Port, contrary to popular belief in the New World, may only come from the upper Douro Valley in northern Portugal and in the past subsequently shipped from Vila Nova de Gaia, though the latter condition ceased in the mid 1980s. It has been a largely British dominated trade for centuries with most of the old British owned shippers now consolidated into two groups. There are two main styles of Port and within them a myriad of sub classifications and alternatives, but essentially the wood aged or bottle aged wines are the distinct groups. Wood ports do all their aging in cask and having been filtered and bottled are ready to drink. Ruby ports usually have a much shorter period in cask and want maturing in bottle, up to fifty or sixty years. (CW 23/01/12)

Good Sherry is one of the most undervalued wines in the world. And according to Falstaff one of the best aphrodisiacs. Made mostly from Palomino grown on chalky soils, it is important to note that all sherry is white, and until otherwise modified, dry. It is fortified with grape spirit once fermentation is complete and then the choice of whether to make a Fino or Oloroso is made. Generally Finos are derived from the finer wines and Olorosos from the coarser, though that is itself a gross generalisation. If wines need sweetening or colouring then producers turn to Pedro Ximenez, known as PX even in Spain. It carries a higher sugar load than Palomino and makes great sweet wine which can be blended or sold on its own. (CW 23/01/12)

Madeira is a fortified wine produced on the eponymous island and made in a similar way to Port, inasmuch as the fortifying neutral spirit is added once the desired level of sweetness has been reached. Five main grapes are involved, usually vinified and commercialised as a single varietal wine. Four of the varieties are each associated with a style, thus Sercial is dry, Verdelho usually medium dry, Bual or Boal usually medium rich and Malmsey or Malvasia usually rich. Sometimes they are blended to great effect. Tinta Negra Mole is the island’s workhorse grape and is used to create any of the styles above in cheaper wines. Warmth, movement and gentle oxidation are considered the keys to Madeira as they recreate the sea voyages that inspired the wine in the first place. Some wines are also aged in solera, as is Sherry. (CW 23/01/12)

Including French Vins Doux Naturels and other similar wines, as well as the `homages` to Port and Sherry from the New World and Cyprus. (CW 23/01/12)