£19.50, Tanners shops and tanners-wines.co.uk
Who wouldn’t be drawn to a wine called Allegracore – happy heart, named after the spot where the vines are grown? I can think of all sorts of occasions when it would strike the right note, not least leap-year marriage proposals next Monday and, less limited in application, Mother’s Day a week on Sunday. Even without an excuse, this is a lovely winter-into-spring rosso from the super-fashionable (in wine terms) slopes of Mount Etna. Volcanic soils, Etna’s glinting sunlight and cooling high altitudes make an ideal combination for producing red wines of distinctive character and finesse. Made from the local Nerello Mascalese grape, which gives a fragrant, wild strawberry flavour with a spicy, cherry kernel twist, the overall effect is of a two-for-one cross between fine red Burgundy and elegant, modern Barolo. In the absence of chunky tannins, it’s versatile too – comfortable with red meat, veal, pork, duck or tuna, as well as with pasta, tomato and veggie dishes.
Fattorie Romeo del Castello, Allegracore 2014, Etna Rosso, Italy
£19.50, Tanners shops and tanners-wines.co.uk