£15, selected Marks & Spencer
Hands up if you didn’t know Germany made red wine. Quite a show of hands, I bet. In fact, Germany has never held back on red – nearly one third of its vineyards are red grapes – but until quite recently the wines were aimed squarely at the domestic market's traditional taste for very lightweight reds. Now there’s a generation of winemakers making a riper, fuller, contemporary style that's somewhere between red Burgundy and New Zealand Pinot Noir. Step forward Stepp. Made by one-time M&S wine buyer Gerd Stepp, it epitomises the new-wave with its red-fruit purity, delicate coffee-edged oak, savoury subtlety and fine texture. It goes with game birds such as pheasant and partridge, with poultry and cured meats and is also worth trying with meatier fish such as salmon.
Stepp Pinot Noir 'S' 2015, Pfalz, Germany
£15, selected Marks & Spencer and marksandspencer.com