Londoners Magazine

This week, let red wines take centre stage, with an easy guide to what all the labels mean.

Merlot

Probably the most famous grape, but not that popular in recent years. Merlot has a plum taste, or occasionally currant. It lends itself easily to being blended with other grapes and I find these to be slightly friendlier to a novice palette. A Grenache, a weak and flexible grape, is often paired with a merlot, for a more flavourful taste.

Cabernet sauvignon

Cab sauvs taste of blackcurrant, but can also carry tastes of pepper, vanilla (from oaked wines) and even mint (found in Australian wines). They are quite strong wines and can be blended with less-strong grapes. Much of the new world wine regions are given to the making of cabernet sauvignon because high temperatures make a lovely strong taste and colour. But if you really want to go all out with your money, try a traditional Bordeaux cab sauv.

My favourite affordable wine of all time is a cabernet sauvignon from Casillero del Diablo. It is a new world, from Chile, and has such a smooth taste that you can drink it socially, with food or even chill it slightly for the summertime. And it only costs around £6 at the supermarket or off-license. Even my local corner shop stocks it.

Pinot noir

Pinot noir is my favourite and most highly recommended wine. But you need to be looking at spending no less than around £20 in a bar or £10 in the supermarket to find a really good one.

Pinot noir is one of the hardest wines to produce and if you make a good one, then you are a well respected wine maker. The grape originated in Burgundy, but is now produced around the world, including England.

The bouquet can depend on the region, and range from black cherry, raspberry or currant. But it always tends to be fairly light to medium bodied.

Shiraz/Syrah

Don’t be fooled, these are the same thing but have different names depending on the country. Australians call the grape shiraz and everywhere else it is syrah. I would say that syrah is one of the easiest wines to drink for people who aren’t keen on red wines. It is a very dark colour, almost purple, with a taste of blackberries or other dark berries, and pepper. Australian shiraz will often have a bit of spice to it and more of a kick; try the Yalumba range.