Lower alcohol wines

This is an excellent basic Bordeaux whose easy charm and fruity, herb-scented attack suits all kinds of meals.

It's a true everyday wine, with relatively low alcohol and pleasant vanilla character enhancing the decent finish. Made from vineyards in the Entre-deux-Mers appellation, its blend of grapes is mostly Merlot for smoothness, while Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc add spice and structure to the blend.

The wine is named for an eleventh century monk, one of the first to join the abbot Saint-Gérard at the abbey of La Sauve Majeure and a passionate viticulturalist in addition to his monastic calling.

Made from selected grapes from the Valpolicella hills, this cherry-and-damson scented wine is light and fruity, with barely-there tannins and a clean, fresh finish—a beautiful option for warm summer evenings.

'You wouldn’t normally expect much of a Valpolicella unless it were at least a superiore, but here’s a basic level one that’s head and shoulders ahead of its peers: lovely cherry and vanilla on the nose and lipsmackingly tart and savoury on the palate.'
Blake Creedon, Irish Examiner, January 2012

The Tezza family's 25-hectare estate is just outside the historic heart of Valpolicella in the sheltered microclimate of the Valpantena valley. Their cantina is an intriguing mix of modern and traditional, with ancient cement cisterns alongside gleaming steel vats and giant oak casks. Some of the vines are planted in the classic pergola method, where the grapes hang high, protected from both sun and humidity, while the rest have been converted to the much lower French guyot system, which is tantamount to heresy for old-fashioned winemakers.

The three Tezza brothers began their winery in 1965, and now it is run by their three sons, cousins Flavio, Vanio and Federico. Vanio says: "We are against the present trend of a dolce Valpolicella and Amarone, which many winemakers seem to think the market wants, and we prefer to produce wines to our own principles, with plenty of tannin to age well, and drier."

Guardian travel article here.

Crisp and refreshing Loire Sauvignon with a bright nose of freshly-mown grass and citrus, and a clean, zingy palate of green apples, herbs and stony minerals. Clean, dry finish. Just gorgeous!
Drink with oysters, shellfish, fish, poultry and goat's cheese.

The Wine Guide - "Lovely, cool-climate Sauvignon, with classic, youthful, grassy green apples, a rich midpalate and a refreshing apricot finish."

A silky, mineral thoroughbred from Alsace, packed with citrus, green apple, jasmine and honeysuckle. This wine from the biodynamically run estate of the Meyers has amazing intensity, length and purity of flavour.

This is an unmistakably dry wine, with barely two grammes per litre of residual sugar, but it's rounded and balanced with a delicious fullness that complements its fresh, zesty Riesling acidity.

It's a natural match for fish dishes and seafood, but once you've sampled the style you'll find this a distinguished accompaniment for all kinds of fine dining from poultry and pork to cheese—anywhere full, clean fruit flavours can enhance the flavours of good food.

A thrilling white wine from the north of Portugal, made from a single grape variety—Loureiro—to give a distinct character.

Fresh nose of ripe limes, with honeyish aromas in there too. There's a typical hint of vinho verde spritz—just a tingle— and for a light-bodied wine, there's real depth of flavour, with balanced acidity and minerality contributing to a clean, persistent finish.

Try a Zweigelt—this Austrian red is bursting with juicy cherry fruit wrapped in gentle, velvety tannins. It's not heavy, but it's packed with flavour and serious, mouth-filling fruit. Great with pizza or simply for easy-drinking pleasure, it's deliciously approachable, gluggable even, and at the same time something to surprise and delight the wine buffs.

A less familiar red wine from the Loire, very much worth discovering.

Gorgeous cherry-red colour, and cherries on the nose too. A delicious aromatic mouthful, with all the elegance of Pinot Noir and the mineral cleanness of Sancerre, with fine tannins giving a lingering finish.

Bright, light-bodied and mineral, this is a strawberry-scented but dry rosé from the Vinho Verde DOC, with flavours reminiscent of grapefruit and, again, a hint of red berries.

Is it an orange wine? Well, there's no denying the luminous pale amber colour—a change from the more familiar shades of pink. But it's most definitely a rosé, made from the red Espadeiro grape of northern Portugal; it's not one of those slightly tawny white wines, made with skin and even stem contact, to which the name 'orange' is sometimes given.

This makes a great start to a meal with its mouthwatering acidity and crisp, clean finish.

With a modest abv it's an attractive choice for light meals and picnics, and its vibrant golden colour is likely to prove a talking point. Orange, not 'orange'.