SAINSBURY'S DRINKS FESTIVAL
Sainsbury's have their Drinks Festival from Wednesday 17 aug until 13 sep which includes quite substantial reductions on organic wines but lots of other bargains besides. These are the best bets I can see:
Villa Wolf Pinot Noir Rose 2004 £6.99 down to £4.99
Erni Loosen's entry into the pink market – very fine and fruity from Pfalz (try saying that after two glasses)
Campaneo Garnacha £5.99 down to £2.99
This Spanish wasn't one of my favourites for my recommendations of Grenache recently but at this price it's definitely worth looking at.
Tabali Cabernet Sauvignon £6.99 down to £4.99
Run don't walk to this one, made by multi award-winning new venture in an exciting new region in Chile.
CO-OP SPECIAL OFFERS
Co-op stores are also doing their bit in Organic Week, 3-11 sep, reducing a few organic lines from £5.29 to £3.99, and have the following reductions from next week 22 aug until 11 sep:
Co-op Adelaide Hills Sauvignon Blanc 2004 £4.99 down to £3.99
It was only a moment ago that Sauvignon Blanc from the super-cool, in both senses, Adelaide Hills was one of Australia's most expensive whites from the likes of Shaw and Smith and Nepenthe. Now, to judge from a few special offers around, there's a glut of it. It's true that 2004 was a pretty unexciting vintage for this combo but £3.99 looks a good price – though I must say that, unlike the other wines here, I haven't tasted it.
Cuvee Mythique 2001 Vin de Pays d'Oc £6.99 down to £4.99
This is another great buy – the flagship blended red of Val d'Orbieu, the giant co-op amalgamation of the Languedoc which at one stage owned some pretty smart property in Bordeaux. And 2001 was the best vintage here available for current drinking.
WAITROSE
Among their regular monthly reductions for August, this one took my fancy particularly, especially since this wine was previously wine of the week.
Felsner Grüner Veltliner Moosburgerin, Felsner 2003 Kremstal £7.99 down to £6.99
It was the 2003, at £7.99, that I recommended last October but this is a great price for a fine, sleek example of Austria's signature grape with lots of fruit but a dry finish.
