Now that’s what I call Vino, Volume 4

Sparkling Rosé, Lindauer, New Zealand, NV. 12%.

Owned by Pernod-Ricard, Lindauer is one of the biggest Kiwi wineries and known for their fizz. A blend of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinotage and Chenin Blanc from the NZ regions of Gisborne, Hawke’s Bay and Marlborough. Bottle fermented, but has not used the traditional (“Champagne”) method.

Attractive blush pink/coral, light dry style. Yeasty notes from lees, steady mousse. Strawberry and raspberry aromas and flavours, good balance, fresh acidity, more-ish. Excellent fizz and great value for immediate drinking.

Majestic at £7.99, or £5.99 each if you buy two.

Sauvignon Blanc, Dog Point, Marlborough, New Zealand, 2006. 13.5%. £12.95

A premium Sauvignon Blanc. James Healy and Ian Sutherland used to supply Cloudy Bay but now do their own thing. Dog Point is in Marlborough’s Wairau valley where the grapes are handpicked. This is unusual for a NZ Sauvie, but this ensures the wine goes for freshness and purity rather than the pungent sweaty-armpit style.

Greenish, citrus nose (lemon-grapefruit), gooseberry, grass, good intensity, very aromatic. All stainless steel, blocked malolactic, and no oak. High acidity brings zip, stony mineral undercurrent. Very ripe fruit (possibly guava/passionfruit), quite fleshy palate. Green herbaceous character, dry finish. There’s some welcome subtlety here. Goat’s cheese, asparagus or seafood are good matches. Best drunk while freshness and intensity are at their maximum, now +2

Berry Brothers, £12.95. If you like this then the single vineyard Section 94 is even more special at around £14.50.

Riesling, Pewsey Vale “The Contours”, Eden Valley, S. Australia, 1999. 12.5%.

The Contours is Pewsey Vale’s flagship wine. Pewsey Vale is in the Eden Valley, near Adelaide. It was originally planted in 1847 by English settlers hailing from Pewsey in Wiltshire. Even though Eden Valley is part of the hot Barossa region known for its big red Shiraz and Cabernet’s, the Riesling vines are planted at high altitudes, so get a chance to cool off at night and the growing season is longer, which suits late-ripening Riesling. Louisa Rose, winemaker at Pewsey, was Barossa winemaker of the year in 1999.

Rapier acidity, very focused. Blossom aromas, toast, predominantly kerosene. Deepening mid-yellow on the way to gold colour. Medium body – with a roundness that suggests its new world origins, lime peel fruit. That kerosene nose is not yet reprised on the palate. Delicacy, finesse and intensity – very clever combination, deliberately made to age. Very clean long finish, clear signs of ageing and development. Drink now or keep for 10-15 years to develop further. No oak here to mask the fruit style. A super achievement, that nose is addictive! Food matching: light Thai styles, Sushi/Sashimi, Pacific Rim fusion food.

Berry Brothers, £13.95

Aghiorghitiko, AC Peloponese, Domaine Spiropoulos, “Dorkas” (Red Stag), Nemea, Greece, 2004. 13%

From the mountainous Nemea vineyards in Greece, just south of the Corinth Canal. The Spiropoulos winery is a state-of-the-art affair and they converted to Organics in 1993. Aghiorghitiko is an indigenous Greek variety named after St. George that does very well when planted at high altitude, where it can generate sufficient acidity. Dorkas makes very easy drinking but with enough individuality to hold your interest over a whole bottle. Good example of the wine revolution happening in Greece.

Light red colour and a nose of red berry fruits (esp. sour red cherries) as well as low-level vanilla from maturation in French oak barrels. Fully mature, palate has good weight of fruit and is balanced with soft tannins, just enough acidity, moderate alcohol and a long finish. Polished quality, smooth texture that just goes a little jagged right at the end (tannins show as a little grainy), but none the worse for that. Drinking now and over the next 4 years. Great with sausages!

By the way, this wine was recommended in Men’s Health magazine, as one of “245 cool health, sex, fitness and nutrition tips”. So now you know.

Berry Brothers £7.35

Zinfandel, Ridge, “Lytton Springs”, Sonoma County, California, USA. 2004. 14.5%

Since 1969, Paul Draper has turned Ridge into the one of the very finest makers of Zinfandel and one of the very best Californian wineries, period. Never mind Cabernet or Pinot, for me this is the closest the USA gets to having its very own red grape. These Lytton Springs Zin vines are 115 years old! These geriatric bush vines that survived US prohibition can’t produce many grapes these days, but they have great quality and complexity. 12 months in US oak barrels, 20% new. Actually a blend of 70% Zin, 18% Petit Sirah and 3% Carignan – the other grapes just add a little more complexity.

Dark ruby-purple colour, with a huge complexity of aromas: briar, bramble, dark cherry, raspberry, blueberry and smoke. All continue as flavours, with juicy acidity, creamy body, and fine, smooth, round tannins, underlying mineral streak. Fabulous depth of fruit. Everything carries through to the long finish. Well integrated, great balance – especially good control of alcohol and no heat or spiritiness – instead, the fruit and acidity are an harmonious whole. Leave it to open up and there’s even more development –underbrush, forest floor. Hugely enjoyable now while young, this has enormous ageing capacity, will develop and change over the next 10+ years. Try it with Christmas Dinner and all the trimmings!

Berry Brothers £24.50, and worth every penny.

Valpolicella Superiore Ripasso DOC, Corte Sant’Alda, Veneto, Italy. 2004. 13%. Biodynamic

Marinella Camerani makes this wine about 20 miles from Verona. She started with this small estate in 1998, marrying hand-crafted and labour intensive Biodynamic techniques with the classic Valpolicella grapes - 70% (maximum allowed) Corvina, 20 % Molinara and 10% Rondinella.

Deep colour, ruby-garnet, leggy with extract. Black cherries, violets, balsam, smoke on the nose. Juicy, velvety softness on the palate. Dried black cherries, and a smooth texture. Slightly sour finish – a classic Italian ending. Will develop over many years: expect white pepper, leather, liquorice and anise yet to come. The Ripasso process (where the new wine is re-fermented over Amarone grape pomace in March following the harvest) brings extra fruit, alcohol and complexity. And a high Corvina content brings the black cherry and sour finish. Sensual, heady stuff, and I wouldn’t wait - go for that opulent lush fruit now!

Berry Brothers, £15.50