Having extolled the virtues of house wine when eating out, I thought I would find some house wines so good they're worth trying at home on weeknights. On the principle that sommeliers of good restaurants work hard to find decent, out-of-the-way wines that represent good value at the bottom of the lists, I have been zooming around London, drinking at some of the city's finest establishments so that you can benefit from their assiduous research and the guidance of their superior palates. Here are three of my favourites.
Calatrasi's Nero d'Avola Villa Thalia is the house wine in the suave Locanda Locatelli. Made from a very voguish and outlandishly distinctive grape, it has a provocative kind of sexiness, like a black-haired, deep-throated Sicilian girl. It reeks of baking hot paving stones, liquorice, sun blazing down on tarmac and purple fruits so ripe their skins are almost splitting. The sommelier Massimiliano Sali says it's at its best when drunk with a tomato pasta dish or grilled chicken. Strozzapreti al pomodoro e rucola would be the perfect thing from Giorgio Locatelli's menu. I couldn't find a supplier of this particular wine for NS readers, but you can take a tip on the grape and try Marks & Spencer's Nero d'Avola and Syrah blend from Sicily (£4.49). Perfect for Tuesday nights.
Winter has not yet set in, so it is still reasonable to assume a white wine might tempt enough for you to order a case. If so, the house white used by Gordon Ramsay at his Claridge's restaurant (the producers say they also supply Rick Stein) is extremely versatile. The Sauvignon Blanc (80 per cent) in Chateau Bauduc Blanc Sec 2001 gives it plenty of zing and clarity and the squeaky edge of that grape is rounded off with the oak-fermented Semillon (20 per cent) that also, in the words of the producer, gives the wine some "oomph". But not too much. Get the producers to deliver it direct to your doorstep for £78 a case, or save the currency difference by collecting from their Calais warehouse for the same number of euros. Call 0800 3163676.
I went to Racine intending to try their house red over dinner and almost aborted the plan when my boyfriend called to say he would not be leaving work for another two hours. The maitre d' persuaded me to stay and, cosseted by their rich, comforting, velvety, house claret, Chateau de Terrefort Lescalle 1999, I had such a good time alone as to be almost disappointed when he finally arrived, just as I was laying down the knife and fork on a confit de canard with haricot beans and roasted root vegetables. This wine is a real find, and you can buy it for £4.99 a bottle from www.tauruswines.co.uk. I would be delighted to drink it most nights of the week, but it does seem a shame not to have Racine's food to go with it.
