I'll admit it. I'm a big fan of Shiraz. I'm partial to a Syrah too (the same grape but usually produced in a more restrained "elegant" form, to use winemaker speak). The big, bold Barossa beasts do it for me, though. So when a Purple Teeth reader insisted on Asda and another advised they were a confirmed Shiraz fan, it was time to find a bargain for Wine of the Week. So here we are. The wine is produced by Wolf Blass and the region is "South East Australia". In geography terms, that's like saying the wine is made in Europe... With Wine of the Week and Purple Teeth in general, I'd love to inspire you to try wines you'd never normally try; to experiment, to savour the difference, to look for food combinations, and to find a new favourite wine. Do please let me know how you get on if you try something new. I'd love to hear your stories.

Last week, I had a glass of wine with another local wine blogger " Perfect Friday Wine". She's made a pledge to never drink wine from "South East Australia" and so I was a tad embarrassed that this was on the same day as I'd declared one as my wine of the week... After tasting it, I can see why she feels this way. This is a wine for people who don't really like wine. It's very fruity, light and easy to drink, has zero complexity, an extremely short finish a very tiny hint of tannic spiciness, and apart from that, it's not got a lot to say for itself. That's not to say it's undrinkable. Far from it. You could quaff several glasses and not really think twice. My blog mainly features wines you should be able to find on your local high street or online, and occasionally, I will review restaurants, travel and other forms of alcohol, since my qualification covers spirits too. I believe it's important to enjoy the calories and the cash we spend on alcohol, and I hope my guidance can help you reduce the risk of making a bad buy. My name's Heather and I've been enjoying wine for over 20 years. I'm the 2013 winner of the Wine and Spirit Education Trust Rhone prize for oustanding students at the advanced level.After graduating in 2000 from the University of Adelaide with first Class honours in Oenology, Marie received the Southcorp wine scholarship. This allowed her to travel and work with the company’s best winemakers across the Australian wine regions of Coonawarra, Barossa, Sunraysia and Great Western. Following these experiences, Marie worked with Lindeman’s for 4 years at both their NSW and Victorian wineries, overseeing white wine production.

I sampled this on Bank Holiday Monday, after a weekend of enjoying some rather fine food and wine on a trip to Shropshire. Perhaps that sets the seal on the fate of this one. But, though it pains me to say it, I was disappointed. The label, on the other hand, indicates I should find "lifted berry, spiced plum, red fruits, pepper and mocha oak on the palate", so perhaps I've just got some more work to do in refining my tastebuds. At 13% abv, it's a lot lighter than many Barossa Shirazes, and was perfectly drinkable without food, although the suggested food matches are lamb or pasta. But just to prove that we're all different, our Purple Teeth reader who incited my foray into Asda's wines, claims this to be one of her favourites. And why not? We're all different, and there's a wine out there for everyone. That's why I get a tad annoyed when people say "I don't like wine", or "I only drink red". Wine is an amazing product. There's more variety than you can ever imagine, and the supermarket shelves just scratch the surface of what's available. My mission is to share my passion for the myriad varieties of fermented grape juice, hopefully inspiring you to try something new, or to host a Purple Teeth wine party in your own home or business. When I'm not drinking wine, you'll find me on the dance floor where West Coast Swing is my dance of choice. Socialising with the friends I've made there from all over the world has also brought me new adventures in alcohol! And just in case you're interested, I also write a blog called Confidence Within. You'll find it at heatherharrison.weebly.comFor a woman, 2-3 units per day is the recommended maximum allowance. This equates to around one standard "pub measure" glass of wine: