'For too long, half-bottles have been seen as the preserve of either the lonely or the cautious drinker,' says JONATHAN RAY. 'In fact, they are a godsend to wine lovers, often enabling us to enjoy our wine in greater variety and quality (and even quantity) than is possible with fully fledged 75cls.' Ray laments the relative difficulty of finding halves, certainly in the multiples, which prefer screwcapped 25cl bottles and tend to reserve 37.5cl bottles for dessert wines. 'But it is in restaurants that halves really come into their own.' Both Ray and James Palmer of Roussillon restaurant in Pimlico 'can't understand' why they're not more popular with restaurateurs, 'not least because the margins are good and a couple dining together might have three different halves rather than one bottle'.
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MATTHEW JUKES picks out his favourite sparklers, including NV Prosecco La Marca (5.99; Waitrose) and NV Sparkling Pinot Grigio (6.99; Marks & Spencer). His Wine of the Week is NV Wolf Blass Red Label Sparkling Chardonnay/Pinot Noir (7.99; Sainsbury's).
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GILES KIME is rooting for Riesling and his drinks of the week include 2003 Bassermann-Jordan Pfalz (6.99; Waitrose) and 2003 Tesco Finest Great Southern (7.99; Tesco).
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JAMIE GOODE is starting early these days and recommends a couple of bottles for 'those lavish, loungy brunches': 2005 Woolpunda Cabernet Ros, South Australia (4.79; Morrisons), 2001 Carmen Nativo Cabernet Sauvignon, Maipo (7.99; Waitrose, Booths).
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Investing in wine is 'akin to having a punt on the horses', says JANE MacQUITTY. 'Do lots of research before you buy' is her main point, and check www.wine-searcher.com on a regular basis if you want to keep up with the game. MacQuitty's top wines this week include 2003 Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon (5.99; Co-Op) and 2004 Climbing Merlot, Orange, Australia (8.99, or buy two for 6.49 each; Majestic).
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There's no need to abandon white wine just because summer's nearly over, says VICTORIA MOORE. 'Plenty of whites are just as tempting in chilly weather as they are when it is blazing hot,' she adds, listing a couple of full-bodied examples: 2004 Laurent Miquel Vrit Viognier Vin de Pays d'Oc (11.99; Waitrose) and 2003 Pancole Vernaccia di San Gimignano (7.50; Lea & Sandeman).
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Did you know that the smell of hamburgers and freshly baked bread can trigger road rage attacks? Neither did I, but a study at West Virginia's Wheeling Jesuit University has shown that such aromas make 'drivers become hungry and therefore irritable, and thus likely to drive too fast', reports RICHARD EHRLICH. The research also found that four odours induce a sense of calm: coffee, lemon, cinnamon and peppermint. Cue a couple of summer drink recommendations. Ehrlich has a soft spot for the New Orleans classic, Caf Brlot, a mix of strong black coffee, brandy, sugar, citrus peel, cloves and vanilla. His second tip is iced tea, 'another drink at which Americans excel'. His recipe comprises strong tea and fizzy water, in a ratio of 3:1, over ice, with a touch of lemon or lime juice and a sprig of mint. Enough to placate the most inflamed motorist, surely.
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JANCIS ROBINSON MW discovers a whole new category of wine known as Vinos Atlnticos 'all of them bracing wines with very different local personalities but all given tension by the cooling influence of the Atlantic'. She goes on to give some background on the four main members of the Atlantic club: Vinho Verde ('to me smells like laurel leaves'), Ras Baixas (manage[s] to pack an impressive amount of pure & fruit into the bottle'), Txakoli ('as an apritif it is in a class of its own') and Iroulguy ('if Txakoli is the white wine of Spanish Basque country, Iroulguy is its French counterpart').
