ViSecco Pinot Meunier

The name says Pinot Meunier and the label backs it up, but the grape arrives as juice rather than wine. Pinot Meunier grape juice makes up 45 percent of the bottle, while the dealcoholized wine underneath is Sauvignon Blanc at 27 percent, with apple and pear juice from the Swabian orchards filling out the rest. That construction is why it drinks fresher than the colour suggests. It pours strawberry red with a lively perlage, and the nose runs to strawberry and rhubarb with rose petals, woodruff and a lemony lift over the top. The acidity is the rhubarb kind, sharp and animating, and redcurrant carries through to a finish rounded off by softer Schwarzriesling character. Serve at 8 to 10°C in a sparkling glass. Good as an apéritif, better with salmon quiche, strawberry or asparagus salad, grilled red mullet, or a risotto carrying sour cherries. 30 calories per 100ml.