Wine to dine

Drinks writer Peter Ranscombe picks three wines to go with Kirsten Gilmour’s recipes

TRUMPETER SAUVIGNON BLANC, £12.50 (WINES-ANDSPIRITS.CO.UK)

There’s lots going on in this fritter, with butternut, chilli, coconut and peanut. A sauvignon blanc provides acidity and freshness. Trumpeter is made at Mendoza in Argentina – better known for its powerful malbec red wine but just as capable of producing elegant whites – and has crisp lemon and green pepper flavours, without any gooseberry or asparagus notes, which could fight with the dish. It’s on sale from The Wine & Spirits Online Shop, a new venture based in Inverurie.

RAMEY RITCHIE VINEYARD RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY CHARDONNAY, 2013, £31.99 (AG WINES)

This delicious chardonnay from Ramey demonstrates how Californian wines have changed – wind the clock back six years and Ramey was ageing 65% of this wine in new oak, adding lots of vanilla. Now, it’s 30%, which allows more of the lemon and grapefruit flavours to sing. There’s still a rounded creamy butteriness to the wine, which makes it an ideal partner for chicken pie, with its rich sauce and crunchy crust.

MAS JANEIL MAURY, £15.99 FOR 375ML (INVERARITY 1-2-1)

A cheesecake is a wonderful thing and so it needs a special wine to match. Maury comes from Roussillon in south-west France and is a lightly fortified wine created by adding grape spirit to the fermenting juice. It’s made using grenache grapes, which give it fresh aromas of red cherries on the nose and then deeper flavours of black cherries and blueberries on the palate. The best part is the healthy kick of acidity that balances the sweetness and prevents the wine from becoming cloying. For more on wines from Napa and Sonoma in California, check out Peter Ranscombe’s blog, The Grape & The Grain, on the Scottish Field website at www.scottishfield.co.uk/category/grapegrain/