Something fishy

Sometimes there's nothing nicer than fish and chips washed down with a good glass of wine. It can be a very tactile and palate-rewarding experience. I'm not alone in my appreciation of such a pairing. The late cricket commentator and wine connoisseur John Arlott was said to be very fond of fish and chips with a good claret.

I can just imagination John Arlott revelling in an end-of-play plate and glassful at Bretts in Headingley. I am uncouth and prefer to eat my fish and chips at home and still in the paper.

Here are a few ground rules that I suggest you adopt for such a dining experience. Do not add vinegar to your meal, I know this is a tough call but just don't. Have paper napkins at the table to wipe fingers and lips to avoid getting greasy smears all over those sparklingly clean glasses.

And here are a few wines that I think go nicely with fish and chips. The wine purists among you may wish to look away now.

A Frisbee branded " Are You A Riesling Short of a Picnic?", landed in the Tipping's Tipples in-tray last week. What fantastic perks we regional newspaper wine writers get. However, it did prompt me to try a budget riesling, not with a picnic but with that night's fish and chip supper. Fire Mountain Riesling 2004 is not as its name suggests a New World wine, it is from the Pfalz region of Germany. As suits the modern UK taste it is suitably dry. It also has plenty of batter-beating natural acidity and forward citrus fruit.

Most wine producers seem to have come up with a ros just in time for summer. Anakena Cabernet Sauvignon Rose 2004, from Chile's Rapel Valley is an amber pink colour with flavours of raspberry, plums and copious amounts of spice. Its crispness should match up well with deep-fried water dweller.

If my mate Kippa hasn't drunk the York branch of Majestic dry of Monte Nisa Merlot 2003, then grab a bottle ready for the next time you come home from the chippy. It costs two ninety nine but tastes like it should be a fiver. From Spain's Navarra region it is a hugely approachable, warming, blueberry pie of a wine, with a great peppery finish.

If you're prepared to fork out a little more, to accompany your one of each, than try Errazuriz Wild Ferment Chardonnay 2001. Just when you thought you were getting bored of chardonnay, along comes another to remind you otherwise.

This complex, fragrant expression of the chardonnay grape gains extra interest from being left to mature on the lees. Some of the grape clusters were also allowed to develop naturally occurring yeasts to add an extra dimension to what is a terrific creamy white with a good acidity. From the white grape-friendly Casablanca Valley region of Chile, among its complexities are suggestions of mustard, white pepper, apricot, floral fragrances and toasty, vanilla oak.

Or maybe you fancy a big red that just happens to offer exceedingly good value for money? Veramonte Cabernet Sauvignon 2002 from the Maipo Valley in Chile is such a full and concentrated wine, that you might be better serving it by the slice.

Check out the rich, minty, ripe berry fruit and notice how well the toasty oak flavours sit with them. On second thoughts save this one for the roast beef on Sunday.

Fire Mountain Riesling 2004, £3.99 at Morrisons and Tesco 14/20

Anakena Cabernet Sauvignon Rose 2004, £4.99 at Waitrose 16/20

Monte Nisa Merlot 2003, £2.99 at Majestic 16/20

Errazuriz Wild Ferment Chardonnay 2001, £9.99 at Sainsburys 17/20

Veramonte Cabernet Sauvignon 2002, £6.99 at Somerfield 17/20

Updated: 16:29 Friday, July 29, 2005