Reds from the Med prove to be great value

he first born child has got a job and become one small cog in the Big Mac Mcflurry feeding machine.

We haven’t told him to stick any housekeeping in a ceramic chicken on the kitchen table yet as we don’t have one and sure nobody ever seems to have cash anymore.

A banking app transfer isn’t quite the same. The actual benefit, or drawback, of him working is that I seem to spend most weekends doing late night pickups which has rather curtailed my drinking.

On a positive note, I’m finding more time for DIY pilates to help mend my increasingly fragile body.

I did, however, manage a very enjoyable few glasses one night he was off and herself ’s Da was up for a leg of lamb. A Portuguese number that was silky and a lot lighter than I’d been expecting.

Made in the Douro region with Port grapes, mainly Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca, and weighing in at 13.5% I was braced for a fairly dark, muscular, meaty wine.

Jancis describes it as “transparent rather than thick” which I get as there was a smooth,

glassy feel to it rather than a grippy richness.

It saw 12 months in French oak, but was by no means “oaky”, rather a delicate, perfumed, mineral wine with everything just nicely balanced. Poise is the word that springs to mind here, nuanced even.

A lovely wine and certainly and a reminder that Portugal is a consistent performer at a number of price points. The Quinta (kind of a Portuguese version of Chateau) de la Rosa I got was a treat from JN Wine, but very drinkable Portuguese wines are increasingly easy to find at the sub-tenner mark. To

offset the fancy wine, though, I was in Marks the other day as I needed a glass of white for a mid week dinner so wasn’t for splashing the cash. I took a punt on a £7 Passerina.

Well rounded, peachy, floral. Happy days. Hardly the most complex, layered vino but for this outlay a nice drink to take the edge off a tough day and, of course, deglaze a pan without having to fret at the waste. Mainly found in Italy’s Marche region Passerina is all about easy drinking. Tesco do one for £7 too so worth looking out for. Try one of these Portuguese numbers and be surprised at the value for money.