Recommended wines for Christmas

Aperitif wines are always useful for when guests drop in unexpectedly, and definitely have some inexpensive prosecco in the fridge (more on fizz next week).

I haven’t mentioned sherry in a while but it is perfectly suited to the long Christmas break given that it stays fresh for up to 10 days. Hence it can be served to visitors or you can have a sneaky glass at lunchtime. Tio Pepe is available everywhere so no excuses, and it remains the benchmark fino sherry, despite its ubiquitousness.

I also recommend the following brands: Hidalgo, La Goya, Valdespino, Lustau and Garvey. To be honest in the dry styles it is hard to find a bad producer and even supermarket own brands can be excellent.