Top 10 wines in the UK press

Matthew Jukes recommends a wine that goes “with virtually every summer dish you can think of” while Fiona Beckett picks out “a wine of real poise and balance”.

Writing in The Guardian, Beckett picks out wines for wine drinkers who are not fans of Sauvignon Blanc. She wrote: “Buy a bottle of Côtes de Gascogne, unoaked white Rioja, Godello, Gacchus or any cheap house white on a restaurant list and chances are it will be a Sauvignon drinkalike. Even if you like Sauvignon, it gets a bit boringly predictable.”

Beckett then adds several wines “where you should look for alternatives.”

As well as the flexible, summer dish wine that Jukes recommended to his readers in the Daily Mail, he also picked out a “budget, red Bordeaux” which is “a real star.”

Click through the following pages to find out which wines these and other UK wine writers have recommended over the last week.

2012 Esk Valley Verdelho

This wine was recommended by David Williams in The Observer. He wrote: “Verdelho has been given a new lease of life in dry whites made by the ever-experimental winemakers of the Antipodes.

“Made by the Esk Valley spin-off project of top Kiwi producer Villa Maria, this is a punchy, tropical fruit salad of a white where the pineapple is washed down by grapefruit and lime for a great match for a spicy salad of, say, mango, chilli, Thai basil, mint and prawns.”

Fratelli Berlucchi Brut 25 Franciacorta

Williams also recommended this wine, writing: “When it comes to sales, Prosecco rules the sparkling roost in Italy, and the style has been a massive hit in the UK. In terms of quality, however, the Italians tend to view the fizz produced in Franciacorta in Lombardy as a cut above. It’s made in the same bottle-fermented way as Champagne, using the same varieties, and this vivacious, toasty 100% Chardonnay suggests the Italians may be on to something.”

Villa Maria Private Bin Gewürztraminer 2011

Fiona Beckett picked out this wine for her readers in The Guardian. She wrote: “Aromatic wines with a touch of sweetness, such as Riesling, Pinot Gris and Gewürztraminer, also stand out from the crowd, with the rose-petally Gewürz especially suited to warm, scented nights.”

She added: “Try Villa Maria Private Bin Gewürztraminer 2011, a wine of real poise and balance that would be lovely with spicy Asian-style salads or an exotic Persian feast.”

2011 Mâcon-Villages Uchizy

This is one of the wines recommended by Matthew Jukes in the Daily Mail. He wrote: “If you favour bone dry, elegant Chardonnay with really crisp acidity and a firm, steely backbone then this is the wine for you. Tense, nervy and racy, this is a beautiful example of why we all love this grape and it goes with virtually every summer dish you can think of.”

2009 Château Bel Air de l’Orme, Bordeaux Supérieur

Jukes also recommended this wine, writing” “2009 is a cracking vintage and this budget red Bordeaux is a real star. With juicy, blackcurrant and plum notes and a whiff of leather and spice this is a captivating, medium-weight summer claret for classicists and modernists alike.”

Sainsbury’s Winemakers’ Selection Costières de Nimes 2011

This wine was chosen by Olly Smith as his “wine of the week” in the Mail on Sunday. He wrote: “Fragrant and spicy, this beefy red flexes its fruit and has a warm, spicy finish. If you want value stick in your trolley.”

2010 Pernand-Vergelesses Blanc, Domaine Rollin Père et Fils

This week’s “Keeper” wine for Jane MacQuitty in The Times, is this “glorious 2010”, she added that is “widely acclaimed white and red Côte d’Or vintage, punches well above its weight.”

MacQuitty write: “If you want good value for money in Burgundy, it pays to pounce on one of the less well-known appellations such as this one. Pernand’s chalkier slopes are best suited to Chardonnay and this one displays all the soft, gentle, almond and cashew-scented, glacé fruit that every Côte d’Or fan craves, complete with a complex, long, tangy finish. Fine summer sipping or put away until 2015 for richer flavours.”

Alain Grignon Viognier 2011/12

This is the wine chosen by Terry Kirby in The Independent as one to enjoy with your “midweek meal”. He wrote: “Can’t afford pricy Condrieu from the northern Rhône? Head over to the Minervois in the Languedoc where you will find this wine from the reliable Grignon stable – fabulous floral aromas, stone fruits such as peach and a touch of citrus, but with a clean finish. Lovely with any Asian spiced seafood. ”

2010 Arenae, Malvasia de Colares

Brian Elliott, in The Scotsman, recommends this wine which, he wrote: “originates from a windy, sandy, coastal area where vines have to be planted in deep trenches.”

He added: “The wine itself has the salty and nutty flavours of sherry (but with a mere 12% alcohol) along with a savoury backdrop rather like soda bread. Those characteristics, however, are wrapped in unexpectedly fresh and smooth layers of apple and lemon.”

Miguel Torres Santa Digna Cabernet Sauvignon Rose Reserva 2012

Writing in the Sunday Express, Jaime Goode recommended this wine, which he described as “bright pink in colour”. He added: “This is a big, full-flavoured rose with lashings of cranberry, redcurrant and blackcurrant flavour, as well as fresh acidity and some balancing sweetness. Try it with  prawn and noodle salad.”