Sweet wines and fortified wines, dry as well as medium and sweet, are some of the wine world's greatest bargains. They're wonderfully comforting on long, dark evenings and come in a kaleidoscope of styles to suit every taste. They make ideal presents and sweet wines, unfortified or fortified, can be served not only with puddings and cheese but instead of them, when you're time-poor, ingredient-poor or simply don't want any more to eat. I've divided them into two groups below:

I hardly need say that the past year isn't going to go down in history as very celebratory and that 2021 is looking shaky, but I don't need a celebration to drink Champagne (do you?). If I did, there are the first covid-19 vaccinations (my mother was one of the first to get one). And there's Christmas. And New Year. Here then are my Champagne picks: not as many as usual, and fewer at the bottom end thanks to the absence of tastings and travel, but there are some crackers and

I've tasted far and wide to pick white wines and rosés from a dozen countries to fill your glasses with festive cheer during this small-scale, socially distanced Christmas. Whether it's a simple lunch or supper, a fancy feast or a moment of reflection, these wines will illuminate it. Starting at under £8, they're listed in ascending order of price, give or take differences in retailers’ prices and special offers. If you're in the mood to splash out, you'll know to scroll down

When gin distiller Angus Lugsdin was visiting Château Climens in Barsac for the first time, the fog was so thick he couldn’t find it. Suddenly it emerged out of the fog like a phantom. Later, when he was naming his new gin, the sixth and latest in Salcombe Distilling Company’s limited-edition Voyager Series, each named after a nineteenth-century Salcombe fruiter (fruit schooner), Phantom seemed the obvious fruiter to choose. Obvious because Phantom was created in collaboratio

However different this Christmas turns out to be, wine is going to be at least as vital as usual. Here then is my round-up of red wines to cater for all kinds of occasion during the festive season, or no occasion at all. As always, wines are in 75cl bottles unless stated and are listed in ascending order of price, give or take differences in retailers’ prices and special offers. If you're in the money, you'll know to scroll down and start at the end. A couple of other things

It may be a festive season unlike any other, but we'll still need wine of all sorts –perhaps more than ever. The first of my 2020 round-ups is, as always, any kind of sparkling wine except Champagne, which gets its own show. This year there's a red, as well as white and rosé, and some pretty unusual wines: a Frappato, an Albariño and a stunning biodynamic wild-ferment English sparkling wine. I don't know what I was expecting when I tasted the English biodynamic natural wine,