With grouse done and dusted and snipe and woodcock shortly off the menu, there’s still a good month until the end of the season for partridge and pheasant. If I could have just one game bird it would have to be a plump, tender, gamey but not too gamey partridge, either roasted with a rasher of streaky bacon or pot roasted with bouquet garni and red wine for maximum succulence. Because pheasant and partridge are not fatty birds, they cope well with wines that are relatively low in tannin and not too oaky or alcoholic. Same goes for rabbit.

Rioja, burgundy, chianti classico and good mature Bordeaux match well, but a juicy Australian or New Zealand Rhône style can work wonders too, and even, whisper it quietly, South African pinotage. In this vein, the 2007 Signatures of Doolhof, Pinotage, Doolhof Estate, Wellington, £14.50, Berry Bros. & Rudd (0800 280 2440), is in a different league from common or garden Cape pinotage, with a richness of plum and strawberry fruit concentration and a stylish vanilla oak veneer, a revelation for anyone who can’t bring themselves to believe that pinotage is occasionally capable of making delicious red wine.

From the New World, plump for a moderate, juicy fruit-laden style to complement the savoury, gamey characters of the bird such as the 2009 Jacob’s Creek Grenache Shiraz, £6.64 - 7.05, Tesco, Asda, or the distinctive red berry fruits and peppery qualities of the 2007 Willunga 100 Grenache, £8.49, Sainsbury’s. The spice and blackberryish fruit of Boekenhoutskloof’s 2008 Le Cap Maritime Shiraz 2008, £12.99, buy two = £9.99, Majestic, is a suitably succulent Cape response. New Zealand syrah becomes classier by the minute with its northern Rhône-ish elegance. A perfect partner here is the ultra-stylish 2008 Craggy Range Gimblett Gravels Syrah, £16.81 -18.99, New Zealand House of Wine, Oddbins, Farr Vintners, a deliciously clove-spicy and richly blackberry-fruited syrah with a twist of the pepper mill.

For good value from France, first try the southern Rhône and the Coteaux du Tricastin where the 2007 Domaine Mas Théo, £8.99, Oddbins, displays the spice and pepper fragrance typically associated with Crozes Hermitage. Upping the ante, immerse your senses in the intense liquorice spice and concentrated pristine blackberry fruit of a more serious Rhône red such as the 2007 Gigondas, Les Racines, Domaine les Pallières, £17.83 - £21.99, Uncorked (020 7638 5998), Portland Wine. (0161 928 0357), Harrogate Fine Wine (01423 522270); or from Spain the embodiment of great garnacha in Alvaro Palacios’ 2007 Les Terrasses Velles Vynes, , £26.95. Berry Bros., whose purity of raspberry and cherry fruit would be burgundy-like if not for its superior power and richness.

While in Spanish vein, mature rioja is a fine match for game for its complementary savoury characters. If you haven’t yet picked up the classic 2005 CVNE Rioja Reserva, £13.99, but buy 2 = £8.99, until end January, Majestic, do so. Savoury acidity, the hallmark of the Italian classics, makes them the perfect partners for game, whether feathered or furred. Pheasant, partridge and rabbit chime with sweetly ripe cherry -fruited sangiovese grape and the elegant framework of herby, cherry fruit flavours and mouthwatering tang to be found in the 2008 Chianti Classico, Badia e Coltibuono, £13.50, Berry Bros.; for a southern alternative, try the brambly 'barolo of the south’ fruit and pepperiness in the seductive 2007 Aglianico del Vulture, D'Angelo, £12.49, buy two = £9.99, Majestic Game on.

Something For the Weekend

Under £6

2009 Paul Mas Vermentino 2009, Pays d'Oc

Jean-Claude Mas’ pioneering efforts with interesting Mediterranean grape varieties has borne fruit in this Languedoc dry white whose pear and stonefruit concentration is refreshed by the zing of the new vintage. £7.99 Buy 2 bottles = £5.99, Majestic

Under a Tenner

2008 Château Bouissel, Fronton

A vivid blend of the local negrette with syrah and malbec from close to Toulouse, this is a delightful unoaked red whose bright cherry fruit flavours cry out for the savoury flavours of grilled meat. £6.74, down from £8.99, until Tuesday, Waitrose

Splash Out

2009 Tamaya Winemaker's Selection Carmenère, Tamaya Norte, Block 9th, Limarí Valley.

From Chile’s ‘enchanted valley,’ Limarí, the ripe blackcurrant fruit richness of this fine carmenère is tinged with a Loire-like green peppery quality and supported by vibrant fresh dark fruits and oak spiciness. £13.99, Oddbins.