Party Time - Alfresco

Where would our parties be without some decent wines to serve alongside them! Here we make some suggestions for different styles of parties from the more formal to the totally informal.

Mayval medium Dry 2006 - Manstree Vineyards, Devon £8.65 per bottle

The award-winning Mayval Manstree Vineyard, a blend of Madeleine Angevine and Seyval Blanc, is an extraordinarily good wine. It has a lovely floral bouquet and a crisp, zesty aromatic fruitiness combined with a perfect balancing acidity. It accompanies a wide variety of foods or is excellent when drunk as an aperitif. We may have diabolical summers but, somehow, a few producers in our green and pleasant land manage to make some really quite exciting white wines. Manstree Vineyard, owned by the Boyce family and run by Tim and Simon Boyce, is situated 1½ miles from Exeter's city boundary and has been producing white wines for the past 20 years. The previous owner, Gerry Symons, planted the vines over a ten year period, between 1979 and 1989, the site having been selected for its excellent drainage and its position in an area known as “Devon’s Frying Pan” which has unusually low rainfall. There are five varieties planted on the 4½ acres of vineyard, the principal three being Seyval Blanc, Madeleine Angevine and Siegerebbe. APERITIF/CHICKEN/PATE/VEGETARIAN

Cabernet/Merlot, Rosé Grenache & Syrah Les Terrasses - £4.85 per bottle

Vin de Pays des Côteaux de l'Ardèche A crisp rosé from the mountains of the Cevennes full of fresh strawberry fruitiness. Les Vignerons Ardèchois is a ‘union’ of twenty small cooperatives with its headquarters in the town of Ruoms, situated on the river Ardèche, in the foothills of the Cevennes mountains, about 70km. east-south-east of Montelimar. Always an excellent source for red wines, the Vignerons Ardèchois are now making some quite delicious whites. Luc Tallaron, their dynamic wine-maker has made a lovely red (30% Cabernet Sauvignon/30% Merlot/30% Syrah/10% Gamay) which is deliciously soft and fruity and is made to be drunk young. It is forthright and decidedly bold - perfect for quenching the thirst. PORK/LIGHTER CHEESES/VEAL