£8.95, Tanners
This is just the sort of uncomplicated but delicious Italian red that cheers up any chill winter evening or Sunday lunch. Full of juicy cherry, damson and hedgerow berry fruit against a backdrop of light peppery, herbal notes, it's that bit more polished than most Montepulciano d'Abruzzo at under £10 and is one of a trio of wines from the Mazzocchetti family of Tenuta del Priore that Tanners has just listed. I could as happily have chosen either of the other two, a white Abruzzo or the fuller, oak-matured Montepulciano. This, though, is a shoo-in with meaty sausages – British, Toulouse, fennel-flavoured Italian – or pasta with meat sauces or meatballs, while being equally at home with the likes of spinach with anchovy and goats' cheese or pecorino. It's not going to do Dover sole or turbot any favours, but it'll slot in with all sorts of everyday dishes or roasts. 13.5%
Tenuta del Priore Campotino Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2017, Abruzzo, Italy
£8.95, Tanners