RAISE A GLASS

A GLASS of wine may be a guilty pleasure but there’s no need to feel guilty when you’re helping, even in a small way, to improve living conditions for someone less fortunate. Fairtrade Fortnight is now underway until March 11 and millions of bottles of Fairtrade wine are sold in the UK every year.

There are 42 Fairtrade wine producer organisations worldwide, across South Africa, Chile, Argentina and Lebanon, representing more than 5,000 farmers and workers.

Here are three wines to sip which will give you a feelgood factor in more ways than one.

CO-OP FAIRTRADE PINOT GRIGIO 2016 (£6.49, 12% abv)

SALES of this wine from the Famatina Valley of Argentina helped to pay for a water pump and reservoir to provide a clean water supply for people living in nearby Tilimuqui.

This is a smooth-drinking, fruity pinot grigio with flavours of pear drops, apple and refreshing light citrus notes. I tried it with a Thai curry, and also a chilli and garlic seafood linguine. It would also go well with a carbonara and just about any fish dish.

CôTEAUX LES CèDRES (£11.99, the Co-op, 13.5% abv)

THIS is the first wine in Lebanon and the Middle East to have both Fairtrade and Organic certifications.

The Co-op’s first order of this wine is funding a large fresh water tank which will tackle water shortages faced by Lebanese communities. This full-bodied hearty red, pictured left, has a dalliance with plums and cherries and a good shake of woody notes and spice. It’s a great wine to serve with a

warming casserole.

FAIRTRADE MONTEFLORES RESERVE MALBEC (£9, Marks & Spencer, 14.5% abv)

ARGENTINA has made malbec its own and this is a very good version. Fairtrade wines can be a bit so-so but that’s not the case here.

French winemaker Matthieu Grassin has partially aged the wine – created from grapes grown in Mendoza – in French oak which adds some subtle toasty notes.

There’s bramble fruit, plums and cherry notes and a shaking of pepper spice. All you need then is a good steak and some slippers to make supper a warming delight.

Discover more about Fairtrade Fortnight at fairtrade.org.uk or follow the hash tag# fair trade fort night on social media. Go to fairtrade.org.uk/ Buying- Fairtrade/Wine to find some Fairtrade wine retailers

AND THE WINNERS ARE ….

THANKS to all of you who entered my competition to win wines the stars were drinking at the EE British Academy Film Awards. The three people who each win an exclusive BAFTA-labelled bottle of Champagne Taittinger Brut Réserve NV, a Villa Maria Private Bin Sauvignon Blanc 2017 and a Villa Maria Private Bin Pinot Noir 2016 are: Lennox Morrison, Gwendoline Hirschfield and Edward Kramer.

I asked which three grapes are allowed in a champagne blend and the answer was pinot noir, pinot meunier and chardonnay. I’m sorry you couldn’t all be winners! Better luck next time. Visit villamaria.co. nz, taittinger.com and bafta.org

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