More the merrier with these fabulous wines

She is due to stay at my lovely home, Rose Cottage, for a few days to help assuage my loneliness in the continuing absence of my beloved wife, the enigmatic Madame G.

Fear not, tipplers, she should be back by the end of the month...so she says!

“What is it, Matilda?” I ask, hoping that my ancient phone’s battery doesn’t die before she can impart her glad tidings.

Whereupon she informs me that her partner, Geoffrey, has a few days off work and has decided to join her along with Woody, their hugely entertaining four-year old son for a mini-holiday at my place.

“How marvellous!” I respond, “the more, the merrier”.

And promptly cross the road from the fishmonger to the butcher.

No need now for the pair of hake fillets I had planned to fry and serve with fennel mash, a medley of vegetables and a beurre blanc sauce.

And, of course, a bottle of today’s Wine of the Week, the ferociously crisp, fabulously fresh and unctuously heady 2020 Saleta Moscatel Sauvignon Blanc (£7.25, the Wine Society, visit www.thewinesociety com or telephone 01438-741177).

An extravagantly floral bouquet leads to a lively palate, full of citrus and orchard summer fruit flavours before a brisk, refreshing finish to tickle the taste buds.

Instead, I grab some sausages from the butcher and head home to make a big pot of pasta, sausage and fennel in a creamy, mustardy sauce..sure to be a winner.

This will also go wonderfully well with today’s second recommendation, the complex, intense and sumptuously rich 2020 Carlos Lucas Ribeiro Santo Tinto Dao (£8.50, also the Wine Society www.thewinesociety com or telephone 01438-741177).

A lubricious palate with plenty of berry and bramble flavours which are deftly countered by soft tannins before a magnificently lengthy finish with hints of black pepper and much more.

Solitude is hard but (when you’ve been used to life on you own or an eternity, or so it feels) numbers are also extremely challenging, I concluded, while pouring myself a generous glass of today’s final selection.

The exceptionally zippy and zesty 2020 M&S Classics Chenin Blanc (£8) - a real winner in most peoples’ books.

A luscious palate full of round, gently spiced fruit flavours and citrussy backnotes combines with grassy aromatics and hints of mineral in this racy South African white which will be an ideal match to seafood or poultry.

Two’s plenty for company, I grumbled to no-one in particular, as I felt more acutely than ever the absence of my Madame.

You’ll probably be glad too, tipplers, when she finally gets home.

No more listening to me droning on, week after week, about life on the lonesome highway and then life with too many people.

It will be soon...or so she promises me at the end of each phone call!

Still, if two’s plenty, that makes three a crowd while four must surely constitute an invasion..in the nicest possible way!

Of course, four magnificent people can only ever have a magnificent time.

Just not the one I’d been imagining.

Well, what is it they say, it’s great to see you but even better to see you go...only joking my delightful sis!

Till next week, tipplers, sante!

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper whenever you are able to do so.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper when you can safely.

You can also enjoy unlimited access to the best news from across Northern Ireland and the UK by subscribing to newsletter.co.uk

With a digital subscription, you can read more than five articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Thank you