Sweet-Sour Cherry Reds

These are interesting wines with sweet-sour plum and cherry fruit flavours and a rasping herby bite. They almost all come from Italy and have a character that's distinctly different from anything else available elsewhere.

Much of their popularity in Italy comes from the Italian custom of always drinking wine with their meals. The streak of sourness in these reds cuts through food, and they are not intended to be sipped as an aperitif.

This style of wine can be made from a number of different grapes: Dolcetto, Sangiovese, Barbera, producing wines such as Chianti, Teroldego and Valpolicella.

The Nebbiolo grape is used to make tough, tannic wines in the Barolo region of Piedmont, which have an intriguing tar-and-roses flavour. Good Barolo is extremely expensive, but you could try a Langhe, which will give you the flavour for less money.

The South of Italy produces reds which add a prune flavour to the sour-cherry bite, such as Copertino and Salice Salentino.

New World producers are also starting to have tremendous success with the Sangiovese grape, with notable examples coming from California, Australia and Argentina.

For less than £5, try:

• Chianti Le Chiantigiane (Tuscany): Made from Sangiovese and Canaiolo grapes, this wine has aromas of cherries and violets and red fruit flavours.

For around £5 to £10, try:

• Barbera d'Asti DOC, De Forville (Piemonte): The nose shows intense cherry aromas and hints of vanilla, which follow through to the crisp, yet smooth palate.
• Chianti Classico, Banfi (Tuscany): Concentrated, with generous cherry and bitter almond flavours.
• Sangiovese, Santa Celina Mendoza (Argentina): A warm, savoury and pleasingly complex wine.

For around £10 to £20, try:

• VignAalta, Colli Etruria Centrale DOC, Badia di Morrona (Tuscany): A blend of Sangiovese (95%) and Canaiolo with rich cherry fruit, dense concentration and great elegance.
• Langhe Freisa DOC, Castiglione Falletto, Giuseppe Mascarello (Piemonte): A wine made with the Freisa grape, giving a wonderful red fruit expression balanced by very fine tannins.

To push the boat out (over £20), try:

• Marchesi de Frescobaldi, Brunello di Montalcino Castel Giocondo (Northern Italy): A huge Sangiovese wine with black cherry fruits and a big, tannic personality.