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Wine Relief, the vinous arm of Comic Relief', is on SUSY ATKINS' mind. Some of the money from selected wines on sale at Majestic, Thresher, Co-Op and six major supermarkets is going to the charity: When you buy these wines, 10% of what you pay goes to the fund to help disadvantaged people.'
She recommends Codornu Teresa Brut Cava NV (6.99; Morrisons); 2005 Tesco Finest San Juan Shiraz (7.99; Tesco); and 2006 Clocktower Sauvignon Blanc (9.99; Marks & Spencer).
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ANTHONY ROSE comments on the recent European Court of Justice ruling which rejected the idea that goods bought in other EU states should only be taxed in their country of origin. If the ruling had gone the other way, it would have been great news for wine drinkers in the UK, allowing us to buy French wine on the internet free of the UK's 1.29-a-bottle duty'.
His recommendations include 2001 Lagunilla Rioja Reserva (4.99; Sainsbury's); 2005 Cuve Extrme (7.99; Marks & Spencer); and 2001 Chteau Grand Puy Lacoste, Pauillac (26.32; Edward Sheldon, 01608 661 409).
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Recent summers have been good for English wines, says JAMIE GOODE. And while English sparkling wines can be expensive, they can also be favourably priced compared to the best from France.
The two English sparklers he recommends are 2003 Ridgeview Bloomsbury Cuve Merret (18.99; Waitrose) and 1999 Nyetimber Premire Cuve (21.99; Waitrose).
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MATTHEW JUKES looks into his crystal ball to see the wine trends of 2007. He sees Viognier as the 'fashionable white grape of the moment' and recommends the 2006 Trivento Viognier from Mendoza, Argentina (4.99, Waitrose). For Aussie reds he goes for the 2005 Majella 'The Musician' Cabernet Sauvignon-Shiraz, Coonawarra (7.99, Oddbins), describing it as the 'finest Aussie red on the shelves at the moment'. He then proposes that his readers should consider Italy and suggests the 2003 Barbera d'Alba Conca Tre Pile from Aldo Conterno (21, Swig). Jukes also says that this year 'we should all learn more about sweet wines'. His offering is the 2003 Hegarty Chamans No.7 hand-harvested,late-autumn dessert wine from the south of France (50cl: 9.99, Oddbins; and 9.75, Irvine Robertson). Finally, Jukes predicts 'great things' from South Africa's wine industry during 2007, and this week's WOW is the 2006 Danie de Wet Earth and Sky Chardonnay from the Robertson region.
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Being charged different prices for the same product, depending on which branch of Tesco you are in, has attracted VICTORIA MOORE's attention this week. Not only Tesco, though: I was surprised to find that a wine I had tasted, and liked, at Marks & Spencer cost 50p more at M&S Covent Garden than it did elsewhere.'
Moore's selections include 2006 Organic Domaine Grand Milford Vin de Pays de Gard Ros (5.99; Marks & Spencer, currently on promotion at 4.79 or 5.27 in Covent Garden M&S); 2005 Le Vaglie Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi (8.99; Booths); and 2006 Chile Cono Sur Viognier (5.49 down to 4.49; Somerfield).
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Armagnac has captured JONATHAN RAY's attention. He reminds us that Armagnac is the oldest distilled spirit in France and draws a comparison with Cognac, pointing out that while four companies control almost all of Cognac's production, Armagnac is made by small artisan producers.
Ray's wine recommendations of the week include 2005 Alain Brumont, Gros Manseng/Sauvignon Blanc (3.99 each when you buy two; Majestic); 2005 Domaine de Tariquet (7.39; Les Caves de Pyrnes); and Floc de Gascogne Chteau de Millet (9.95; Yapp Bros).
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Another with her attention on New Zealand is JANE MacQUITTY. I thought it would be suitably perverse - yet helpful - to turn the spotlight on New Zealand Pinot Noir,' she writes. What Central Otago and other prime New Zealand Pinot Noir regions produce are thrilling, sweet, New World sweet flavours,' she says, and points out that Marlborough continues to lead the Pinot Noir planting stampede'.
Among her recommendations are: 2006 La Baume Sauvignon Blanc (3.74; Sainsbury's); 2004 Altos de Tamaron Ribera del Duero (4.49; Tesco); and Alvada 5 Year Old Rich Madeira (6.99 for 50cl; Waitrose).
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SUSY ATKINS claims that it is now 'de rigeur to recommend wine instead of lager with a curry'. She says what is needed are soft, rounded reds such as Shiraz-Cabernets or Zinfandel, or whites with bags of ripe fruit such as Chardonnays and Chardonnay-Semillons. Her 'Try These...' are: 2005 Les Jamelles Viognier, Vin de Pays d'Oc (4.99, Co-op); 2004 McWilliams Hanwood Chardonnay (5.99, Morrisons); and 2003 Leasingham Magnus Shiraz-Cabernet, Clare Valley (7.99 Somerfield).
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Fruity fizz or wines with a little sweetness are the perfect match for Asian cuisine, says JAMIE GOODE. He suggests NV Deutz Marlborough Cuve (10.99; Oddbins) and 2005 Cono Sur Limited Release Gewrztraminer, Bo Bo, Chile (5.49; Morrisons, Majestic).
