It's Christmas, so Tipping's Tipples has gone a sip upmarket with four wines - two reds and two whites - around the £10 mark and pushed the boat out for a bottle of port.

I WAS thinking how nice it would be to roast chestnuts on a log fire in my recently opened-up Victorian brick fireplace.

Unfortunately the log fire isn't there, nor are the tiles and dog grate yet (next year maybe) .

But roast chestnuts I shall have, albeit the oven-cooked variety, and I'll open a bottle of Chianti Classico DOCG 2001, £8.99 from M&S, to accompany them.

Full bodied, gamey, spicy and an absolute pleasure to drink.

A dusting of black pepper and a myriad of other flavours, in Chateau de Marsannay Rouge, 1999, make for a wonderful, easy-drinking Burgundy, well worth the £9.99 price tag at Majestic. Problem is, if you uncork this before Big Bird is cooked you'll have finished the bottle before you start pulling the crackers. Solution: buy two.

Now to a white, but also with a very full flavour. Pouilly Fume is from the Radcliffe's Regional Classics range at Thresher. It's not my favourite, but many people love the flowery, aromatic character of the sauvignon blanc grape used to produce this wine. The slightly smoky aftertaste of the Pouilly Fume goes very well with fish dishes and this example is very well rounded. At £10.99 though, I think it is overpriced.

Or you could try a Chablis 2001, Domaine Daniel Dampt, from Thirsk-based independent wine merchants Playford Ros. This powerful, unoaked white is as crisp as a frosty morning with a very pleasant nose of fresh yeast. Coupled with the characteristic flinty aftertaste of the Chablis this is a great white to slurp.

Finally, what better way to finish off Christmas dinner than with port?

Taylor's 10 Year Old Tawny (£16.99 from loads of places) would make a great festive treat. Fine for washing down Christmas pud, but even better just sipped slowly and savoured. Light as a feather yet full flavoured and potent.

I've been racking my brains to come up with ten Christmas wine songs but I can only think of eight:

1. The Most Wonderful Wine Of The Year Andy Williams

2. The Bolly And The Ivy Traditional

3. White Christmas Bing Crosby

4. Jingle Bell Hock Bobby Helms

5. Rioja Around The Christmas Tree Brenda Lee

6. Blue (Nun) Christmas Elvis Presley

7. Have Yourself A Merlot Little Christmas Frank Sinatra

8. Sauvignon Christmas John Lennon and Yoko Ono

If either reader would like to write in with their suggestions for the final two songs in the top ten I'll try to leave them out next week.

Have a great Christmas.

Chianti Classico DOCG, 2001, £8.99 at M&S Pure pleasure in a bottle

Chateau de Marsannay Rouge 1999, £9.99 at Majestic One bottle isn't enough

Pouilly Fume from the Radcliffe's Regional Classics range, £10.99 at Thresher Not for me at that price

Chablis 2001, Domaine Daniel Dampt, £8.99 , inclusive of VAT and p&p, from Playford Ros (sales@playfordros. com) Classy white

Taylor's 10 Year Old Tawny Port, £16.99 at Asda, Safeway, Sainsbury's, Majestic, Oddbins and Threshers Go on, it's Christmas

Updated: 14:29 Tuesday, April 20, 2004