Sherry makes a fashionable comeback

Sherry is one of the world's great fortified wines and a favourite tipple of both Queen Elizabeth I and Shakespeare's Sir John Falstaff.

Since then its fortunes have been mixed. Worldwide sales peaked in the 1970s, and until recently were in steady decline. The drink had come to be regarded as a sedate tipple for the elderly, rather than as a stimulant for royalty and revellers.

Even members of the older demographic tended to buy it only once a year, just before Christmas, so a glass could be left out with a mince pie for Santa Claus. Bottles languished in cocktail cabinets, and by the time they were dusted off the contents were often no longer fit to drink.

One thing nobody was calling sherry until recently was fashionable - but there are distinct signs that it is making a comeback.

Sergi Rostoll, the Asia-Pacific sales director for Gonzalez Byass, the sherry company which makes and owns the world's bestselling sherry brand, Tio Pepe, says the drink is now popular internationally.

"Young people are drinking sherry. Successful restaurant concepts are going for sherries. In London there are now around 10 sherry bars, most opened recently and doing well. TapaVino, the first sherry bar in Sydney's central business district, was one of the bars of the year [runner-up best new bar of 2012, ].