Helen McGinn As ever, I’m slightly late to the party but why didn’t anyone tell me about Samin Nosrat? My stepmother kindly bought me her book – Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat – for my birthday last year and it sat on the bookshelf for a while because, if I’m honest, I didn’t really get it. No pictures, few recipes. But then I heard her being interviewed on the radio and she sounded so gloriously enthusiastic about her subject i.e. food, it made me grab the book off the shelf and start reading. Now I’m watching her series on Netflix and it’s properly brilliant. Not to mention so beautiful to watch it makes you want to travel/eat more. Preferably with Samin. Anyway, it made me think about wine. Yes, I know most things make me think about wine but the point is Samin breaks down the art of good cooking to four key elements. Understand them and you can make everything taste great, she says. I think the same goes for wine. Four key factors affect the flavour of wine and that’s the grape variety, where it’s grown, how it’s grown and who made it. Like food, the combinations are endless. And the secret to good drinking? Choosing wisely. Now, pass me your glass.
Current white in the fridge: Roero Arneis
Price: £13.99 - Buy From Adnams
Arneis is the name of the grape and the best ones come from a small corner of Piedmont in northern Italy, called Roero. It’s a gem of a white, all peachy fruit wrapped in citrus freshness. And being a little more off the beaten track than most, it’s a bit more expensive. But it’s fabulous. Add a plate of figs and parma ham and it’s much easier to ignore the washing basket.
Current red in the rack: Les Breloques Rouge
Price: £8.00 - Buy From Co-op
A charming red made (mostly) from the Grenache grape from southern France, this is warm and juicy and just what you want when the weather means we need to spend more time on the sofa for the foreseeable. With bramble fruit flavours and a kick of spice, I’m not complaining. Just add stew/good telly.
