Helen McGinn I had lunch with Rob Lowe last week. OK, ‘had lunch with’ might be pushing it. I was in a restaurant and he was on the next door table. Still, close enough to see that he looked pretty much as he did in St Elmo’s Fire but with slightly better hair. And to think I nearly married him!* (It was between him and John Taylor from Duran Duran). Anyway I was in one of my favourite restaurants, The River Cafe, as part of my get-through-January plan. The food was uh-mazing as was the bottle of Chianti shared with friends. I think I need a plan for February. I’ll see if John Taylor’s free.
*In my early teenage dreams, obviously.
Current white in the fridge: Tesco Finest Saint Mont
Price: £4.80 - Buy From Tesco
Fun fact: we pay more than £2 in tax on every bottle of wine. Which is why bottles of wine under a fiver are seriously few and far between. Here’s a cracker though, a brilliant quince-like white from Saint Mont, a region in Southwest France just below Bordeaux. Made from a cocktail of local grapes including Gros Manseng, Petit Courbu, Arrufiac and Petit Manseng, it’s normally £6 so definitely worth stocking up if you find some.
Current red in the rack: El Tesoro Malbec
Price: £7.49 - Buy From Ocado
Currently on offer (it’s normally £8.99), this Argentinian red is simple, juicy and bright. Made from the Malbec grape, it’s medium bodied with plum and blackcurrant fruit flavours and a ‘lil kick of allspice at the end. Basically, just the kind of thing to perk up a lazy midweek supper.
