Sherry, port and vermouth – unexpectedly refreshing summer drinks

Those of you who read this column regularly may recall me being somewhat dismissive recently about pouring fortified wines, such as sherry, at this time of year. Your friends won’t thank you for it, I suggested; drink white wine instead! Since then, however, I’ve come across a dazzlingly good – and cheap – fino (see today’s pick) that reminded me why they might.

So maybe I – we – should pander to our friends and try to get them into fortified wines. Most can be served long, and have the intensity of flavour to stand up to a degree of dilution, so are therefore an ideal low-alcohol option. Plus, since all you need to do is pour in a mixer, they’re effortless to make. Although I love a good – by which I mean fresh – fino or manzanilla, I also love a rebujito, which is sherry mixed with Seven Up or Sprite. (Not convinced? Try it!)

Port is admittedly more of a challenge. (I sometimes wonder how any business survives when the vast majority of its output is bought in the run-up to Christmas.) However, white port is slowly becoming more popular and makes a great long drink topped with tonic. I’d go for one of the lighter styles – Taylor’s and Croft both do one.

The other brilliant summer drink is vermouth, which is not only fortified but aromatised with herbs and other botanicals. You may be more familiar with it in cocktails, such as martinis and negronis, but it’s super-refreshing on its own or let down with a mixer – and cheap. Most supermarkets have an own-label version for about £5-6 for a litre bottle – though obviously the quality doesn’t compare with the better vermouths. Morrisons, for instance, sells its rosso vermouth – which I think is the best of its range – for £6.

The thing to know, though, is how to differentiate between the styles of white vermouth. Extra dry is not as dry as it sounds, as you’ll find if you buy today’s particularly delicious Cocchi vermouth, but bianco or blanco is really quite sweet. I’d serve the former with tonic and lemon, and the latter with soda and garnished with a slice of orange.

By the way, vermouth, like fino and manzanilla, doesn’t keep that well once open, so you need to find room for it in the fridge and drink it up in a couple of weeks. And put plenty of ice in your glass, not just the one measly cube.

Five fortified wines to sip this summer

The Society’s Fino £6.95 The Wine Society, 15%.
Fabulously fresh, bone-dry sherry at a crazily good price. Classic fino

Gonzalez Byass La Copa Vermouth Blanco £13 Master of Malt, £13.25 The Whisky Exchange, 15%. This aromatised sherry is a bit of a hybrid - like a cream sherry with a bitter orange twist. Drink neat over ice or top up with soda

Cocchi Vermouth di Torino Extra Dry 50cl £19 Waitrose Cellar, £19.75 The Whisky Exchange, 17%. A deliciously aromatic, fruity vermouth that isn’t as dry as it sounds

Cucielo Vermouth di Torino Rosso £22.95 for 50cl The Distillery, £23.45 The Whisky Exchange , £25 Ocado, 16.8%. Lovers of bitter drinks will adore this vermouth, which is almost like negroni in a bottle

Cockburn’s Fine White port on offer at Asda at £9, Waitrose Cellar at £9.99, , £11 Tesco (£9.50 to Clubcard members). If you haven’t discovered white port and tonic yet, you really should. (A light tonic as the port is already quite sweet.) Keep all the components cold and garnish with lemon and a sprig of mint

• For more by Fiona Beckett, go to fionabeckett.substack.com