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What to drink ... with fish 'n' chips

After a day at the beach, there's nothing better than crisp wines matched with either takeaway or home-cooked seafood.

Jane Faulkner

The perfect combo: A day at the beach finished off with fish & chips.
The perfect combo: A day at the beach finished off with fish & chips.Supplied

UNDER $25: La Prova Aglianico Rosato Adelaide Hills 2012 $23

SO MANY rose´s are insipid and sweet but I love everything about La Prova's rosato: it has a pale salmon hue, is dry, yet has plenty of texture, and it even tastes and feels like aglianico - fleshy, minerally and spicy. A touch of pepper, watermelon and tanginess, with some grip on the dry finish, make it a lovely summer drink to match with fried flathead and chunky chips dunked in aioli. La Prova means ''experiment'' in Italian and is part of Sam Scott's trial range, but as this rosato is a beauty, it will no doubt be upgraded to his eponymous label. From Winebins, Prahran.

OVER $25: Black Estate Riesling 2011 $26

BLACK Estate is a youngish enterprise based on New Zealand's north coast at Waipara and it's producing some luscious riesling. Actually, it's a variety that's well suited to many parts of the country because of New Zealand's climate, which produces riesling with natural acidity and often a silky texture, as this 2011 reveals. It's also complex, fragrant with ginger blossom and spice, candied lemon peel, ripe stone fruit and a touch of saffron. While off-dry, hence its texture, the chalky acidity will partner easily with lightly fried snapper. From Prince Wine Store, South Melbourne.

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OVER $25: Bellwether Vermentino 2012 $30

IF THERE were a white wine I'd choose over any other to enjoy with fish and chips, it would be vermentino. Talented winemaker Sue Bell makes very fine cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay, but she's just added a fresh, drink-now vermentino with fruit sourced from the Chalmers vineyard in Heathcote. This 2012 has the distinct sea-salty character of the variety, lemony and savoury with snappy acidity, yet with texture and some phenolic grip on the finish. A lovely drink. From Armadale Cellars.

SPLURGE: Mount Mary Vineyard Yarra Valley Triolet 2010 $90

AT THIS price, the wine will outshine any takeaway, but for a special treat, this is a gorgeous match for home-cooked flounder and shoestring fries. Triolet has always been a beguiling, complex and age-worthy wine - a tribute to the whites of Graves in Bordeaux, a blend of mostly sauvignon blanc with semillon and a smidge of the underappreciated muscadelle. What a wine. It's savoury, smoky, flinty, dry, yet slinky with honeysuckle, and the batonnage has created immense texture and body. Best price from winehouse.com.au.

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