De Bortoli Verdelho 2009

If you haven't tried Verdelho, now's your chance. The very decent 2009 DB De Bortoli Verdelho (13.5%) is on a 25% discount at Waitrose at £4.58 a bottle until January 25th.

It's light, lush and limey (sorry - couldn't resist the alliteration but it's true). A bit less aromatic than a riesling, softer than a Sauvignon but a bit zestier than a Semillon, it would be good with Asian-style salads, seafood (I'm thinking grilled prawns) or noodles. Or just for one of those 'feet-up' moments when you get back from work.

The Aussies pronounced it verdello by the way.

Rating: ***

Wolf Blass Cabernet for under a fiver

Asda is currently selling the 2008 Wolf Blass Yellow Label Cabernet Sauvignon for £4.48, half their usual price of £8.97 - which is great news if you like the intense cassis flavours of South Australian Cab. (As you can probably guess from that it's not totally my cup of tea)

Actually it's great news for you and Asda, less good for Wolf Blass who I understand from a former supermarket buyer friend, is powerless to prevent this kind of discounting and not so good for the image of Australian wine which has already taken a battering.

Should supermarkets do it? I guess while they can they will but it seems hard on a decent producer who will then struggle to get a fair return on their wine and must be tempted to reduce the quality. So maybe not so good for Wolf Blass fans in the long run?

* If you're not near an Asda, the dreaded Bargain Booze (surely the government wants to do something about store names like that?) seems to be selling it for £5.99. And it's £7.49 from Wine Rack which suggests that Asda's original selling price is higher than it need be.

Rating (at this price): ****

A Clare Valley Riesling bargain

I love Clare Valley riesling but it's become quite pricey. But if you act fast you can pick up a real bargain in Asda this week.

Their Extra Special range is on offer at 25% off until Sunday which brings the cost of their Australian Clare Valley riesling down to £5.98 instead of £7.98 (not that that's a bad price given it's made by Knappstein)

I'm not sure that all of it is the 2008 vintage which has acquired that seductive kerosene (yes, really) and lime character that characterises riesling from this part of South Australia - in fact in this instance it's more like lime pickle which immediately makes me think it would be good with Indian food. A selection of veggie curries and dals maybe as it's suitable for vegetarians. Or a korma, mild green Thai curry or Thai-ish prawn stir-fry.

I haven't had the chance to taste my way through the Extra Special wines recently but not all of them are this good so don't go mad on the strength of this recommendation. The 'Extra Special' Gavi is quite dull, for example. For a full round-up check out my colleague Tim Atkin's blog here.

Rating: ****