My Top Christmas Wines
As much as I love the tradition of turkey and think pigs-in-blankets are delicious, unsurprisingly the wine is the star attraction at my house, and I put a whole lot of thought and care into what I serve my guests.
Nothing kicks off a celebration better than a glass of something sparkling and I will be popping open a real treat in the Champagne Krug Grande Cuvée (Fortnum & Mason, £275), a cuvee that this magnificent House has released every single year since 1843.
Each year Krug pairs it with one stand-alone ingredient and this year the Grande Cuvée is being eaten with edible flowers at Krug x Flower Dinners all around London this winter. I however shall be matching it with caviar and crème fraiche blinis.
Rich and refined this is a generous champagne with notes of brioche, marzipan and gingerbread spice. For those who prefer a more mineral and crisply precise style of sparkling I’d go for Dermot Sugrue’s “The Trouble With Dreams” (SugrueSouthDowns.com, £49), an English winemaker with magic in his fingers. As I shall be balancing hosting, parenting and cooking up a storm in the kitchen, it may be wise to monitor the booze, at least early on in the day, but I shall still feel extra festive with the Winter Sparkling Tea (Fortnum & Mason, £19.95) which is a lowfive per cent and brimming with so many wonderful spices it is like Christmas in a glass.
A zippy white wine is ideal for the starter and a crisp Sauvignon Blanc is a fantastic festive white, especially if you are serving smoked salmon or a baked goat cheese. The flagship grape of New Zealand’s Marlborough, the elegant Isabel Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2022 (Berry Bros & Rudd, £19.50) is all refined lemongrass, lime and cool minerality. If you prefer a more zesty, generous, tropical fruited version then Cloudy Bay is a classic choice (Sainsburys, £26) from a premium producer.
Moving on to the main event, the roast turkey, I would choose a rounded Chardonnay. The versatile Chardonnay grape can be crisp and light or broader and oaked and for Christmas Day I prefer a richer style that can handle all the trimmings and sauces. A bottle of Robert Mondavi The Estates Chardonnay 2021 (VINVM.com, £48) is spot on, with the Californian sun bringing ripe fruits balanced with a buttery texture and delicate whisps of vanilla.
For the red wine lovers, I have fallen hard for the Vineyard Collection Oak Valley Swartland Cinsault 2022 (Virgin Wines, £14.99). An expressively juicy wine, it manages to be bright and light with a pure concentration of fruit from South Africa’s excellent old vines. You could even serve this lightly chilled. For those who want a richer, more velvety style of red then try a wine I have been cosying up to recently: the Chateau Laujac 2019 (Davy Wine, £16.95).
Also historically known in the UK as “Claret”, this Bordeaux is delightfully expressive and a great reminder of the changing style of wines from this famous region of France. No longer wines that need to be cellared for years, we are increasingly seeing approachable bottles to be opened and enjoyed right now. The Laujac is plush, soft and slightly smoky. Perfect to curl up with beside the fire.
When pudding comes out and I have doused it in brandy and set fire to it, I shall serve a crisply chilled sweet Tokaji wine from Hungary. Known
as the “Wine of Kings and King of
Wines,” I have selected the Disznókó Tokaji 1413 Edes Szamorodni 2021 (Waitrose, £21.99) which tastes like honeyed apricots with dustings of vanilla and ripe lemon peel. It is a fantastic accompaniment for a Christmas pudding or chocolates from off the tree.
A sweet wine is also excellent with the cheeseboard but, as more is most definitely merrier in my house, I shall also be serving a Ruby port. Ruby ports are more fruit forward, plummy and sweeter than their Tawny cousins and I enjoy the Quinta do Noval Unfiltered LBV Port (Waitrose, £24.99) to pair with my Christmas stilton and aged cheddar.
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