Honestly, have a bottle of this in the house over Christmas and you’ll have the perfect thing to drink every time you have a mince pie, a slice of Christmas cake, some Christmas pudding or a plate of cheese. For my money, Tawny Port is one of the best value wines in the world. It …
If you’re looking for something to sip with mince pies and Christmas cake – and frankly at this time of year, who isn’t? – this is the one for you. Made by one of the leading sherry producers, it’s like liquid molasses. Made from partially dried PX grapes, with its naturally concentrated sugars it definitely …
I mean, this wine is basically a guilty pleasure bottled. Made from dried grapes, think alcoholic fig juice along with flavours of caramel, raisins and chocolate thrown in with enough alcohol to make your cheeks pink. Pour it over ice cream. Drink it in the bath. No judgement here.
Australia’s most famous sticky, this is a sweet fortified Muscat and has to be tasted to be believed. Made from super-ripe grapes, the wine is then fortified with a little grape spirit to add oomph. Rich, sweet and unctuous, it’s gorgeous sipped with a sweet fruit pudding. Or in its own in the bath, of …
One of the most famous manzanilla wines of all, this is a real classic. Made in the traditional sherry way, namely ageing wines in a ‘solera’ system where barrels of ageing wines are topped up with new wines. There they sit, ageing under a coating of ‘flor’, a unique sherry yeast beast that helps gives …
This is, basically, christmas pudding in a glass. Smells and tastes of raisins, candied peel, figs and treacle with the added bonus of warming alcohol. And it goes with mince pies as well as it does a hunk of blue cheese so you don’t even have to get another glass when you move seamlessly from …
Essential for a negroni, and great with tonic. Just two reasons to make sure you’ve got a bottle of this brilliant bittersweet fortified drink full of herby, fruity flavours in your drinks stash. Unlike your bog-standard, this one’s made from foraged berries from the hedgerows surrounding English vineyard Bolney Estate. And a little goes a …
When it comes to matching wine and chocolate, the best matches depend on the type of chocolate – milk, dark, white, salted caramel, I could go on – but this particular sweet wine takes most of them in its stride. Now, Madeira is not the most fashionable thing but that’s good news because a) it’s amazing …
Late to the party as ever, last week was Sherry Week. I’m carrying on the party with this gem from the seaside town of Sanlúcar. Known for its trademark salty style, Manzanilla is one of the most effective pre-prandial drinks, kicking the palate into action. If you want to know more about sherry, wine writer Fiona Beckett …
I needed a dash of sherry for a recipe and once opened, it seem daft not to have a small glass as an aperitif. So glad I did, it was heavenly. Refreshing, dry, nutty, complicated and simple all at the same time. Amontillado starts life as a Fino or Manzanilla sherry but is generally richer, fuller and …
Great sherry is for life, not just for Christmas. But there’s something undeniably festive about sipping on a small glass, especially if you’re still wrapping presents late at night on Christmas Eve. Made by Lustau (lust-worthy producer), it smells like Christmas in a glass.
This is one of the sweet wines in the video mentioned above and is, turns out, a great match for white chocolate. It’s the only sherry in the Aldi range. Made from a blend of sweet Oloroso sherry, it’s rich with gorgeous nutty aromas and dried raisin-y flavours. And incredibly smart for the price. If …
Last Friday, I stopped by an old friend’s house and, it being past six o’clock, I was offered a small glass of sherry rather than a cup of tea. How lovely! And an Amontillado too, darker than Fino but not as dark as Oloroso. This one’s made by Lustau no less, a tip-top Sherry maker. …
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