This dark, spicy, autumnal dish can be made two or three days in advance and kept in the fridge. Serve it cold, tepid or warm, with...

£5.99, Wine Rack and Bargain Booze I wasn’t planning to wax lyrical about a Sauvignon Blanc this week. I’d been thinking along the lines...

Everybody needs a failsafe, rich and warming beef casserole recipe for winter. This is mine. I always use shin, because it has such a...

£7.89, Booths supermarkets and independents This flowing, soft red from Languedoc ticks all sort of useful January boxes. It’s made from...

If you know where to look, there are plenty of wines with modest alcohol but bags of character and flavour Prompted by the UK...

This is not the most sophisticated-looking of dishes – you have to serve the meat in chunks rather than neat slices - but it’s incredibly...

£8, Marks & Spencer If you’re going for the complete January detox and diet, you have my sympathy – and more usefully a recommendation...

Call me biased, but I reckon that the secret weapon the great chefs never mention is booze. They bang on about how they use only the...

New year, new grape varieties: ten grapes and wines for 2016 Remember Grü-V? Yes, the American moniker for Grüner Veltliner. The trouble...

£12.99, or £9.74 in any 6-bottle mix, Majestic Everything a Rioja Reserva should be and an ideal red with which to greet the new year:...

Still and sparkling wines that are easy to drink, don’t need food and are available on the high street – five of them at under £7.50. For...

The purpose of this blog is to provide you with some material for Christmas quizzes, longueurs in the conversation, one-upmanship with...

£16 (on offer), Sainsbury's Waitrose, Ocado, £19, Oddbins This is a bottle to pick up if you’re still rushing around buying last-minute...

£9.75, Tesco, £11, Sainsbury's, £9.99/£14.99, Majestic The juicy, sweet fruit and almost tannin-free suppleness of a good New Zealand...

Fortified wines are among the wine world's great bargains. They make excellent presents and it's worth pointing out here that the rare...

Whites to keep the show on the road this Christmas and New Year Wines listed in ascending order of price. I've given a UK stockist for...

Ten red wines to serve with the Christmas feast Wines listed in ascending order of price. I've given a UK stockist (or two) for each, but...

Ten Champagnes to put you in the mood for Christmas and all the rest Listed in ascending order of price, ignoring special offers and...

£37.95, Eton Vintners, £42, Berry Bros & Rudd This fabulous Champagne was voted best value of the night at a tasting called Ultimate...

£9.75, selected Tesco and tesco.com/wine This dry Australian Semillon is an old favourite, not only for its citrus-zest freshness,...