A wine called Darling

You remember that running gag in Blackadder Goes Forth about Captain Darling who Stephen Fry, who plays the general, keeps calling 'Darling'? Well there seem to me to be plenty of similar possibilities with this wine, a South African Sauvignon Blanc named after one of the new up and coming wine regions. In fact it's a shame we have another 11 months until Valentine's Day: let's hope Tesco keeps it on the shelves till then.

It's a crisp, fresh Sauvignon with plenty of gooseberry fruit but without the overt asparagus and green bean character that I personally find over the top. I enjoyed it last night with some Thai crab cakes and noodles but you could drink it with almost any kind of seafood or salads. You can buy it for £39.84 a case (£6.64 a bottle) which not excessive for a wine of this quality though it's a shame that it's not included in the '2 for £10' offer that Tesco has on some of the other wines in its Finest range (The Ken Forrester Chenin Blanc should be good value though take care - it is the 2006/7 vintage. Chenin ages well so that shouldn't be a problem but don't buy a shedload before you taste it).

Talking of wine bargains, Majestic has 25% off their South African range until next Monday - which enables you to buy wines like Springfield Estate, Klein Constantia and Groot Constantia Sauvignon Blanc at a significant discount. Not as significant as the 25% might suggest - their prices tend to be pitched higher than the supermarkets but they do have wines that supermarkets don't stock. And you can now buy six bottles from Majestic if you pick them up yourself.