Drink me This season’s sips

Restaurants are good barometers of wine fashions. People are more willing to experiment, and enthusiastic staff can influence the customer, and thus shape future trends, selling obscure grapes or unknown regions with ease – but it’s when a wine is ordered unprompted that you know something is about to go mainstream. The following are currently making waves at our Tate restaurants.

Crémant

Prosecco’s extraordinary rise has opened doors for other sparkling wines. Unlike prosecco, crémant’s fizz-forming fermentation happens in the bottle, using the method deployed in Champagne. It, too, is French, and it can come from a variety of regions such as Alsace, Burgundy and the Jura. The best capture prosecco’s accessibility while also nodding towards the depth and complexity of champagne. Try this Crémant d’alsace Cuvée Julien Dopff au Moulin NV, £13.50, The Wine Society

Argentina

The popularity of Argentinian malbec shows little sign of abating and producers are bringing more finesse to their output, which bodes well for the future. This also benefits the rest of the country’s wines. Whether fragrant whites from torrontés, underrated chardonnay, or reds made from cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, bonarda, pinot noir or tempranillo, customers seem happy to try them – no doubt reassured by malbec experiences. Try this 2016 Catena Chardonnay, Mendoza, £13.49, Waitrose

Portugal

The wine trade has a habit of touting the popularity of wines that it, rather than the consumer, likes, so this may be wishful thinking – but I love Portuguese wine in all its diversity, whether a savoury, surprisingly fresh white from the Douro or brooding, iron-rich red from Bairrada. And there are signs that it is becoming part of many of our regular drinking habits, borne out by increased listings on the high street. Try this 2015 Morrisons Douro Red, £7.50