Fortified for Christmas? Release the Old Fogey Within

I suspect that there's a rakish Old Fogey in all of us waiting to get out - one who's desperate to put on a well-worn tweed jacket, jump into an Alvis and leg it to a country pub for a schooner or two with someone they shouldn't be with.  When it comes to drinks, Sherry and Madeira have always had a touch of the smoothy oldster about them, but they're far too good to dismiss just because they've been around for a few hundred years.

By all accounts, the TV drama 'Downton Abbey' has had a positive influence on Sherry sales - never seen it myself but apparently it's all heaving bosoms and chaps in fashionable spats drinking a tifter of Fino before breakfast, which sounds so unlike the homelife of our own dear Queen.

I find that I gravitate to Sherry and Madeira when I'm not sure what to drink, either before or after dinner, and want to get a bit excited about what's in the glass.  Unlike Port, you can drink old and exotic Sherry and Madeira at a reasonable price, with some of the older wines in 'soleras' of Sherry (the continuous topping up of the casks with new wine vintages) going back a hundred years.  Neither do they spoil like old wine (and even old Port if you're unlucky) and Madeira is virtually indestructible due to the heating process it goes through in the making (Estufagem)

So, here are some options for your pre and post-prandial enjoyment - and not just at Christmas, although the sweeter wines are true winter warmers.

Pre-Dinner

Cold, bone-dry sherry is the order of the day.  The failsafe choice is Tio Pepe, (£8 Tesco) which is hard to beat when served chilled in a 'bumper' accompanied by some almonds and stuffed olives.  A more interesting alternative could be Lustau Fino 'la Ina' - very crisp, very dry, very nutty (try Fraziers £11.25)  This year we're sticking with The Wine Society's Fino at £5.95.

With Dessert

Pour out a glass of Henriques Y Henriques 10 year old Malmsey (£17 Wine Society and others) with your mince pies - sweet and sticky but with a refreshing underlying tanginess which is exclusive to Madeiras.  Hidalgo Pedro Ximinez Viejo 'Napoleon' would suit any pudding, even poured over ice cream or whatever you fancy, as they don't come much sweeter than this Christmas cake of a Sherry (£11.99 Majestic)

Afterwards, with a Hoya (if you're lucky)

We're going with the Society's Exhibition Viejo Oloroso Sherry (£10.95) but I have to say that for contemplating the fire once the kids have gone to bed you really need a Port - try Taylors LBV Vintage2003/4 (Waitrose £10.29) for a taste of vintage with a softer palate ("for more informal occasions")