Chilean Bargain of the Week

 

Luis Felipe Edwards Mountain View Chardonnay 2011 (from £4.99 Majestic)

You are not going getting 1er Cru Chablis for £4.99 but you are getting a crisp, buttery chardonny with bags of flavour and good balance. The price is for a limited time but even at full price it is worth having

What to take to a BYO?

Wine: What to take to a BYO? | Life and style | The Guardian

Fiona Beckett

Mas Belles Eaux Vin de Pays de Caux Rosé 2010 (£7.95,fromvineyardsdirect.com; 12.5% abv), an elegant blend of syrah and mourvèdre from an estate just north of Pézenas . At that price it is at least £2 less than a comparable Provençal rosé would be.

Neutral, minerally whites such as the flexible Austrian grüner veltliner really useful. Waitrose has a good offer on the Domäne Wachau Terraces Grüner Veltliner 2010(12% abv), which from next Wednesday will be reduced from £8.49 to £6.36 (though you may well find the 2009, which is also fine).

Australian chardonnay with some bottle age, such as the sumptuously creamy Leeuwin Estate Prelude Chardonnay 2008, from Margaret River (14.5% abv), currently £23 from the Wine Society, it's perfect for scallops, salmon, roast chicken or veal, so covers a fair number of menu options.

Reds that you can chill and drink with fish are also handy, for instance a beaujolais, Loire red or a pinot noir. The luscious Errazuriz Wild Ferment Pinot Noir 2009 from Chile (£9.59 if you buy two or more at Majestic; 14.5% abv) should keep everyone happy. It's really impressive for a big brand.