Two good Fairtrade reds

Having been quite critical about Fairtrade wines in my Guardian column today it's good to find a couple of recommendable wines I didn't have an opportunity to taste before I filed my copy. Both come from Sainsbury's top level Taste the Difference range, a welcome indication they take the quality of Fairtrade wines seriously.

All are on promotion and cheaper still if you take advantage of Sainsbury's current offer of 25% off all wines if you buy any six bottles (up to and including Tuesday, March 1st)

Taste the Difference Leap Point Fairtrade Pinotage 2010 (14%, down from £7.49 to £5.61, or £4.21 when you buy 6 or more bottles)
A soft, intensely fruity red that would be good with a medium-hot lamb curry or, once the weather warms up, a barbecue. Produced from dry farmed bush vines by the Citrusdal winery, one of the first Fairtrade certified wineries in South Africa. ***

Taste the Difference Fairtrade Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 (14%, down from £9.99 to £7.49 or £5.62 if you buy 6 or more bottles)
A really lush, sweet, delicious minty Cab produced by Bosman Family Vineyards. Some firm tannins which makes it more a wine to serve with food than drink on its own. Would be great with a steak, roast or grilled lamb, roast field mushrooms and hard cheeses like cheddar. ***

They also have a couple of whites I was less impressed by but given the scale of the discounts you might want to give them a whirl:

Taste the Difference Fairtrade Sauvignon Blanc 2010 (13.5% £6.99 down to £5.24 or £3.93 when you buy 6 or more bottles)
Simple, crisp and lemony - a touch sharp but would be fine with with garlicky prawns or a seafood salad **

Taste the Difference Fairtrade Chenin Blanc 2010 (13.5% down from £7.99 to £5.99 or £4.49 if you buy 6 or more bottles) 13.5%
Slightly weedy and sharp for Chenin, despite some attractive melony fruit. Would be fine with a chicken salad or seafood pasta dish. Wouldn't pay the full price for it.**

STOP PRESS: I've just discovered that organic wine supplier Vinceremos is offering a case of wine that's both Fairtrade and organic. Just what I was asking for in my piece. More details here.

Morrisons Fairtrade wine promo

For some odd reason Morrisons is jumping the gun and promoting two of the Fairtrade wines it stocks now rather than during Fairtrade fortnight which starts on February 28th. Or maybe it'll keep them on offer then too.

Anyway they're from the Fairhills range and include a Sauvignon Blanc and a Shiraz/Merlot. To be honest I wouldn't recommend them at their normal retail price of £6.69 but at £4.99 they're reasonable value especially the Shiraz/Merlot (**), a soft juicy red which would make a good partner for a midweek pasta dish or a Friday night pizza. The Sauvignon (**) is a bit sharp but would probably go down fine with a few garlicky prawns or other robustly seasoned seafood.

I just hope it's Morrisons taking the hit for the discount and not Fairhills. The offer lasts till February 20th.

You can find out more about the Fairhills project on Vimeo