Picture the scene — a crackling log fire in the holly-decked hearth, the shining faces of turkey-filled loved ones about the table weighing up the option of just one wafer-thin slice of fine stilton, and perhaps a couple of plump Brazils to finish. Just one thing is needed to complete this scene of Yuletide bliss — a glinting crystal decanter of venerable vintage port. But should the reality be more of a two-bar electric and Kentucky Fried turkeyburgers with a couple of hung-over mates, it would still be a shame not to crack open the Cockburn’s and celebrate.

Made principally from the Touriga Nacional grape, port comes from the upper Douro valley, and the demarcation of the region in 1756 formed the world’s first “appellation”. Fortification with 25 per cent brandy to truncate fermentation and keep the wine sufficiently sweet for English palates also worked wonders in preserving the wine on the long voyage to Blighty.

There are two basic types of port — those aged in wood and those aged in the bottle, which are generally superior. Of the former, ruby is the bog-standard, matured in wood for two or three years, then blended, filtered and bottled — surprisingly, most is consumed in France. The ubiquitous Cockburn’s Special Reserve is £8.18 at Tesco and is reliably rich and fruity, if a little cloying after the first half-pint or so.

Moving up the quality scale a notch, we come to late bottled vintage (LBV) and vintage character ports. The former are generally made in average quality years and kept in wood for four to six years before bottling. They don’t improve once bottled and usually have no sediment so they don’t require decanting. Sainsbury’s has Graham’s 1997 at £10.99 and Oddbins has Taylor’s 1998 at the same price, both of which are well-made — for my money the Graham’s just shades it with riper, sweeter fruit flavours.

Maybe it’s just me, but the quality of LBVs seems to be somewhat in decline and, given the choice, I’ll take a ‘crusted’ port every time. They are bottled unfiltered (it’s the residual solids in the wine which allow it to continue to develop in the bottle) so it needs to be decanted. Oddbins has Dow’s 1999 bottling for £13.99 and its lively fruit and complex finish put it above most LBVs.

A further notch up the scale are single quinta ports, made from grapes from a single vineyard, usually in ‘undeclared’ years. Made in the same way as vintage port, they’re bottled unfiltered and are kept for two years in wood and, again, must be decanted. Taylor’s 1996 Quinta de Vargellas (Oddbins: £24.99) is classy, with good body, fruit-cake flavours and plenty of ‘fire’.

Of wood-aged ports, the basic tawnies may be blended with white port to lighten the colour and are usually disappointing while the best stuff emerges after up to 40 years in wood as the pale, sophisticated aristocrat of the family — it’s said to be the preferred tipple of the shippers themselves. “One of our best kept secrets” is what wine merchants Berry Bros (0870 900 4300) say of their William Pickering 20-year-old Tawny Port (£19.95) and I fear that my fondness for it is bordering on the immoderate so perhaps I shouldn’t tell you about it. Made by Quinta do Noval, it’s a feast of nuts and dates and Turkish Delight and would be cheap at half as much again.

And don’t forget white port itself, which is  made from white grapes,and makes a refreshing aperitif served chilled. Berry Bros does a good one (£7.95) which has a nice toffeeish nose and zesty marmaladey flavours and has a great affinity with mature cheddar.

Vintage port accounts for just one per cent of total production and “declarations” occur every three or four years on average. There are three main problems with it — it’s expensive, messy and very moreish. To find out what it’s all about, stump up £88 for a bottle of Taylor’s 1977 from Tanners (01743 234 500). Stand it upright for a day to settle, then pour it slowly into a clean jug, leaving the last inch in the bottle. Rinse the bottle, then pour it back in. It’ll keep for a good few days and at £4 for a dinky little glass — to be found in any junk shop — it doesn’t seem extortionate, does it?