£9.99, Waitrose Think of this as an alternative to a goose-down duvet, a red to snuggle up with as the evenings get chillier: a soft, soothing, Valpolicella-type wine, but super-charged with deep, velvety, dried-cherry fruit, coffee-bean, nutmeg, vanilla and dark chocolate flavours. There are no chewy tannins, so although it'll take a beef casserole in its stride it won't overpower lighter food and is especially good with in-season game birds such as mallard, partridge and pi

£4.97, Asda Wine Atlas Bobal A mouthful of juicy, dark cherries with a hint of bakewell tart and peppery, liquoricey chewiness make this a good wine for red meat - a casserole if the barbie has been put into winter storage. Bobal is the grape variety and it's big in acreage in Spain, but for some reason they keep the name largely under wraps. This wine has an impressive pedigree in that the award-winning, ex-Ritz sommelier Bruno Murciano had a big hand in creating it. Wine At

£12.50, Yapp Brothers Recommending a Crémant de Limoux, rather than a Prosecco, makes me feel a bit like King Canute. There seems to be no holding back the tidal wave of Prosecco flowing into the nation's bars, trolleys, fridges and glasses, but if you sometimes (or always) crave something less sweet and frothy, here is a French sparkling wine that's more like Champagne. It's made in the same way as Champagne, using the same grape varieties, and has a similar, enticing, biscu

£6.50, Sainsbury's A young Spanish red made without any ageing in oak so that the bright, bold flavours are all about fruit and spice - ripe berries, juicy plums, sweet red peppers and crushed black peppercorns. For the fact file: the winemaking is modern, but the vines (aka Mourvèdre and Syrah) are old and are left to grow as bushes. Cries out for meaty sausages, red meat - on the barbie if it's still fired up - or melt-in-the-mouth slow-roast pork. Pasico Bush Vine Monastre

£12.49, Noel Young Wines; £12, WoodWinters A sumptuous but dazzlingly crisp, zesty dry white, with rich tropical and citrus fruit, a hint of ginger and pepper and a sea-spray freshness to finish. While you're trying it with seared scallops, dressed crab, griddled prawns, a flavoursome risotto or herby, lemony chicken, tell someone its story: the Chenin Blanc vines are 70-years-old (the label says 40, but that's another story) and share a rocky slope with rooibos tea plants -

£14.75, Oddbins A wine for opera lovers, Puccini fans, incurable romantics and anyone who likes full, generously fruity, soft-textured reds: this has raspberry and blackberry compote flavours, a hint of liquorice and a freshness that comes from the Gamay grape (better known for Beaujolais). What's in the name? Dame Nellie Melba, an incomparable Mimi in La Bohème, was from the Yarra Valley. Versatile with food, so what about wild boar chops, Italian sausages, or lasagne? La Bo

£8.99, Lidl Wine writers get everywhere these days… even to Lidl. This Saint-Bris is from a new collection, headlined The French Session, which comes in on 3 September and stays only as long as stocks last. If you like Sauvignon Blanc, you'll love this - it's brimful of fresh, crunchy, ripe gooseberry flavours. Pair it with Vietnamese and Thai food, white fish with lemon, tomatoes and red peppers or goats' cheese. Anorak fact: Saint-Bris is the only area of Burgundy where Sau

£11, Marks & Spencer If this dark, handsome, cassis and cedar-scented red was from Bordeaux, it would be more expensive, but the wines of nearby Bergerac don't command the same prices. Lucky us. It's a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, matured in French oak barrels for extra depth and a vanilla-edged smokiness. As stocks may have run dry by December, I'm flagging up now that it would be a lovely wine to give or to receive, especially as you could lay it down for a coupl

With a nod to nostalgia I thought about starting this editorial: Once upon time there was a supermarket chain called Safeway. I decided not to because a) originality can be so unsettling, b) this is not about Safeway, c) it’s not even about supermarkets. You’re welcome to breathe a sigh of relief at c), especially as I’m about to go off at a complete tangent before I’ve even started – that’s the luxury of a blog. Tangent: one of my favourite, as far as I know unrehearsed, sup