Gifts - Under £10 .....................................................................................................................................................................................................
A great deal to chose from but here are a couple of suggestions.

Rioja Crianza, 2005, Compañia Vincicola del Norte de España - £8.35 per bottle This dense red has a deep, full, complex nose. Plum, damson, briar, coffee tones and good toasty vanilla. Full, rounded deep palate, long and satisfying. Rich, fruity length with a nice finishing bite of acidity and oak in lovely harmony. In 1879, two brothers set up a business in the recently flourishing trade of the wine business. C.V.N.E., Compañía Vinicola del Norte de España (The Northern Spanish Wine Company) or la Cuné, as it is commonly known in Haro, was created. The Cuné winery in Haro, is made up of a group of buildings, mostly from the 19th century and arranged around a courtyard surrounded by pavilions for the purpose of wine production, aging, and bottling and it was one of the first wineries of Rioja to bottle its own wines. In 1900, the winery had an extraordinary aging capacity of 80,000 bottles, which was most unusual at the time, as most wineries were selling their wines as soon as possible. The Tempranillo, Garnacha Tinta and Mazuelo grapes for the Crianza were carefully hand harvested, destalked, and short macerated, followed by fermentation in stainless steel tanks at between 26 and 28oC to retain varietal aromas. Following alcoholic fermentation the wine was transferred to american oak casks where it remained for 18 months, with regular rackings to develop its finesse, before bottling and release. PASTA/ROAST MEATS/SPICY CHEESE ..................................................................................................................................................................

Thomas Mitchell Marsanne, 2007 - Mitchelton, Victoria, Australia - £6.62 per bottle This wine displays varietal Marsanne fruit characters of honeysuckle and rockmelon (canteloupe). Ripe fruit flavours, balanced by crisp acid and a lingering finish, are trademarks of this wine. Mitchelton's signature white wine. Marsanne is native to the Rhône Valley in France, although it's found a second home at Nagambie in its 70 year history in the Goulbourn Valley of Victoria. Marsanne is known for its rich, honeysuckle flavours, making it a popular alternative to Chardonnay. It responds well to barrel fermentation and ageing, when it can easily live for 20 years or more, and is sometimes known as the white wine for red drinkers. FISH/CHICKEN/PORK/CHEESE/PASTA/VEGETARIAN ..................................................................................................................................................................