What wines should any good cellar contain? By cellar I mean a collection of wines either in an underground cave or a simple wine rack in the kitchen or under the stairs. These days who has a cave anyway? If wine is best enjoyed with food, it follows that ones cellar should be stocked with wine that compliments the type of food one tends to consume. Let’s see how this works.

Aperitif Wines: The role of the aperitif is to prepare the palate for what is to follow and to get the gastric juices flowing. This is best done with a light, crisp wine such as Manzanilla, Sauvignon Blanc, Mosel Riesling or Blanc de Blancs champagne.

‘Food Wines’: Amontillado is the perfect match for soups. Salads and dishes with goats cheese are fine with Alsace Riesling. Pate demands Pinot Gris. Chardonnay, unoaked and oaked pair fish and poultry without and with creamy sources. Pinot Noir and Rhone style reds do well with game and lamb and beef need Cabernet based wines.

I think the so-called dessert wines are best sipped on their own but blue cheese with sweet wine or port is a marriage made in heaven.