Wine to dine

Drinks writer Peter Ranscombe picks out three wines to go with Joanne Munro’s Café Gandolfi recipes

PROJECT ONE ZINFANDEL, 2013, £14.99 (VIRGIN WINES)

I love this rich, warming style of Zinfandel – you can taste the Californian sunshine. There are generous portions of blackcurrant aromas and flavours, along with some lighter cherry and redcurrant notes which will work well with the peppery tastes in the Scotch egg’s sausage and black pudding. Project One is made by David Akiyoshi, previously a winemaker for famous brand Mondavi.

MAISON CHANSON MEURSAULT, 2011, £28 (SAINSBURY’S)

Serving scallops with the delicious combination of bacon, cheese and garlic calls for a wine that can stand up to the bold flavours in the dish and cut through the richness of the sauce. Step forward this stunningly well-balanced Meursault from the Côte de Beaune area of Burgundy, which brings together buttery textures and vanilla notes with a refreshing hit of lemon, grapefruit and pineapple acidity.

CATHERINE MARSHALL MYRIAD MERLOT, 2008, £14.69 for 375ml (GREAT GROG)

Myriad was one of the stand-out wines for me at Great Grog’s spring tasting in Edinburgh. Merlot contributes rich plum flavours, with Pinot Noir grapes adding lighter hints of strawberry. This wonderful wine is fortified with caskmatured cognac to bring it up to 19% abv and is then aged for three years in oak barrels, creating a rich and rounded feeling in the mouth and making it the perfect pairing for Joanne’s rich dark chocolate fondant cake. If you’re skipping pudding for the cheeseboard, Cathy Marshall also extols the virtues of Myriad with ripe, creamy cheeses.