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There must be a hundred recipes for paella on the internet alone. A simple dish of rice cooked in chicken stock with as many variations of other ingredients as there are laughs in an episode of Faulty Towers. Mine was resplendent with chicken and prawns plus green beans, sliced red pepper, a nice mix of herbs and saffron.

For a wine choice I did initially look to Spain – obvious really – but in Waitrose this Portuguse white caught my eye. It’s not expensive at £4.49.

The match was a good one.

Wine Tasting Note: Cork Grove Fernao Pires, 2003, Ribatejo, Portugal.
Stocked by Waitrose £4.49.
Floral aroma, fresh and fruity in a peachy type way. Palate is dry and quite soft with just a lick of acidity giving interest. Very drinkable both with and without food. Alcohol 13%. The grape variety is a native of Portugal and produces good, if not very complex, wines. Worth trying.
Scribblings Rating – 86/100

The Waitrose website describes the wine as:
“From the Casal Branco estate near to the River Tagus estuary in the Ribatejo, this white wine is part of a range of new Portuguese wines made for the international market. With its delicately dry, fresh citrus palate and supple, soft approachability, the native Fernao Pires variety makes wine that has good potential to partner all kinds of foods, including the more spicy meats – or try on its own.”