Domaine Gadais Muscadet de Sèvre & Maine sur lie 2016
I always enjoy Marks & Spencer tastings. Of all the supermarkets, they have the highest quality wines and stock the most eclectic range. The latest tasting included wines from Bolivia and Mexico which you will find alongside The Lebanon, New York, Croatia and Turkey and many more. Slightly more mainstream, the Domaine Gadais Muscadet (11.30) is a delicious light thirst-slaking wine with delectable pear fruit. Perfect with a plate of briny oysters, but any other shellfish would do.
Perricone 2016 Caruso & Minini, IGP Terre Siciliane
It sounds more like the name of an opera, but the Caruso & Minini Perricone is a very tasty wine from Sicily. The Perricone grape is not well-known, even in Sicily, but it produces wonderfully herbal, aromatic wines with juicy dark fruits and a dry finish. Perfect with tomato-based pasta dishes, including ragu, and spicy Italian sausages. 12.30 from Marks & Spencer.
The Hungry Monk Restaurant, Greystones
Tired of paying huge sums of money for indifferent wines when eating out? The Hungry Monk Restaurant in Greystones has won many awards for its excellent, keenly-priced wine list. They currently have a fine sale running (for consumption on the premises only) at prices considerably less than most retail shops. Sample prices include Chateau Langoa Barton 2000 for 75, Ch. La Lagune 2000 for 50, and two vintages of Ch. Lynch Bages - 1999 for 70 and 2002 for 60. There are many more besides, while stocks last.