Red Fox Wines L'Atzar Brut Reserva Cava - Premium, Spanish Sparkling Cava Wine With Fruity and Citrus Notes - Made From Macabeo, Parellada and Xarel-lo Grapes - 75cl Single Bottle, 11.5% ABV

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The palate is refreshing, the sparkle balancing the green and citrus fruits. It is light but long and elegant.

Cava is one of the most underrated sparkling wines, and is a great alternative to prosecco. It’s known for its admirable freshness and being incredibly drinkable, making it the perfect accompaniment for a range of occasions. Grillo is a Sicilian grape, a natural crossing of cataratto and zibbibo. This one is glossily viscous and tastes of yellow peaches with a faint tropicality (like mango) and floral notes. I love it with pasta con sarde, the pasta dish that is ubiquitous on Sicily. Somehow, it just goes with the wonderful Arabic-European blend of fragrance and fruitiness of the olive oil, pine nuts, raisins, sardines and fennel fronds. Gramona has long been a pioneer in research and has plenty to show the interested visitor – including its own ice wine. Codorníu has an experimental cellar that is producing a new top tier of wines, as well as providing insights into polishing up the mainstream brands. Basil has a slightly anise-like smell and contains the aroma compound linalool, which is also found in lemon peel. If you’re eating basil in pesto or putting a lot of it in a tomato salad then try wines made from the cortese grape (used to make Gavi) which tastes a bit like lemon pith and bay and seems to go very well. Spicy food

There are two ways to go here. You can look for reds that have generous fruitiness, such as Portuguese reds, southern Rhône blends, Australian cabernet-shiraz blends and also reds from South Africa: Cape blends (which contain some pinotage), Rhône-style blends or Bordeaux-style blends.

Of course, there’s no such place as cava. It’s the only Spanish denomination not to have its own geographical home. Cava is produced in as many as 159 towns and villages across the country, including in Valencia, La Rioja and Extremadura, as well as Catalonia. However, the vast majority of cava is made in Catalonia. So when talking about holidaying in cava country, that does mean Catalonia, and specifically the region of Penedès. You could finish dinner with a chunk of Parmesan cheese and keep on with the Valpol which will go really well with that too. Domaine des Valanges Saint-Véran 2020 The ultimate white for crab, octopus (dressed with olive oil and dusted with paprika) and prawns is albariño from Rías Baixas on Spain’s Atlantic coast. The peachy flavour of the wine brings out the sweet succulence of the shellfish and its subtle salinity plays into the seaside feel.So many people ignore port unless it’s Christmas; a mistake, in my view. Tawny port is a great drink at any time of year. Aged for a long time in wood, until its colour fades to a gleaming garnet and it begins to taste of orange peel, caramel and roasted hazelnuts, tawny port is at its best served straight from the fridge, after dinner. Rioja is really good with both pork and lamb. For the pork, think pulled pork or meltingly soft, slow-cooked pork shoulder (you could serve this with a date and almond couscous); lamb could be a classic roast leg of lamb studded with rosemary and garlic or a slow-cooked joint.