Downham Market-based wine columnist Jiles Luckett recommends vinos to put a spring in your step

In his fortnightly ‘Wine O’Clock’ column, Giles Luckett looks at wines that will put a spring into your step…

Spring is in the air, and I’ve heard the siren’s call for new wines. With new foods in season, lighter evenings and the potential for a spot of alfresco sipping, the season of renewal is the perfect time to make the acquaintance of some new wines.

Following some intensive winter training, I mean, tasting, I recommend you charge your glass with these beauties…

First up, a fizz the Cune Cava Brut (Majestic £15 or £12 on a mixed six). I tasted (drank!) this several times last year and it consistently impressed.

While some Cava can be all fizz and no fruit, this has serious complexity offering layer on upon layer of white, green and yellow fruits with a preachy texture and a refreshing nectarine acidity.

Lovely on its own, it’s excellent with salty nibbles or seafood.

Spring always sees rosés come in from the cold, and my first of 2025 was the Villa Maria Blush Sauvignon Blanc (Sainsbury’s £11).

How you make a rosé from Sauvignon Blanc was a bit of headscratcher – unlike grapes like Pinot Grigio which have pinkish skins, Sauvignon grapes are as green as bowling green.

Turns out they add a little Merlot which not only gives it its pretty colour but adds a touch of cranberry and plum to the gooseberry, rhubarb, and passionfruit tones.

Zesty and intense, it would be perfect with roast pork, peppery green salads or white fish.

And so to the reds, and my first recommendation, the Wakefield Promised Shiraz Cabernet 2020 (Tesco £9.50) is an absolute cracker.

It’s rare to see Aussie wines at this price with some bottle age to them and time has softened it and added a touch of autumn leaves and mellow woodland fruit tones to what must have been a pretty exuberant wine in its youth.

Deep red, the nose is all Cabernet – green peppers, mint, blackcurrants – but in the mouth the spiced red berries of the Shiraz comes through with the Cabernet adding a crisp, blackberry edge. Try this with roasted red meats from the barbecue.

And so, to the reds, and first up a Chilean gem in the shape of the Errazuriz Estate Reserva Pinot Noir (Tesco £9.50).

If you ask me, this is the best-value Pinot Noir on the market. So many affordable Pinot Noirs are either so jammy you could spread them on toast or so weedy you end up reaching for the Roundup.

This is velvety smooth, rounded and generous with a lovely seam of creamy vanilla underlying the raspberry, red cherry and blackberry fruit which culminates with a spicy crispness to the finish. Just the thing for a leg of spring lamb or hot smoked salmon.

Sicily’s wines continue to impress and my latest encounter with the Santa Tresa Cerasuolo di Vittoria (The Wine Society £12.95) leads me to believe that their wines are getting better and better. Crafted from Nero d’Avola and 40% Frappato (no, I had to look it up) there’s richness and refreshment here as some of the grapes are allowed to raisin on the vine, while the Frappato adds freshness and spice.

With its red cherry, black fig, prune, and loganberry fruit balanced by sour cherry and a shot of balsamic on the finish you’ll find energy and elegance. It’s delicious with a goat’s cheese salad and perfect for tomato-based dishes.

Well, here’s to some fine spring weather to facilitate some alfresco sipping.