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Wines in the press, April 7-10

Published:  10 April, 2012

The Guardian

Eggs are held to be one of the problem foods with wine, so apart from a cuppa - do you drink with them? Asks Fiona Beckett.

Elizabeth David has no truck with the prejudice and thinks wine offers an "enormous enhancement" to a well-cooked omelette. Her own preference was for an Alsace "Traminer" or a crisp Loire white such as Sancerre or Pouilly Fumé. Beckett thinks sparkling wine also goes well with beaten egg dishes such as scrambled eggs or twice-baked soufflés. She recommends Marks & Spencer's Single Estate Chardonnay Cava (£12.99). If you bring in a rich sauce, such as a buttery hollandaise in eggs benedict, you need a fuller-bodied white such as a Meursault or similarly-styled Chardonnay. Beckett opts for Jean-Marc Pillot's Bourgogne Blanc 2010 (£14.99 at Majestic). A full fry-up with bacon, sausage and black pudding is perfectly capable of handling a medium-bodied dry red such as an inexpensive Bordeaux. And chocolate eggs? Beckett recommends half-bottle of Carlo Pellegrino's Pantelleria Passito 2010 (£10, Oddbins) especially with a Terry's Chocolate Orange.

The Sunday Telegraph


Susy Atkins also tackles what to wines to drink with eggs, this Easter. Tea and coffee are what we usually drink, but breakfasters, note that a very strong, tannic tea does not - and therein lies the clue to matching wines with eggs, she says. Tannins - clash nastily with the mouth-coating texture of egg yolk. So that's most red wines ruled out. For Diana Henry's herby egg dishes, stick to whites, and creamy, rounded whites, above all else, she adds. Atkins favours Chardonnay - not the tropical-fruited, oaky New World styles, but subtle, buttery Burgundian version. For the egg salad with creamy dressing, a Burgundy is the right choice, such as a Mâcon or decent plain Bourgogne Blanc. She recommends Marks & Spencer White Burgundy 2010, France (£7.99).


The Independent


Anthony Rose, doesn't as a rule find wine trade reports a riveting read but one line that caught the eye recently was "five million people in the UK drink sparkling wine at least once a week". He wasn't surprised to see that we're not just the biggest guzzlers of Champagne outside France, but that we're also drinking a lot more affordable fizz from elsewhere. We all want the good life, but don't necessarily have the budget, so it helps that sparkling wines have improved beyond measure. Prosecco is popular because of its reasonable price and the instant appeal. Rose recommends Tesco's Finest Bisol Prosecco di Valdobbiadene, (on offer at £7.99). At the recent M&S Cava tasting, Rose was impressed with the Organic Okhre Cava Brut Nature NV, (£9.99). You might also try the UK's own "youthful orchard-fruit" bubbles of Ridgeview Merret South Ridge Brut 2009, (£19,99, Laithwaites), he says.

The Mail on Sunday


We in Britain seem to have a striking fondness for Rioja, says Olly Smith. There are three reasons why Smith is a fan: quality control, a style guide on every bottle and wines that are aged for you and ready to drink. Red wines from Rioja are usually blends led by the headline grape of the region, Tempranillo, that gives an exuberant, juicy strawberry character in young wines but also ages beautifully, he says. This is why Smith believes Rioja appeals to fans of both New World fruit-driven reds as well as more classic styles such as Barolo and Bordeaux. Rioja also makes highly palatable rosé, and fruity range of whites that are dominated by the Viura grape, which has snappy lemony vitality when young but if aged in barrels it thickens and enriches into creamier, nuttier flavours. With the world of wine styles on offer in Rioja, it's a superb destination, says Smith. "Friday night strolling down Calle del Laurel in the town of Logroño, nibbling and sipping from the local tapas joints, is brilliant," he adds.