GAME SET AND MATCH!

GAME is magnificent. It's British for a start which makes it excellent, and it also covers a huge variety of flavours which makes wine matching an absolute treat. Think of the birds: duck, pheasant, grouse, woodcock, partridge. All delicious and all the kinds of names that you'd expect in a quaint Miss Marple murder-mystery. "Miss Woodcock set aside her prim bonnet and entered the library to assist Reverend Grouse with his sermon… while Partridge the spindly butler listened at the door." Genius.

Game isn't just about posh birds though. Think about pigeon - there are billions of them flapping about the British countryside and matched with a glass of Rioja, there are few greater pleasures on the planet. Then the are the big beasts - boar and venison. Increasingly popular and where venison is concerned, there's also a hefty health benefit thanks to the leanness and lower cholesterol than other red meats. As for boar, I was once nearly gored by one during a hunt in Fitou, southwest France. It's not all Asterix and Obelix whopping them on the head - these things have turbo-charged trotters! The French huntsmen just giggled at me through their roll-up cigarettes as I sat in a tree, gibbering like a baboon. Magnificent creatures boar; and even more magnificent made into sausages and matched with a local Fitou red wine.

The key to matching wine with game is generally to go red and opt for something earthy or spicy. Game can be rich so don't be afraid to pick a wine with a bit of heft such as Zinfandel or Shiraz. If you absolutely must go with a white wine, make sure you choose something with a bit of oak to give some weight and structure or else the wine will get lost in the great game. Cheers!

AVAILABLE FROM WAITROSE

Ravenswood Vintners Blend Zinfandel 2007 - I love this with venison. The wine is made by Joel Peterson whose motto is "no wimpy wines". The man rides a Harley and sports a magnificent grizzly beard to strike fear into the hearts of many a bear. Top wine, raspberry-style flavours with a kick of spice. Have it!

Try pigeon with Rioja, it rocks. Waitrose stock the magnificent Barón de Ley Club Privado Rioja Reserva 2005 which is silky, and as well as being savoury has a fantastic kola cube fruitiness to it. A gem of a wine that slips down easily.

Domaine Sainte Rose Roussanne 2008 - this is a rich white that works well with curried game birds. I've had it with Vivek Singh’s peanut and dried mango-crusted partridge which is a sublime match. It's made by an English couple in the south of France and is a sensual wine laced with peachy flavours and a touch of honeyed spice. Gorgeous.

THE BEST OF THE REST

Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Côtes du Rhône 2007 - a top blend of Grenache, Syrah and a few other cheeky southern French grape varieties. Scented, perfumed with a palate of rich spice without being like a fist in your face, it's top value and the business with duck.