine cellar’ special offer, which includes a broad range of wines from Hungary. What struck me most about this bottle was the freshness of the acidity, which balances the sugar. There are delicious ripe pear and cider apple aromas and flavours that will match nicely to the nuttiness of the almond tart.

For a look at Cava giant Freixenet’s venture into Prosecco, check out Peter Ranscombe’s blog, The Grape & The Grain, on the Scottish Field website at www.scottishfield.co.uk/category/grapegrain/