An Occasional Tipple: ​Raising a glass to the best wine of 2024

Anyway, to assist me in observing my own New Year resolutions my darling wife, the redoubtable Madame G., has helpfully threatened to lock up the wine cellar at our lovely home, Rose Cottage, on Monday morning and to hide the key in a very private place. Nonetheless, my livelihood dictates that I continue to direct any wine-gleugging reprobates out there who can still cobble together the price of a wee swallie towards some dacent bottles. And not just any old wine; today I dish out the gongs for the best wines I tasted in 2024. Drum roll, maestro.

BEST RED WINE (£10 or less): the big, bold and intensely fruity 2022 Dark Apparition Alicante Bouschet (£8.99, SuperValu). A smooth, juicy palate with pronounced notes of plum and black cherry leads to a satisfyingly lengthy finish with luxurious strands of vanilla and a hint of dark, bitter chocolate in this muscular Languedoc red. It will go equally well with either liver or kidney and onions with mash potato and thick meaty gravy for those of us on a post-Christmas budget or steak frites and bearnaise sauce for those of us who aren't.

BEST WHITE WINE (£10 or less): the taut, bone-dry and very elegant 2023 Koha Sauvignon Blanc (reduced to £7.50 from £8 at M&S or £6.75 when you buy 4 or more). Easy-drinking, versatile and gloriously refreshing, this fabulously fresh, zesty New Zealand white is full of sharp lime and gentler tropical fruit flavours on a lively palate alongside notes of mineral and alluring floral aromatics before a lingering, discreetly acidic finish. An ideal match to poultry or seafood, it actually graced the Christmas table at Rose Cottage.

BEST SPARKLING WINE (£10 or less): the delicate, delightfully dry, brick-red Taste the Differnce Prosecco Rose (£9.75, Sainsbury’s)). Teeming with bright redcurrant, strawberry and lemon flavours, this ferociously lively and crisp sparkling rose represents excellent value. One to enjoy with canapes- as I recall, Madame G and I had ours with blinis topped with cream cheese and smoked trout before the aforementioned Christmas dinner.

You'll notice that all today's recommendations cost £10 or less. That's partly due to the atrocious cost of life’s bare necessities under our new socialist administration. But it's got even more to do with me being mindful of the fact that most of you, even during happier economic times, inevitably find yourselves hopelessly skint following the excesses of Christmas. And probably the only reason you're still drinking is to distract yourselves from the awful misery of your dire financial situation. I can only apologise for bringing it to your attention yet again. Have another glass. Resolutions don't start till Monday.

Rich folk, please tune in next week when I'll have a few of the best luxury recommendations from 2024 which are literally just for you. And me.