HURRAY, it's Father's Day tomorrow.

Time for dads and grandpas to get their dues. And what better way to thank him by letting him get a bit tipsy on a right royal red wine.

Ooh, and with a nice steak too, with his favourite sauce. And for once just let him put his feet up with his favourite Star Wars/football/Rocky/Godfather DVD on the idiot box, without demanding he yet again endures whatever overproduced dancing/singing rubbish is on as per usual every weekend.

Oh, and perhaps encourage him to enjoy a nice trip to the pub, agreeing that the grass can wait another week before being cut, or that that window doesn't really need painting, or that not every room needs hoovering. Just a thought.

Anyway. The wine.

A good kingly Old World red is certainly an option for his macho tastebuds - a Barolo, a big Bordeaux, an Amarone, for example, all with their deep flavours and varied complexity.

But another fine option is a good princely wine, and it just so happens Waitrose has a cracker currently on bargain offer - meaning you can either (a) fib about the price and make him feel kinda special, or (b) admit it cost less than a tenner and earn brownie points for not blowing the family budget.

It's the Waitrose own Valpolicella Ripasso Classico Superiore, which this week came down from a not-bad £12.99 to £9.74, until July 18.

Valpolicella is the famed wine region in the province of Verona, in north east Italy, where the wines are made from Corvina Veronese, Rondinella, and Molinara grape varieties.

Basic Valpolicella wines are lovely light, fragrant, young table wines.

Then you have Valpolicella Classico, which is made from grapes grown in the original, quality controlled Valpolicella production zone.

And then you get Valpolicella Superiore, which is a wine that's aged at least one year and has an alcohol content of at least 12 per cent.

And then you get the prince of Valpolicella - Ripasso, whereby Superiore wine is "repassed" with leftover partially dried skins and lees from the bigger, fermented kingly Amarone or the recioto dessert wine.

This clever production technique results in more concentrated, complex and flavoursome wines - and some of this column's favourite well-priced tipples.

This Waitrose example, made from Corvina and Rondinella grapes grown in the Classico zone, is a fine example of a strong and ripe yet charming and easy-to-drink version.

It is produced in partnership with Fratelli Recchia, a family firm founded in 1906, which owns some of the best vineyards in Valpolicella Classico area.

There are lovely dried cherry flavours and a velvety bramble fresh fruit character, with the tiniest complementary hint of chocolate undertones from oak maturation.

The ripasso element also boosts the alcohol level, with this one standing at 14.5 per cent.

All the more reason to let him off the man jobs around the house this weekend. Oh, and it's NOT his turn to do the washing up either...