RAISE A GLASS

Spring is here, isn’t it marvellous? I spent the weekend with my daughter visiting museums, cocktail bars and the theatre. Oh, and sitting in a beer garden in the mid-march sun. Oh, and sipping off-the-beaten-track red wines.

I’m tasked with finding wines for you to enjoy, and it’s much lovelier if I can share that task with ones I love. That’s the beauty of wine; it’s for sharing. And so to my first, a red from online merchants The Wine Society.

Rui Madeira Beyra Tinto,

Beira Interior 2020 (£9.95) is a delicious wine from Portugal, a blend of touriga nacional and tinta roriz. The latter grape makes up most of the blend, and in Spain is known by its more famous name, tempranillo. I was sad to see an empty bottle as it meant an end to glasses laden with ripe red berry and cherry fruits, soft tannins, and a spark of a pepper bite. It is included in the society’s Value with Values campaign which runs until March 28.

One of my favourite ”treat” reds is a barolo, and it’s even more of a treat sipped with pasta and a deeply satisfying slow-cooked ragu sauce.

Adnams Barolo DOCG 2015

(£24.99, adnams.co.uk) is a wine for special days. It is produced for Adnams by Cascina Meriame who champions eco-friendly and sustainable viticulture.

Barolo is a famous Italian red wine, crafted from nebbiolo grapes. This Barolo was lightbodied, translucent in the glass, and fragrant with raspberry and cherry notes. It was an elegant and delicious glass.

A third wine; and this one from Lebanese winemaker, Eddy

Naim, who has been voted Naked Wines’ Winemaker of the Year 2021. Eddy was fed up with his management consultant career, and he asked his father – who made wine as a hobby – to start a family business. His first vintage was 2010 and he is now producing wine under the Chateau Qanafar label for Naked Wines. Petit Paradis de Qanafar 2018 (£13.99 to Naked Wine “angels” or £16.99, full price) is a blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, syrah and tempranillo grown in West Bekaa, Lebanon.

It delivers aromas of ripe blackberries, forest fruits, red fruits, a flash of pepper, together with a wave of vanilla and integrated tannins.

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