Wine World

Wine World Light, white and extremeIy good value

Mairead Robinson finds some excellent wines in Lidl for under €10

Like many of us, I enjoy a nice cool glass of white wine with lunch on a summer’s day, with a light fish dinner or as an aperitif – indeed white wine tends to be my preferred choice when it comes to wine these days.

Except for winter time or with a rich meal when we go for a good red, white tends to go with most things these days. However it is usually Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay which are the three choices of grape variety we consider. Indeed, this is often all that is on offer if you just want wine by the glass in a restaurant, rather than ordering a bottle.

Of course when you are buying wine to drink at home, you have a much greater choice, and I suggest looking at different options when you go to pick up wine with your weekly groceries. Most of us shop in one of the major supermarkets, and it is certainly worth taking a look at their wine section when you are there. The key factor when choosing wine from a supermarket, is not just to look at the special offers – although these can often be great value – but also to look at wines that they might stock that you will not find elsewhere. And these unusual wines, often little gems, can often surprise you and prove to be exceptionally good value.

And so to what I have found at Lidl. Not just wine that is cheaper than you will find in most outlets, but some real gems that are actually for sale at less than ten euro! Here is my choice list, starting with Chenin Blanc from Swartland in South Africa. Getting back to what I said about white wine, I have to say that Chenin Blanc from South Africa is a grape that is very underrated here. Having said that, I have spoken to friends and colleagues who all say ‘Oh yes, I love Chenin Blanc’, but why do we not hear more about it, and why is it not more readily available? I have spent the summer months extolling the merits of this Fairtrade wine from Swartland – you will recognise it from the Zebra on the label – and anybody I have shared it with has been very impressed. It has a light straw colour, an exotic fruit flavour and is just gorgeous for light fish or pasta dishes. At 13.5per cent alcohol, it has great structure and body. This wine is a steal at just €7.99 a bottle.

Next to that is another Chenin Blanc from Cimarosa, also with a dry fruit driven flavour, and it comes at 12.5per cemt alcohol. This wine is priced at €7.40. Personally I would recommend spending

ing the extra 59 cent and opt for the superior Fairtrade wine from Swartland – remember the zebra on the label.

While Chenin Blanc is a wonderful alternative to the usual white wine grape varieties, we are extremely fortunate to get such quality for less than €10. Pick up a few bottles next time you are in Lidl, serve it chilled as an aperitif, or with your next lunch party, and your guests will definitely be impressed.

Another great white wine buy, again from Lidl, is Gavi Docg which I have been enjoying for quite some time now. This dry white wine is made from Cortese grapes and is an exceptional wine from Italy. It has a very balanced flavour, and really appeals to those of us who favour a dry clean white wine. The alcohol is 12per cent and again it is perfect for an aperitif and with light lunches and fish dishes. Once again this wine is extraordinary good value at just €8.99

These wines disprove the notion that due to the high taxes on wine in this country, you have to pay over €10 to get a decent bottle. This is good news for wine lovers – there are bargains to be had out there.

And not just on the occasional special offers – all of the wines I have chosen today are on offer all the time at these prices.

So you can try something different from your usual varieties and your discovery will come at a price that may surprise you. So while the late summer and early autumn weather lengthens the season for al-fresco dining and light lunches and dinners, this is a good time to widen your experience of great white wines.

While Chardonnay remains a favourite for many, and Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio are also very popular as mentioned, this is an opportunity to explore some other great white wine varieties, without breaking the bank. So check out Semillon, Reising, Albarino, and of course Viognier – a white grape that is often used in blends to add elegance. But a bottle of 100per cent Viognier might well surprise you with its smoothness.

