By now the first paycheck of the new year should be in but there are no scary prices below for the simple reason that I am focusing on Southern and Central Portugal this week, arguably two of the best value wine regions in the world.

Want a little Christmas spirit? From sparkling wines to cider, beer to gin, our wine columnist, Leslie Williams, has the perfect list to choose from.

For some reason 2016 seems to have had a higher proportion of celebrity deaths than usual, and this month two well-known wine names could be added to the list — Louis Latour (aged 83) and Etienne Hugel (aged just 57).

Father’s Day is tomorrow so this week I want to focus on wines your dad will probably like.