South East England

Lightly biscuity with white peach notes, this is a highly promising sparkling wine from the Briscoes in Hertfordshire.

As with the majority of the smaller English and Welsh wineries, Wareside Wines has no winery on site at the moment. So the Briscoes' Pinot Noir joins with Chardonnay from Martin Oldaker in Surrenden in Kent, with Vince at Stanlake Park acting as midwife-winemaker.

£22, from winery; The Vine Shop, Ware

It might seem like ginger is the latest craze to hit our flavour-hungry palates. Well Wrights Original could claim to be the daddy of them all, with its Dark Ginger created from a traditional recipe dating back to the 19th century.

It's got a fab lick of spicy ginger and is unashamedly sweet. My tip therefore is to add a generous squeeze of lime and enjoy over ice. Or follow the creators' suggestion and add a splash of soda or sparkling water.

Find at Farm Shops around Surrey and in selected National Trust properties

It was like sticking my nose in an English herb garden when I sniffed Juiceology's Apple, Lime & Mint drink – evocative and inspriing.

With its tang of apple, just the right amount of lime, and a friendly flourish of English mint, this is my style of soft drink.

It's one of a quartet of drinks launched by top mixologist Joe McCanta with the help of entrepreneur Richard Watson – he'd been bemoaning the lack of decent soft drinks.

£1.69; Fortnum & Mason, Whole Foods, Harvey Nichols, www.tastejuiceology.com

It was the week after New Year and I just happened to be stocking up in Sainsbury's, as you do. Imagine my delight when, far from empty shelves, there was a good supply of none other than the Sainsbury's Great British Beer Hunt winner, Bad King John from Ridgeway Brewery.

Easy choice that one and, sampling it now, it's lost none of its appeal.

6%, £2.09; Sainsburys & selected independent beer shops

With notes of dried fruit and light spicy hints, Shepherd Neame's Christmas Ale is a refreshing amber beer with enough malt magic to complement the rich festive fare without heading into flavour-overload. 

 £2, supermarkets & online

These three berry-based liqueurs in varying brilliant shades of red are all especially appealing at this time of year. They're dark, sumptuous, intensely aromatic and offer the warming comfort of a mulled wine or port, with the added appeal of being made with English-grown fruit. All three expressions - sloe, black cherry, and elderberry port - are new additions to the Lurgashall range, thanks to the stellar efforts of owner and producer Sarah Thompson who only took over the operation a year ago and has spent her time fruitfully by befriending producers in her area with gluts of berries to share.