Wines of the Week

THANKS to Lutomer Laski Riesling, poor old rhine riesling (which is the real riesling grape as distinct from the inferior laski riesling) has come a cropper in the popularity stakes.

So what do you do with a scented, summery, dry white wine you can't sell because it's made from rhine riesling? You dress it up in a Bordeaux bottle, of course, and call it something else. Hence Penfold's Glenloth Coonawarra Dry White, pounds 2.99, Oddbins, and Somerfield Dry White, pounds 2.99, Gateway. Good value, too, at Gateway is their oak-aged Syrah, Vin de Pays d'Oc 1991, pounds 2.85, a vibrant, agreeably rustic, full-flavoured red.

From the same region, Domaine de St Laurent is another affordable vin de pays made by a Frenchman with the unlikely name (for a Frenchman) of Eric Latham. The 1991 white, pounds 2.85, Asda, is cleanly made and invigorating with a hint of baked-apple fruitiness. The 1990 red is spicy and soft and, at pounds 2.65, excellent value.

Still in vin de pays country, Chais Baumiere 1991 Sauvignon Blanc, pounds 4.95, Sainsbury, captures the crisp, mouth-watering varietal character of the sauvignon grape, adding a touch of new world tropical fruitiness.