My Round: Want to find the perfect Valentine's Day drink?

Better start shopping ÿ and not for pink Champagne

We Must Drink Champagne. It Must Be Pink. This is the drink of love. Well, to hell with that. If I'm going to buy my true love something special for Valentine's Day, I want it to be something she'll remember. Which is why I'm proposing Madeira, and giving you plenty of time to shop around for it.

Madeira resembles no other wine either in flavour or in method of production. Or in place of production, for that matter. It's amazing that this volcanic island can produce wine. The climate is sub-tropical and the growing areas are at high altitudes, with vineyards planted on steep terraces. Fog is heavy, and so, therefore, is the risk of rot and fungal diseases. If this Atlantic island were being settled now, no one would think of planting vines.

Nor would they hit upon the most distinctive feature of winemaking in Madeira. Some time in the 17th century, when the Madeira trade was already well established, shippers noticed that their wine tasted better after it had crossed the ocean a few times in barrels that speeded up maturation through heavy oxidisation. By the 19th century, the island was heating the wine in estufas, large barrels, to speed things up. Some (but not all) small producers still use estufas to accelerate the development of their lesser wines.

Most Madeira is made from the tinta negra mole, a grape which is relatively easy to grow in the island's weird climate. It can produce good stuff, but it is not what you want for V-Day. You want a wine made from one of the island's four "noble" grape varieties: Sercial, Verdelho, Bual or Malmsey (aka Malvasia). In the UK, the market is dominated by the Madeira Wine Company (chief brand: Blandy's) and Henriques & Henriques. Between them, you should find everything you need to cover the Valentinian bases: an apèritif and a sweetie.

For apèritifs you will need Sercial or Verdelho. Though its piercing dryness is not to everyone's taste, Sercial is a personal favourite. Verdelho, more medium-dryish, might be better unless you've already acquired the taste.

Malmsey is the sweetest of the four, with Bual coming in close behind. For my palate, Bual usually delivers the perfect level of sweetness. But note: all Madeira has generous levels of acidity. When you're drinking even the sweetest, you don't think: "This is a sweet wine." You think: "I am in Heaven." The flavours are caramelly, nutty, mellow citrus peel, dried fruits of every description. They are unforgettable. And because of all that acidity, and the oxidation, they keep forever even once opened.

So, which is the perfect Valentine's Madeira? A Bual or Malmsey that, like all the best Madeira, has spent a good, long spell in barrels. The better producers have started releasing vintage-denominated wines, but the best are expensive and rare. My first choice among lower-priced and widely available wines would be Henriques & Henriques's 15-year-old Bual. Blandy's 10- and 15-year-old Malmsey, and the Henriques & Henriques 10-year- old Bual, would be joint runners-up. The younger wines cost around £16 for 75cl bottles, the older around £26; but the companies have started bottling in 50cl sizes which are obviously cheaper (and a good size to boot). Sound expensive? You can get mediocre pink Champagne for the price of a bottle of Henriques & Henriques 15-year-old Bual, which is a truly great wine.

These wines are found mostly at independent merchants, but for stockists you can ring Henriques & Henriques's agent HwCg (tel: 01279 873 500) or, for MWC importers, John E Fells (tel: 01442 289 324). Let them be your guides to liquid delights. Madeira truly is the drink of love, whatever the V-day industry may tell you.