Various ArtistsPutumayo Presents Music from the Wine LandsReview

How many ways can you repackage world music? We've had our dance-themed compilations and budget-priced histories of tango, salsa and Afro Lounge. Nascente are working on travel guide and music packages and Tumi have just released a four-disc collection containing recipes for Latin food and cocktails.

Now Putumayo bring us music from the wine lands, that's to say France, Italy, Spain, Portugal. Basically wherever the grape does not whither. Not a bad idea, but does Daniel Melingo's gorgeous pop-folk ditty Sin Luna say anything about Mendoza, where the wine grows? Where's the connection between David Hewitt's Streetbeat and the vines of South Africa?

The sleevenotes, which present tidy potted histories of wine in each country, tenuously link Portugese wine to Vicky Moschliou's "O Cafes", another popular beverage. It's silly, but does it matter? I guess this is a lifestyle CD, and wine-drinking has boomed in the UK, as world music has grown in popularity. Musically, it's all good stuff, so open a bottle (or 13, one for each track) and indulge. Music for the summer: throwaway, feelgood, and pretty fickle.