We are delighted to welcome television wine expert Jilly Goolden as a columnist. Each month, Jilly will be recommending great value supermarket wines as well as finds from our local wine shops. Let the tasting commence!
Wine lovers in the UK are extremely lucky; we have a wider choice of wines sourced from a wider range of countries at our fingertips than we would if we lived anywhere else in the world... Which is a blessing (although at times it may seem like a bit of a mixed blessing, when we are confronted with the vast range of wines sprawling out on the supermarket and independent wine merchants’ shelves). Where do you start ? Well, each month in Sussex Life I am going to make some suggestions to you of delicious, good value wines in the local supermarkets, and also some treasures from our brilliant local wine shops. So for October, here goes!
In Tesco I have discovered an absolutely delicious red from Portugal. I’m a great fan of the port-making grape varieties when they turn their fruit to making table wine, and the formidable Touriga Nacional (Tesco’s Finest, £7.99) has pulled off a magic trick with this marvellous bramble and toasting marshmallow-scented juicy fruity red (named after the grape).
The Secret Cellar is a very enterprising trio of shops (Wadhurst, Tunbridge Wells and Oxted) and internet wine seller with an unusual selection of well-priced wines including many exclusives. A brilliant unusual white is the Italian Unico Pecorino Terre di Chieti 2012 (£12), in a splendid bottle with a glass stopper. A scent of water lilies and heather leads you to a lovely tongue coating wine with delicious notes of greengage, crystallised angelica and a hint of cape gooseberry. Different and delicious. Top seller in Wadhurst is the easy-going claret, Chateau Taillan Lagrave at £8, and I can see why. A bargain! www.jillygoolden.com
