Wines to test your palates

New Year Resolutions are usually tedious things such as “visit the gym more than once a week”, “pay off the Visa bill every month” etc. This week I am proposing some pleasurable resolutions which will be no hardship.

Number 1: Break your wine habits. No more Sauvignon Blanc (if that is your habitual choice), try Verdejo from Rueda in Spain, Gruner Veltliner from Austria or perhaps a bottle of Arinto from Portugal. Ask in your local wine shop for a recommendation similar in flavour to what you usually buy but from a different region/country.

Number 2: Discover (or re-discover) Sherry. No wine region produces such high quality wines at such low prices (given how long they are aged and the care that goes into crafting them). Fino Sherry is a perfect match for fish and chips and other seafood and richer (dry) styles like Amontillado and Oloroso work well as an aperitif or with soup but can also match rich stews.