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Apparently cider is taking the place of alco-pops for drinkers in their twenties. Magners Irish cider is taking the lead, but JANE MacQUITTY's favourite is Aspall Dry Cyder from Suffolk (1.69-1.79 for 500ml; Waitrose, Tesco, Asda).
Her varied wine selection includes four wines from South Eastern Australia - a red and a white from the Settlement 29 range (both down 2 to 3.99; Somerfield) and a red and a white from Penfolds Koonunga Hill range (both down 1.70 to 4.99; Waitrose).
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ANTHONY ROSE is not so enamoured of Ruinart's Valentine's offering: More like a post-Christmas opportunity to sell, if you ask me.' Instead of pink bubbly he opts for a selection of wines to match The Independent's Valentine recipes. He says Grard Thomas' 2005 Saint-Aubin 1er Cru Murgers des Dents de Chien (14.99; Waitrose) and 2005 Taste the Difference Grner Veltliner (6.99; Sainsbury's) are the perfect choice for Lobster Thermidor.
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This week it's MATTHEW JUKES' turn to recommend pink bubbly for 14 February. He tells us to trade up if in doubt and recommends NV Billecart Salmon Brut Ros (34.95-41.50; Oddbins, Lay & Wheeler, BBR); NV Krug Ros (79.07 for 37.5cl; Bibendum); and NV Ruinart Ros in a gift pack carrying case containing a half-bottle and two glasses (39.95-45; Harrods, Fortnum & Mason, Jeroboams). Jukes points out that he usually thinks gift boxes are naff' so doesn't review them, but this one is so cute you are guaranteed to score an enormous number of points'.
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The Martin Codax from Ras Baxas also comes up among SUSY ATKINS' recommendations for her readers' after Christmas 'retox'. She suggests refreshing white wines to awake a 'sluggish, hibernating palate'. She points to the Loire, Mosel and the Rueda and Ras Baxas regions of Spain, along with Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling and light Italians - Soave, Frascati, Orvieto and Verdicchio. Her 'Try These...' include the Codax Albario as well as 2005 Italian Icons Orvieto Classico (5.99, Thresher) and 2005 Kiwi Cuve Sauvignon Blanc, Vin de Pays du Jardin de la France (4.99, Sainsbury's).
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JOANNA SIMON can't get enough of quirky' wines - made in offbeat ways and places by individuals who are invariably passionate about what they're doing'. She recommends Alberto Longo's 2004 Cacc'e Mmitte di Lucera from northern Puglia (9.95; Lea and Sandeman) and his 2004 Le Cruste made from the local Nero di Troia grape (14.75; Lea & Sandeman).
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VICTORIA MOORE'S dinner schedule takes her to Jerez, Spain, this week.
Although cream and pale cream account for 68% of UK Sherry sales, she suggests trying Fino and Manzanilla. Her recommendations include Hidalgo La Gitana Manzanilla (6.49 for 75cl; Majestic, Sainsbury's); and Fernando de Castilla Classic Fino (8.99 for 75cl; Hedley Wright, Valvona & Crolla).
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A tour and tasting at Mot & Chandon's cellars in Epernay is enough to convince JONATHAN RAY that its wines deserve more respect than he has previously given them.
He confesses that he has found its wines unexciting in the past, but a tasting of the past 10 vintages convinces him otherwise. He has a sneak preview of the 2000 vintage, which will be launched in March, but can reveal no more than that it compares well with its forebears.
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TIM ATKIN MW is a Nebbiolo convert. He used to think that Nebbiolo was overrated: a dry, tannic, old-boot-ish grape whose high prices bore no relation to the stuff in the bottle'. He now compares the wines of Piedmont to heaven on earth.
Modern producers such as Angelo Gaja and Ello Altare, and traditionalists including Bruno Giacosa, have changed his mind, but he admits that Nebbiolo can still be disappointing and inconsistent.
He recommends Sainsbury's 2002 Taste the Difference Barolo, Ascheri (12.99), up to the more costly 2001 Asili di Barbaresco from Bruno Giacosa (59.33; John Armit).
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JANE MacQUITTY presents the second week of her Top 100 Winter Wines: 25 bottles under 8. Star White is 2005 Chteau G Guiraud Bordeaux Blanc Sec, France (7.99; Majestic) and Star Red is 2005 Crozes Hermitage Les Gravires, Jean-Luc Colombo, France (11.99, down to 7.99 from 4 December; Waitrose).
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This week JANCIS ROBINSON MW gets involved in politics by hosting two wine tastings at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The reader gets a blow-by-blow account of the tastings. The first features a selection of 30- to 50-year-old clarets, which, in virtually all cases, had mellowed to the most charming, delicate, subtle wines'. The Ukranian Prime Minister was particularly taken with the 1962 Lafite.
The second tasting, of an eclectic collection of wine styles, included the best Indian red wine Robinson has tasted - the 2003 Grover La Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon - vinified with the consultancy skills of Michel Rolland.
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After the success of the 2005 Bordeaux vintage last year, it's Burgundy's time to stand in the spotlight, says JONATHAN RAY. The general consensus from producers and buyers is that the 2005 vintage is more than a match for its counterparts in Bordeaux. And he says they have a distinct advantage: so ripe, fruity and approachable are they, you can open them and enjoy them from the very day you take delivery'.
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