Torre del Falco Nero di Troia, Waitrose (£5.99)

Following on from last weekend's disappointing Californian blend, tonight we opened another Waitrose red from their current special offer selection (tonight's bottle is normally £7.99) in the hope of finding something better.

Nero di Troia (aka Uva di Troia) is a black grape from Puglia,  the heel of Italy's boot, where it is overshadowed by the more famous Primitivo and Negroamaro grapes. Hence why you may never have heard of it.

This wine is full of ripe black cherries, raspberries and sweet spice, with typical Italian acidity that makes it fabulous with food such as roast porchetta, calves liver or, in our case, pizza. A really moreish red wine that is a bargain at it's current special offer price tag.

Happy Swigging!   

Apothic Red Winemakers Blend, Waitrose (£7.49)

Last weekend I was faced with the dilemma of what wine goes with "haggis, neeps & tatties." This is something I had never really contemplated before but, now that I have a toddler alarm clock, I have decided that pure Whisky hangovers are no longer an option.

So I was in Waitrose and saw this bottle of Californian red, currently on offer (normally £10) and I thought it might be interesting. The label says it's a blend of Zinfandel, Merlot, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon, so I imagined quite a big and bold red which could stand up to the spices of the haggis.

Unfortunately, I was a bit disappointed. The wine has the sweetness of Zinfandel but isn't nearly as complex as one would hope. I was expecting some structure from the Cabernet and maybe some dark fruit and spice from the Syrah,  but all I got was a sweet fruit bomb. Having said all that, it might work well with a curry or a BBQ? All-in-all, it's a nice wine but I would have been very upset if I'd paid full price.

Happy Swigging!