Croft Pink , it's the colour of love

Whilst red suggests passion, pink is said to be the colour of unconditional and romantic love, which is why Croft Pink is the drink of choice on St Valentine’s Day.

This warm and giving rosé, with its delicate, soft cherry hue, is always a welcoming loving cup, especially enjoyed by those who like to have more fun with their drink.

Croft Pink is for lovers of informality and versatility, especially when served chilled, over ice or in a delicious cocktail or two bringing out its vibrant raspberry flavours with hints of honey and grapefruit.

Show your love with a Pink Blossom, a lovingly effervescent cocktail of Croft Pink, St. Germain Elderflower liqueur, sparkling wine and frozen berries (recipe below). Or be stirred, be shaken, be adventurous and let loose with a Runaway – a spirited blend of Croft Pink, Calvados, Benedictine, lemon juice and Angostura.

Spice it up with Pink Cashmere, an exotic blend of Croft Pink with apricot nectar and a gentle kick of black pepper. Get fresh and seductive with an Apple and Pink Julep - a really cool mix of Croft Pink, apple juice, sheaves of mint leaves over mountains of ice. You’ll find these and more luscious cocktails at http://www.croftpink.com/#/recipes.

Alternatively, serve it simple, as a chilled aperitif with almonds and olives; perhaps even finish your romantic dinner for two with a glass of Croft Pink to accompany a light dessert or bite of dark chocolate.

Here’s to love and romance this St Valentine’s with a little help from Croft Pink available from £10.88, at Sainsbury, Co-Op and Selfridges.

Taylor's Ports

Taylor Fladgate and Yeatman joined together to start making Port wine in 1692. In that time nations have been founded, have grown, crumbled and faded away, wars have been fought but Taylor's Port continues to be made by the same families who created their Port wine dynasty near 320 years ago.

Taylor's 10 Year Old Tawny Port is aged for 10 years in wooden casks and is then carefully bottled. And it should then be carefully drunk, to ensure that the warm, rich tastes of a combination of fruits is not wasted.

My wife and I have a special Christmas tradition. Every year just before Christmas we like to take some Stilton cheese, some mince pies  and some Taylor's 10 Year Old Tawny Port and settle down to some festive feasting whilst watching the 1951 version of Scrooge. Sometimes we also watch the George C. Scott version, filmed in Shrewsbury, too.

If we do not have any Taylor's 10 Year Old Tawny Port to hand, we instead will replace this with an extremely good substitute, some Taylor's Late Bottled  Vintage Port, which being younger that the Taylor's 10 Year old Tawny Port, has a different range of equally appealing fruity flavours, but is a little less well-developed.

This year my wife and I were both suffering from colds. My wife remarked: "Are you starting to feel better?" I had to acknowledge that I was starting to feel a  little warmed and that my cold was now nowhere near as oppressive as it had been, before I had started to drink the Port.

My wife took another sip of her Taylor's, smiled, and said in tones of extreme satisfaction: "No wonder doctors used to prescribe Port!"

Taylor's 10 Year Old Tawny Port costs from £19.99 and is available from E. H. Booths, Majestic, Morrison's, Sainsbury, Selfridges, Teso, Wholefoods Market and Waitrose.

Taylors Late Bottled Vintage Port should cost you from £13.99 a bottle and is widely available.