RAISE A GLASS

I’m thrilled today. I’ve dried my washing outside. The sun shone, the wind blustered and flurried. The smallest things make me happy.

Don’t think for one minute that I’m a domesticated soul. Far from it. After a burglary, it took a month to realise the blighters had stolen my vacuum cleaner.

What I am, is optimistic. I can feel the spring in the air, and on my fresh, airy clothes. And that feeling called for an early spring white wine.

There are a couple of new whites into Oddbins from the man-of-thepeople winemaker Jean Claude Mas. I say “man of the people” because he makes smashing, affordable wines, under his label Domaine Paul Mas in the south of France.

Esprit De Crès Ricards Marsanne Roussanne 2020

(£12.50, at oddbins.com) is a silky combination of two Rhône grape varieties, marsanne and roussanne and they make a tasty double act.

The wine is partly blended in French oak, and all of it is aged on its lees for four months.

That delivers a wine with stone fruit notes (think apricot and peach) caressed by vanilla and a tickle of spice.

Also new to Oddbins is Paul Mas Vermentino 2020 (£11) which is floral, with ripe apples and pears.

Over to a red and an online wine from Sicily which sold out within hours.

w/o Organic Frappato 2020

(£11.99, Lathwaites) is making a swift return in the middle of this month, by popular demand. The key letters here, say the producers, are “w/o” which stands for “without”. They say the wine is made “without compromise”. It is thought to be the first wine in the UK market bottled in entirely recycled glass.

The wine tastes smashing too, with vibrant raspberry, plums and cherries.

Now a nod to Fairtrade Fortnight which continues until March 5. Asda has a red South African wine, Extra Special Fairtrade Pinotage (£5.50). It has the classic bold smoky notes of this grape variety, with ripe red berries.

By the way, Asda has 25% off some of its Extra Special wines until March 23. For example, Asda’s Extra Special Rioja Gran Reserva drops from £11.50 to £8.63.

Go to fairtrade.org.uk/ Buying-Fairtrade/Wine/ for more information on supporting Fairtrade.

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