Wines for Christmas

Yes, it’s that time of year again and, as is traditional, I’ve started it with a lame joke!

Also keeping with tradition, here are my 12 wines of Christmas. A seasonal selection to mull over (pardon the pun) and see you through the festivities. Most of the wines in this Christmas assortment have featured in Tipping’s Tipples over the past year and all come highly rated.

For a white that will keep party guests happy try Cantele Telero Bianco 2009 (£5.82 from Firth & Co, telephone 01677 451952), a decent quaffing wine from Italy’s Puglia region. Made from the native bombino grape, it delivers bags of grapefruit and lemon flavour, with a smooth mouthfeel and just a little lift of acidity on the finish.

Yali Wetland Merlot 2009 (£6.49 at Tesco), from the Colchagua Valley in Chile, will please the red drinkers. It’s full of toasty, spicy, plum and raspberry fruit flavours, with chocolate and vanilla, held together by some fine tannins.

No thank you bucks fizz, I’ll opt for a good English wine to kick-off Christmas Day, Limney Horsmonden Dry White 2009 (£8.95 from BarWines, /barwines.co.uk)/. Made from a long list of varietals suitable for our climate, it is quite complex and would certainly suit you if you normally drink sauvignon blanc. It’s zingy stuff, with aromas of hedgerows in mid-summer and flavours of citrus with hints of grass, nettle tea, a pronounced minerality and a good long finish.

For those fish dishes, I’ve picked an organic wine from the Marlborough region of New Zealand that is more subtle and quite different in style to the norm. Rock Ferry Sauvignon Blanc 2009 (£11.50 from Vintage Roots/ vintageroots.co.uk), unusually for the grape and region, is fermented in oak not stainless steel. The wine is as bright as a button and alive with tropical fruit, melon, gooseberry and minerality.

There are many wine options when it comes to the traditional turkey Christmas dinner. Rich, buttery chardonnay works as a white, sparkling Aussie shiraz is good fun but I always pick a lighter style of red.

Beaujolais is a really good choice, I like Beaujolais Régnié Les Côtes de Saint Cyr 2009 (£7.99 each when you buy two at Majestic). Soft and oh so drinkable, it has aromas of cassis and flavours of raspberry, strawbs and brambles, with a hint of tobacco and cream soda.

Kiwi pinot noir is an excellent choice too, like Villa Maria Private Bin Pinot Noir 2009 (£9.99 at the Co-operative, Sainsbury’s and Tesco) from the Marlborough region. It is silky smooth, with clove and cinnamon spiced cherry and rosehip fruit and a long finish.

Boxing Day beef is a tradition at Manoir Tipping but I’m stuck between two French reds as accompaniment. Sainsbury’s Taste The Difference Saint-Joseph 2009 (£12.99 at Sainsbury’s). Made by Michel Chapoutier, This is rich and earthy, with blackberry, raspberry, vanilla, pepper and a hint of something floral.

And there is the powerful, spicy Mont Tauch L’Exception 2006 (£9.99 at Majestic), a blend of carignan, grenache and syrah, from hillside vineyards in Fitou. Blackberry and cherry fruit abound, with garrigue herbs, polished, toasty oak and structure from supple tannins. This is very classy stuff for the money and tastes like a wine at twice the price.

When it comes to the leftovers, the award for the wine most likely to brighten up a turkey and cranberry sandwich goes to Paxton Shiraz Rosé 2009 (£11.99 at Oddbins), from McLaren Vale in Oz. This is a crunchy pink with structure, the flavour turned up to 11 and a vivid colour to match. In fact, it’s almost a red. It oozes fruit pastille raspberries and red cherries on the palate, with whiffs of strawberry.

The Naked Grape Riesling 2008 (£6.64 at Waitrose) from the Pfalz region in Germany is on the dry side of off-dry, with lots of minerality, apple aromas and flavours of citrus and peach. Its fresh acidity means the residual sugar is hardly noticeable but this slight sweetness makes the wine a good option with spicy dishes such as a turkey curry.

For lighter desserts, try Domaine Jones Muscat 2009 (50cl)(£10 from domainejones.com), a sweet treat made from muscat petit grain, widely considered the best of the muscat varieties. It is very fragrant with floral, lime aromas and rich flavours of grape, grapefruit, elderflower, tropical fruit and honey. It’s quite light for a ‘sticky’ and would work as well as an aperitif as it would as an accompaniment to pudding.

Santa, I am told, is partial to a good Port, so leave a glass of Quinta de Terra Feita Vintage 1999 (£29.99 at Oddbins and Majestic) out for him with his mince pie on Christmas Eve. But hide the bottle, so there’s plenty left to have with figgy pudding the next day. This single quinta Port from Taylor’s, is velvety textured, with blueberry and plum on the nose and rich, lingering flavours of black cherry, white chocolate and spice.

Have a very merry Christmas. Tipping’s Tipples will be back in the New Year. In the meantime,follow the conversation on Twitter (@TippingsTipples).