Help with drinking deadlines

LAY & Wheeler's Spring wine list includes a "drink to" and "drink from" indication beside every wine, which should be of great value to restaurateurs.

The symbols of a tilted glass for "drink now", a tilted bottle accompanied by a date for "drink until" and a horizontal bottle accompanied by "from - to" dates, should help when selecting wines for a restaurant list.

This is a most considerate gesture in view of the widespread tendency of growers and merchants to release wines before they are really ready for drinking because they do not want to be burdened by the capital cost of holding them.

Going beyond the obvious value of this device for Burgundy and Bordeaux wines, vintage Port and other table wines where ageing is essential, my thoughts flew when I read about fino sherry.

I have argued for a long time for a "drink-by date" on bottles of this delicate drink which, for far too long, is sold as though it had the staying power of Madeira or the imperishability of gin or whisky. Unfortunately the excellent sherry section in the list uses only the "drink now" symbol.

It would indeed have been a radical departure if it had used the "drink to" symbol accompanied by the words "September 1994". against the Ostra Manzanilla or Colchester Fino.

But I am not alone in believing that until fino sherries are drunk within six months of bottling (and that means making it clear that is what should happen) the battle to restore the wine to its former importance in the UK market will not be won.

The sherry section in the catalogue meanwhile is full of good things and useful observations.

What a good idea to recommend fino with tomato-based starters and salads! "The vivacity and freshness of sherry," writes Simon Gotelee in the introduction to the section, "is not nullified by the power and acidity of the tomatoes, whereas most white wines would be overwhelmed."