School-night wine - the best bottles for an impromptu midweek treat

Five wines that hit the spot without breaking the bank

Last week, I made The One Sauce from the new Ottolenghi book, Simple Too, and it might well be the zenith of tomato sauces. We ate this gloriously garlicky, vinegar-spiked number with pasta, and it was a revelation. After one bite, it felt rude not to have some wine with it and, before I knew it, I had a glass of red in front of me.

Today, I am championing school-night wine. Not because I want to be a bad influence, but because, in this restrained, over-scheduled, all-or-nothing age, we risk losing the impromptu pleasure of a nice drop – with food, say, or with a friend who has popped by, or just to offset the nervous strain of the children’s bedtime. Occasionally, “It’s a school night” is reason enough to do something.

But how to define school-night wine? To my mind, it could be anything that isn’t “for best” (as my grandmother would have described her magenta church coat and the M&S “little eats” she’d trot out for guests). These aren’t wines to linger over, but rather brake-oiling, mood-lifting, food-friendly numbers to soften the edges of the day. Anything that isn’t “for best” needs a budget, though, and for me the sweet spot is about £12 a bottle, give or take. (Assuming it’s a 75cl bottle of something with a 12.5% ABV, £4.87 covers VAT and duty, leaving just over £7 for the wine itself, its packaging, shipping and the margins of everyone involved in getting it on to the shelf.)

Sherry continues to offer some of the best value in wine, and the Berry Bros fino in today’s pick meets the school-night brief perfectly, whether you’re after a snifter to accompany the six o’clock news or something to sip through supper. Given the buying power of major retailers, own-label wines are not to be sniffed at, either. The Society range from the Wine Society, for example, is well worth checking out, and I’ve recently been loving its expressive 2025 falanghina at just £10.75. That said, I tend to favour good examples of wines that are naturally affordable over cheaper versions of more prestigious ones (Tesco’s Finest Langhe Nebbiolo, say, I found unforgivingly acidic for £12 a bottle), whereas wines from the likes of the Languedoc in France, Sicily (particularly fresh, citrussy catarratto whites and juicy nero d’avola reds) and Portugal (a crisp, textured encruzado from the Dão, perhaps, or a peppery Douro red) often offer amazing value. If you love whites with salinity, meanwhile, I can’t think of a better school-night white than a muscadet, and the Co-op’s Château De La Petite Giraudière 2025 is packed with green fruit and creamy character.

Then there’s the red I opened for that Ottolenghi sauce: Cuvée Alice, also in today’s pick, is a low-intervention carignan/grenache blend from Corbières that’s soft, round, juicy and joyful. Go on, it’s a school night.

M&S Found Encruzado £8.50 Ocado, 12.5%. This Portuguese grape makes crisp yet rich white wines of unreal value.

The Society’s Falanghina 2025 £10.50 The Wine Society, 13%. A new favourite for everything from school nights to imminent festive gatherings.

Berry Bros & Rudd Fino £13.50, 15%. Savoury, salty and a touch smoky, dry sherry is relatively unsung with food. Try with pasta puttanesca.

Cuvée Alice 2023 £12.45 Vinum, 14%. Mellow and mineral organic red blend that’s seductive and pocket-friendly.

Ciello Nero d’Avola 2025 £11.50 Buon Vino, 12.5%. Crunchy, organic Sicilian red that pairs with everything, especially weeknights.