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RICHARD EHRLICH, on the other hand, is not nearly so sure about Matt Skinner's Thirsty Work. 'What worries me about the book is that it tries to do something that perhaps can't be done: to give wine the bash it up and bung it in the pot treatment that Jamie Oliver used so successfully for cooking.' And not content with taking a swing at Skinner, Ehrlich continues, 'some problems could have been remedied by more attentive editing such as eliminating the dozens of exclamation marks that litter the pages'. However, Suzy Atkins's Cocktails and Perfect Party Drinks (4.99; Quadrille) gets the thumbs-up, and The Wines of the Napa Valley by Larry Walker (20; Mitchell Beazley) is 'a real treat'. For
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The only way to really understand wine is to carry on tasting, says JONATHAN RAY. 'Tastings might range from hushed and highbrow ticket-only black-tie events hosted by a Master of Wine, to a few chums around the kitchen table comparing notes over a Chardonnay or two, and they are an essential part of any wine lover's journey.' In an attempt to avoid an organised tasting session turning into a drunken debacle, Ray recommends keeping the number of wines to a minimum (four of each colour) and following a set procedure white before red and unoaked before oaked, for example.
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TIM ATKIN MW's selection includes 2000 Samos Nectar (9.7010.59; Tanners, SH Jones) and De Bortoli Show Liqueur Muscat (10.99; selected Oddbins).
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Rich, aromatic and white is the order of the day from GILES KIME and he suggests trying a 2004 Villa Maria Private Bin Gewurztraminer (8.05; Waitrose) or a Brown Brothers Pinot Gris (6.99; Waitrose). n
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RICHARD EHRLICH advocates the homemade smoothie but if you prefer to buy, he recommends three from James White, including Apple and Cinnamon Juice (www.jameswhite.co.uk).
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JAMIE GOODE is seduced by ros and picks out a few favourites, including 2004 Castel Syrah Ros, Vin de Pays d'Oc (4.99; Oddbins) and Marks & Spencer Cava Rosado (5.99; Marks & Spencer).
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Aligot is what to order if you like your wine to resemble 'a slap in the face', according to VICTORIA MOORE. The lesser white grape of Burgundy can have 'the freshness of crisp apples', she says. Bourgogne Aligot Guy Chaumont (7.99, Adnams) is recommended.
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'The Aube is the hidden gem of Champagne,' says ANTHONY ROSE. He acknowledges the difficulties of being a late arrival in this famous appellation (the Aube wasn't made an official part of Champagne until 1927), saying: 'Nearly a century on, a sniffy, de-haut-en-bas attitude from Champagne's heartland of Reims and Epernay prevails.' But he happily defends the Aube and points out the inconsistency of the doubters, saying: 'Some three quarters of all the Aube's grapes end up an hour's drive north in brands as renowned as Mot, Lanson, Veuve Clicquot, Laurent Perrier and Billecart-Salmon.' His recommendations include Andr et Michel Drappier Brut Nature (19.99; Anthony Byrne Fine Wines) and Fleary Brut (21.99; Waitrose).
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VICTORIA MOORE ditches her usual, conversational-style column and replaces it with a series of food/wine matches. For Angela Hartnett's crostini, she recommends 2004 Torresoto (4.99; M&S), 'a lovely ros from Rioja with a truly hideous Barbie pink and ochre label'; for a chilled courgette soup with garlic and yoghurt, she opts for 2003 Teroldego Rotaliano Endrizzi (7.99; Adnams), 'a red with summery, berry flavours and a charming, country feel'; while for fricassee of Scottish girolles with Parmesan, Moore pushes the boat out with 2000 Ettore Germano Barolo (31.95; Uncorked, italianwinesdirect.com, Thameside Wines), which is 'hauntingly beautiful'.
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MATTHEW JUKES raves about Riesling this week and provides his own choice of five, ranging from the driest 2004 Felton Road Dry Riesling, Central Otago (12.70; Jeroboams & Layton's of London) through to the most 'luscious and juicy, but not sweet' 2004 Dragonstone Riesling, Rdesheimer, Drachenstein, Josef Leitz, Rheingau (7.59; Oddbins, 7.34; Weavers of Nottingham).
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JOANNA SIMON comments on the wisdom, or otherwise, of including the term 'old vines' on wine labels. 'Unless you are in the know, the term probably has about the same level of appeal as old socks'. Conversely, she points out that 'growers are right to draw attention to the age of their vineyards, because vines produce grapes of increasingly fine quality the older they get.' She recommends three good-value, old-vine red wines from Spain, including 2003 Casa de las Ermita Monastrell, Jumilla (6.69; Oddbins).
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TIM ATKIN MW puts his wine column to one side this week
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