All good things come to an end, and this is my last week as your wine writer. It’s now nearly 14 years since I wrote my first column, and it’s been an unbelievable privilege to write for the paper I read and love on a subject I’m passionate about. So why give up? Happily, no one has asked me to, but, a month away from my 76th birthday, there are other things I want to do that aren’t consistent with meeting a weekly deadline. Travel, mainly.
Looking back, a lot has changed since I started here in 2010, not least my own tastes. These days, I prefer lighter, fresher wines than I did back then, plus they fit in better with the more plant-based food I now eat. The most striking development, albeit in wine bars and independent wine merchants rather than supermarkets, is the growth in popularity of natural wine – that is, wines made with minimal additions. Orange or amber wine, popularised by the Georgians, has been very much part of that. Then there’s been the rise and rise of rosé, driven by Provence but echoed by other countries that make wine in a similar style. It will be interesting to see if there will be a reaction to that in terms of deeper coloured rosés.
Back in 2010, the odd sparkling wine aside, English wine was still a bit of a joke. Now, though, great bottles are being made all over the country, including in Essex, as I recently wrote here. In 2010, to most people Greek wine meant retsina, but now almost all the supermarkets, including Aldi, have an assyrtiko or other Greek white.
What thoughts would I like to leave you with? Please be bold and keep trying new bottles. Even after writing about wine for more than 30 years, I make discoveries such as that gamay in the Auvergne (see my pick below) is a different type from the one you find in Beaujolais, and is more like a cabernet franc.
And, to the BTL commentators, I would say: be kind to my successor. We all try our best. True, drinks writers get sent samples – we couldn’t do our jobs otherwise – but we also spend unpaid time and money travelling to tastings to try to find the best wines to recommend. So play nicely.
I won’t give up writing altogether. I’ll still be penning the odd piece for other publications and hopefully for the Guardian from time to time, but will mainly be found on my website and my Substack, which will continue to offer affordable wine recommendations, along with recipe, restaurant and travel tips. Thank you for reading.
Six wines I like that I’d love you to try
Wine Atlas Carricante 2023 £6.50 Asda, 12.5%. If you’re a fan of picpoul but find it’s got a bit pricey, try Sicily’s deliciously crisp carricante. A real bargain at this price.
Gros Manseng Vin Orange 2022 £8.25 Asda, 12%. Start your orange wine journey with this exceptionally well-priced example. Great with baba ganoush and other Middle Eastern dips.
Astobiza Txakoli 2022 £13.63 + delivery Decántalo, £19 Highbury Vintners, 13%. A fun, crisp, dry white from the Basque Country that they traditionally pour from a great height. Amazing with anchovies, and sushi, too.
Domaine Jean Maupertuis Gamay d’Auvergne Pierres Noires 2023 £26 Les Caves de Pyrène, 12%. Wildly delicious, volcanic red brimful with crunchy red fruit. Charcuterie is the obvious pairing, but great with salads as well.
Chateau Ksara Sunset Rosé 2023 £15.99 strictlywine.co.uk, 13.5%. With rosé being almost uniformly baby-pink these days, the deep, almost iridescent colour of this Lebanese one might be a bit of a shock, but it’s drier than you might imagine and it’s perfect for a barbecue.
Westwell Village Chardonnay 2023 £22.50, Westwell Wines, 10.5%. This new still wine from one of my favourite English producers is fashionably low in alcohol, and as a result is taut, crisp and fresh-tasting, almost like an old-school chablis. Would be great with oysters and other shellfish.
For more by Fiona Beckett, go to fionabeckett.substack.com
