The good companions

The cake and cheese combo is even further enhanced by a glass of the right wine and to me there is nothing better than a glass of Madeira which also captures a sweet/savoury balance in its fabulous complexity.

To many people Madeira is a throw-back to a bygone era, more of a fusty name than a style of drink, but Madeira is definitely alive and well, and tasting even more delicious now that producers are concentrating on quality as they attempt to capture a new audience.

Madeira comes from the island of that name and has been made in the same bizarre way for centuries. The grapes are grown, picked and fermented to leave the right degree of sweetness in the wine, then like a port, the fermentation is stopped with the addition of a slug of alcohol.

Then comes the process which is special to Madeira. The wine is gently heated, in tank for cheaper wines, but better wines are aged in barrels which are stacked up in heated rooms in a process known as “canteiro”. This process mimics the temperature change experienced by the wine when it was packed into sailing ships and sent to markets around the world.

The gradual heating and cooling of the wine was found to improve its flavour and so, scattered across the island there are tall warehouses where barrels are stored, the temperature gradually increasing as you struggle up the stairs.

Madeira comes in various quality grades and styles. Sercial is the driest and the wines climb in sweetness through Verdelho, Bual (also known as Boal) and Malmsey, gaining depth and complexity on the way. These names indicate the grape varieties the wines are made from, but some very good Madeira wines are made from local grapes and so are described with brand names.

For afternoon sipping, with or without fruitcake, a Bual style works best with the richer Malmsey style running a very close second.

If you are new to Madeira start with a five-year-old wine such as Blandy’s Alvada which is a blend of Bual and Malmsey, cask-aged and it has layers of stewed fruit, figs and a distinct streak of orange marmalade (£12.99 for 50cl Waitrose). Barbeito Boal five-year-old Reserva has a lighter, fresher style, backed by figs and sultana flavours with just a hint of ginger and smoky bacon.

If you prefer your fruitcake with the sharper cleaner taste of Wensleydale rather than Cheddar then this is the one to sip alongside. Find this at Waitrose (50cl for £13.99) or head to The Halifax Wine Company (01422 256333) where the same bottle is about £2 cheaper and where you can browse through one of the best ranges of Madeira in the country including wines going back over a century.

If you look at the back of the cupboard where you keep your drinks, I bet you will find a half-drunk bottle of port. Once Christmas is over the enthusiasm for port seems to diminish and the bottle gets pushed to the back of the cupboard to acquire a layer of dust.

Unlike Madeira which will happily keep from one decade to the next, most styles of port really need to be drunk within a couple of months, so put that bottle by the cooker and use it to enhance stocks, gravy and casseroles over the next few weeks.

And now you have the chance to buy another bottle, but instead of bringing it out after dinner when most people view the sight of port as the signal to go home, plan to drink it another time – such as in the afternoon, on the sofa, accompanied by a box of chocolates, a few nuts and raisins, maybe a cup of coffee and definitely the afternoon movie.

For afternoon drinking I favour a Tawny style of port, and this will even go with the fruitcake and cheese if you didn’t manage to get the Madeira. I really enjoyed Noval 10-year-old Tawny (£18.99, Waitrose) for its cinnamon-spiced figgy flavours and Graham’s The Tawny 10-year-old (£21, Waitrose and others) for its smooth, rounded toffee and walnut style. Tawny port has been kept in large barrels for several years and so it doesn’t have a sediment and it has lost its deep plummy colour to become a softer, silky, lighter style of port. You can even chill it to bring out some of its more delicate flavours and serve it as an aperitif on a cold winter’s evening, maybe with some dried ham or cheesy nibbles.

While Vintage Port is the style that everyone knows, it comes with problems of sediment and a tendency to need drinking up within a few days. Instead head for a Late Bottled Vintage wine which has been kept in large barrels for about five years to mellow its flavours while still retaining deep plummy fruit and robust style. If you have a box of plain chocolates or a slice of left-over chocolate pud for afternoon munching, pour a glass of Taylor’s LBV 2007 (widely available around £13.99, now on offer at Waitrose at £11.20 until December 4) for its spice-dusted, damson fruit with a soft, velvety finish. Also good is Grahams LBV 2007 (normally about £13.30, also on offer at Waitrose at £10.20) which has deeper plums and spice with a more robust, concentrated finish.

Both act perfectly well as toe-warmers after a brisk Sunday morning walk, so there is no excuse for finding a half-empty bottle at the back of the cupboard this time next year.