Tipple of the Month – December 2016

Published on: 10 Dec, 2016
Updated on: 10 Dec, 2016

Jeremy Blood of the Surrey Wine School

Jeremy Blood from the Guildford based Surrey Wine School reveals his locally available “Tipple of the Month” for December.

I love fortified wines at any time of the year but sadly, for some people, Port, and other fortified wines such as Madeira, or Sherry are still regarded as just a festive treat.

My favourite Christmas port has to be the Tawny style, these wood aged ports can be matured in cask for 10, 20, 30 or 40.

The colour changes as it ages from rich ruby to beautiful amber with golden hues they also develop nutty and caramel flavors. As one of my guests put it –“its Christmas in a glass”.

Tawny ports are the most versatile, as they can be drunk chilled as an aperitif, matched with sweet things like mince pies, Christmas cake and pudding.

They are also great when paired with cheddar cheeses.

So my tipples of the month are two wines a tawny and a Single Quinta vintage style tasted at my recent port and cheese night.

Graham’s “The Tawny “Port (Marks and Spencer £16.00 currently 25% off 6) A deep, golden-amber port with a rich bouquet of orange peel, cinnamon and dried fruits, particularly raisins, prunes and figs.

Dow’s Quinta Do Bomfim Single Quinta Port 2004 (Taurus Wines, Bramley £24.99) A rich styled port with black cherry and berry fruits, raspberries, prunes and raisins. Spicy with mineral notes.