As I write this the weather has turned remarkably mild so I’ve abandoned my original topic of winter warming wines in favour of good value wines suitable for parties — parties can happen in good and bad weather after all. Christmas seems to start earlier and get more expensive every year so in the coming weeks I’ll try to keep value as much in mind as much as quality.

WINE enthusiasts sometimes tie themselves into knots worrying about the complexities to be found in the drink, fussing about which flower or fruit a wine smells like, or worse still focusing on soil structure and hectolitres per hectare.