Everyday drinkers

Wine of the moment

What do you drink wine wise with your weekday bowl of pasta that won't break the bank and will still be drinkable ? Good question, and one which depending on who you ask will cost you upwards of £7-10 per bottle (outside of special offers). If you want to spend only a fiver what sort of choice do you have ? If you have no wine specialists nearby and you can't or don't want to travel and have only a large supermarket within reach, what then ?

My solution is to scrutinise the labels very carefully for information about where the liquid comes from and who might have made it with which grape varieties, and using the moderate wine knowledge at my disposal, make an educated guess as to what it might taste like. I then take the plunge and buy a bottle (only one) and taste, preparing, more often than not, to be disappointed.

One recent find, which did not disappoint, is a Garnacha made by Bodegas Borsao from Campo de Borja in Spain sold by a local supermarket as Gran Tesoro for the princely sum of £4.49. Now of course if you are a Bordeaux blend or Pinot Noir purist you might not want to be seen dead drinking Garnacha/Grenache. It is however a grape that is at the heart of many excellent wines from Priorat to the Rhône valley and one which I appreciate having drunk my fill, over the years, of Vacqeyras, Gigondas, Signargues etc.

This particular wine shows red fruit on the nose, with sometimes, depending on the batch, a more complex earthy character. There is good acidity and the alcohol content of 13.5% is well integrated. It is wine which is meant to be drunk with food. In this household it is inevitably consumed with pasta and a simple tomato and olive oil sauce (includes garlic and any herbs available in the kitchen) or a homemade pizza with olives and mozzarella. It has become our everyday drinker and until we find something else will do very nicely.

Bodegas Borsao http://www.bodegasborsao.com/en/index.html