Helen McGinn Last night our book club met at the beach. It was a glorious evening – calm sea, colourful sunset, cold rosé. We swam before tucking into a picnic and a discussion about the book, once we’d remembered what the book was called in the first place (Stay With Me. Ironic, really). Anyway, running into the sea like Phoebe from Friends (you know, in The One Where Phoebe Runs) was exhilarating. Liberating, even. One of the perks of getting older is not giving two hoots what you look like in a swimming costume, despite parts being a little less perky than they once were. Add rosé-tinted glasses and everything looks fairly fabulous.
Current rosé in the fridge: Les Etoiles Rosé
Price: £9.99 - Buy From Co-op
Gorgeous pale rosé made by the Perrin family (the same lot that make Brad & Angelina’s wine Miraval), this is all white peach and light red fruits, just as it should be. The label doesn’t tell you much; happily the wine does the talking. Normally £11.99 but it’s on offer at the moment so a relative bargain. Fill boots accordingly.
Current red in the rack: Tanners Super Douro
Price: £14.50 - Buy From Tanners
There’s something reassuringly chunky about Portuguese reds and this one’s got buckets of warm black fruits, smooth spice from ageing in oak barrels and a bit of lovely earthiness to it. Made from a blend of grapes including Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz and Touriga Franca, the same ones used to make Port in this particular region. Don’t even think about having this without food, preferably something meaty and barbecued.
I don’t get it, Touriga Nacional is the most revered Port grape accounting for about 2% of total Douro plantings, most growers hate it because of the low yields but here it is turning up in a mid (ish) priced wine 🤔