UK Retaielr Waitrose is introducing five new wines to its successful ‘Loved & Found’ range this month. The new additions, which are available in shops and online at Waitrose Cellar, are curated by our expert buying team and represent lesser-known grape varieties from South Africa, Italy and Portugal.

The Loved & Found range launched in June 2019 to showcase innovation, encouraging customers to experiment with unusual grape varieties, with the reassurance of the Waitrose label.

Waitrose wine buyer Rebecca Hull MW says of the range: ‘We know our customers love to explore the unknown when it comes to wine and we’re thrilled to be able to offer these new and exciting varieties from a range of winemakers. We’ve looked for diversity of flavor, something truly different but eminently approachable and delicious. It was also important to us that the wines are all under £10 and offer great value to customers. These are the wines that we believe have the potential to be the popular varieties of the future.’

Four of the original line-up are being replaced with five brand new varieties:

• Waitrose Loved & Found Bukettraube, South Africa £8.99
• Waitrose Loved & Found Castelao, Portugal £6.99
• Waitrose Loved & Found Fernao Pires, South Africa £6.99
• Waitrose Loved & Found Roero Arneis, Italy £7.99
• Waitrose Loved & Found Perricone, Italy £7.99

The following five original wines are staying in the range:

• Waitrose Loved and Found Ebling, Germany £6.99
• Waitrose Loved and Found Petit Manseng, Jurancon, France £9.99
• Waitrose Loved and Found Marselan, Rhône, France £6.99
• Waitrose Loved and Found Pais, Chile £7.99
• Waitrose Loved and Found Pecorino, Italy £8.99
• More detail on the new wines:

Waitrose Foundation Loved & Found Bukettraube 2020 £8.99 (12.5% ABV)

Origin: Wine of Origin Cederberg, South Africa

Tasting notes: Residual sweetness is perfectly balanced with vivid acidity and a fresh finish in this off-dry, aromatic white wine. Aromas and flavors of lime zest, lemon sherbet, pineapple cubes and chamomile flowers.

Background: Bukettraube is the oldest man-made crossing on the planet – Sylvaner x Trollinger (predates Muller Thurgau). There are 42ha in total in the world and Cederberg has 11ha. It came to South Africa via Alsace. David Nieuwoudt (owner and winemaker at Cederberg) describes this wine as having a perfume akin to Gewurztraminer, but with fantastic acidity similar to Riesling. This off-dry style is amazing with spicy food – think Thai curries – and mature cheeses. This wine is part of the Waitrose Foundation range, where profits support environmental and community projects in South Africa.

Waitrose Loved & Found Castelao 2019 £6.99 (13.5% ABV)

Origin: Lisboa DOC, Portugal

Tasting Notes: Medium-bodied, a classic example of this variety with an expressive nose of raspberries and blackberries. On the palate, there is rich fruit that is kept fresh by well-balanced acidity.

Background: One of Portugal’s many indigenous varieties and one of its most planted too, Castelao is predominantly used as part of blends, eg. Sardine Submarine and Gran Passo, but is increasingly being seen on its own as interest grows in single varietal Portuguese reds. Casa Santos Lima produce this example from grapes grown in the clay and limestone soils of Alenquer with a proportion of the wine aged in American and French oak.

Waitrose Loved & Found Fernao Pires 2021 £6.99 (12.5% ABV)

Origin: Wine of Origin Breede River, South Africa

Tasting notes: This is light-bodied and very refreshing, with lively acidity, distinctive floral (rose petals and blossom) aromas and abundant stone fruit on the palate.

Background: Fernao Pires was originally brought to South Africa from Portugal and grown for brandy production. Of the last blocks of Fernao left in the Cape this comes from one of the oldest vineyards, at 34 years old. To our knowledge, only one other South African producer makes a single varietal Fernao Pires (Pieter Walser of Blankbottle).

Waitrose Loved & Found Roero Arneis 2020 £7.99 (13% ABV)

Origin: Roero Arneis DOCG, Italy

Tasting notes: A dry, unoaked, light-bodied white wine, with zesty acidity, and subtle flavors of orchard fruit (pear, white peach) and spring blossom.

Background: Originally from Roero, Arneis was traditionally used to soften the Nebbiolo grape but has huge potential to be a star in its own right. Gavi was the fastest growing area of Italian white wines at Waitrose last year, suggesting this crisp and gently aromatic style is high on our customers’ ‘to drink’ list.

Waitrose Loved & Found Perricone 2020 £7.99 (13.5% ABV)

Origin: Sicilia DOC, Italy

Tasting notes: Medium to full-bodied, this subtly oaked red wine is packed with spicy brambly fruit, and has a wild herb edge. Approachable and juicy but with appealing grip and structure.

Background: Southern Italian and Sicilian reds are currently in strong growth for Waitrose. Perricone is a native north-west Sicilian red grape variety (synonym Pignatello) grown in small quantities on the island’s west coast, around the towns of Marsala and Trapani. It is most commonly used in blends with Nero d’Avola, where it brings texture and deep color, but we absolutely love it in this single varietal wine.