Enjoy your tasting. Cheers!

throughout the country, then please let us know. We can provide you with promotional packs, T in your fundraising event. See our Facebook fundraiser page for more details. https://www.facebook.com/fund/COPDSupportGroupsIreland/ All of the numerous activities throughout the week will be shared on a variety of social media platforms and on our website so please check them out to keep up to date. www.copd.ie or Facebook @ COPD Support Groups World COPD Day 2022 Ireland or Twitter @COPDSupportIre Sign up to become a member online or e-mail us to join our contact list to receive informational emails about World COPD Day and more. The work of COPD Ireland supplements the work of the integrated framework for chronic disease support patients and their families across all the levels of the care required to treat their COPD we do focuses on providing services, education and self-management techniques that supports those to live well. We also provide information for those who are undiagnosed and may want to learn a bit more about the disease and then seek help. If you would like to speak with one of our staff or if you would like to receive some of our information booklets about living with COPD, nutrition and COPD and Exercise contact us and we will send you out an information pack. Phone 086 0415128 or e-mail info@copd.ie It's shaping up to be a great week so please join us in November and make COPD Day a week to remember!

Throughout the week local COPD support groups will run fundraising events in their areas and your support for So, if you would like to walk, cycle, run, bake, bungee jump or just meet up for a chat in order to raise some money to enable COPD support Ireland to continue to provide services Health then please let us know. We can provide you with promotional packs, T-shirts etc to use See our Facebook fundraiser page for more details. https://www.facebook.com/fund/COPDSupportGroupsIreland/ activities throughout the week will be shared on a variety of social media platforms and on our website so please check them out to keep up to date. www.copd.ie or Facebook @ COPD Support Groups mail us to join our contact list to receive informational emails about The work of COPD Ireland supplements the work of the integrated framework for chronic disease. COPDSI can t patients and their families across all the levels of the care required to treat their COPD. Much of the work and self-management techniques that supports those with COPD We also provide information for those who are undiagnosed and may want to learn a bit more about If you would like to speak with one of our staff or if you would like to receive with COPD, nutrition and COPD and Exercise and COPD then please contact us and we will send you out an information pack. Phone 086 0415128 or e-mail info@copd.ie shaping up to be a great week so please join us in November and make COPD Day a week to remember!

World COPD Day takes place this year on Wednesday November 16th. This year’s theme is Your Lungs for Life and it aims to highlight the importance of lifelong lung health. In order to highlight the chronic condition of COPD and its prevalence in Irish society, COPD Support Ireland plan on running a weeklong programme of events from Monday 14th to Friday 18th of November 2022.

Throughout the week there will be pre-recorded interviews with COPD Respiratory physicians and other COPD healthcare experts as well as presentations from physiotherapists, exercise providers and occupational therapists. We plan to provide updates on what’s new in the world of COPD and information on research into COPD that is currently taking place. There will be a series of radio interviews with members of our board and a nationwide advertising campaign. Presentations will also be available about our nationwide network of support groups, online and in – person exercise classes, SingStrong classes and the COPD adviceline service. We will also have an update on the Chronic disease programme and how COPD support Ireland fits into it with the services we offer. We will hear from some of our members about their experiences of living with COPD from diagnosis through to treatment and of joining COPD support Ireland.

Throughout the week local COPD support groups will run fundraising events in their areas and your support for these events would be very much appreciated. So, if you would like to walk, cycle, run, bake, bungee jump or just meet up for a chat in order to raise some money to enable COPD support Ireland to continue to provide services throughout the country, then please let us know. We can provide you with promotional packs, T-shirts etc to use in your fundraising event. See our Facebook fundraiser page for more details.

https://www.facebook.com/fund/ COPDSupportGroupsIreland/

All of the numerous activities throughout the week will be shared on a variety of social media platforms and on our website so please check them out to keep up to date. www.copd.ie or Facebook @ COPD Support Groups Ireland or Twitter @COPDSupportIre Sign up to become a member online or e-mail us to join our contact list to receive informational emails about World COPD Day and more.

The work of COPD Ireland supplements the work of the integrated framework for chronic disease. COPDSI can support patients and their families across all the levels of the care required to treat their COPD. Much of the work we do focuses on providing services, education and self-management techniques that supports those with COPD to live well.

We also provide information for those who are undiagnosed and may want to learn a bit more about the disease and then seek help. If you would like to speak with one of our staff or if you would like to receive some of our information booklets about living with COPD, nutrition and COPD and Exercise and COPD then please contact us and we will send you out an information pack. Phone 086 0415128 or e-mail info@copd.ie

It's shaping up to be a great week so please join us in November and make COPD Day a week to remember!