#festive

Dec 16, 2021

The Festive White, Orange and Rosé Wine Guide 2021

Welcome to my annual roundup of white, orange and rosé wines for the festive season. Ranging freely through styles, regions and grape varieties, it's designed to cover all occasions and eventualities throughout Christmas, new year and other festivals and celebrations of the season. There are wines for the towering occasions, lots of inspiration for gifts and, no less important, wines for the times when absolutely nothing is happening. All are ready for drinking, but some will

Dec 9, 2021

The Festive Champagne Guide 2021

It goes without saying that it's always a pleasure to publish my annual round-up of Champagnes to meet the varied needs of the festive season. This year the bottles start at an undiscounted £13.99 and end with an indulgent magnum at £260 and the styles range from from Blanc de Blancs to Blanc de Noirs to rosé and from vintage to non-vintage to multi-vintage (the new buzzword). If you're looking for ultimate bottles, you should also consider three that I reviewed here during t

Dec 3, 2021

The Festive Red Wine Guide 2021

Welcome to my annual roundup of red wines. Ranging freely across styles, regions and grape varieties, it's designed to cover all occasions and eventualities through the festive season. There are wines to suit the absolutely-nothing-is-happening evenings, wines for the 'this deserves something special' dinners and lots of inspiration for gifts. All these wines are ready for drinking, but some will also continue to develop. They're listed in ascending order of price, going from

Dec 16, 2020

The Festive Champagne Guide 2020

I hardly need say that the past year isn't going to go down in history as very celebratory and that 2021 is looking shaky, but I don't need a celebration to drink Champagne (do you?). If I did, there are the first covid-19 vaccinations (my mother was one of the first to get one). And there's Christmas. And New Year. Here then are my Champagne picks: not as many as usual, and fewer at the bottom end thanks to the absence of tastings and travel, but there are some crackers and

Dec 11, 2020

The Festive White & Rosé Wine Guide 2020

I've tasted far and wide to pick white wines and rosés from a dozen countries to fill your glasses with festive cheer during this small-scale, socially distanced Christmas. Whether it's a simple lunch or supper, a fancy feast or a moment of reflection, these wines will illuminate it. Starting at under £8, they're listed in ascending order of price, give or take differences in retailers’ prices and special offers. If you're in the mood to splash out, you'll know to scroll down

Dec 4, 2020

The Festive Red Wine Guide 2020

However different this Christmas turns out to be, wine is going to be at least as vital as usual. Here then is my round-up of red wines to cater for all kinds of occasion during the festive season, or no occasion at all. As always, wines are in 75cl bottles unless stated and are listed in ascending order of price, give or take differences in retailers’ prices and special offers. If you're in the money, you'll know to scroll down and start at the end. A couple of other things

Nov 18, 2020

Festive Fizz 2020: Anything But Champagne

It may be a festive season unlike any other, but we'll still need wine of all sorts –perhaps more than ever. The first of my 2020 round-ups is, as always, any kind of sparkling wine except Champagne, which gets its own show. This year there's a red, as well as white and rosé, and some pretty unusual wines: a Frappato, an Albariño and a stunning biodynamic wild-ferment English sparkling wine. I don't know what I was expecting when I tasted the English biodynamic natural wine,

Dec 19, 2019

The Festive Sweet, Sticky and Fortified Guide 2019

‘Tis the season for sweet and fortified wines, for entertaining, for communing with quietly, or giving as presents. Fortifieds, in particular, are often bargains and the Riesling, Tokajis, Sétubal, Madeira and single quinta port I’ve chosen can all be cellared. So can the Noval LBV, but that’s not the norm. Deciding on the order of wines in this guide is always problematic and this year I have reverted to ascending order of price, but within three categories: Sweet, Dry Sherr

Dec 13, 2019

The Festive Champagne Guide 2019

Writing my annual Festive Champagne Guide is, as you can imagine, no hardship, not least because I have tasted everything in it recently. As always it has been difficult to whittle down the numbers, but one way is to exclude most of the Champagnes recommended in last year's guide (however painful some exclusions are) and those featured in my blogs on Drappier and Bruno Paillard. Even whittled down, there's a spectrum of styles, ages, producers and retailers, presented in asce

Dec 11, 2019

The Festive White Wine Guide 2019

My round-up of white wines from around the globe to cover Christmas and all the other festivities from simple supper to a big splash that demands something like a smart white Burgundy. It's always more difficult to find cheap white wines with something to say for themselves than it is to find inexpensive reds with some character, but the ones below should do the trick and I've also thrown in a keenly priced pale rosé from New Zealand. Wines are listed in ascending order of pr

Dec 2, 2019

The Festive Red Wine Guide 2019

My round up of red wines to take you through all kinds of festivities - major, minor and in some cases festivities for years to come. As always, wines are listed in ascending order of price, give or take differences in retailers’ prices and special offers (note that offers in stores and online are not always the same). If you're in the money, you'll know to scroll down and start at the end. One big retailer worth a mention is the Co-op: several wines I would like to have reco

Nov 27, 2019

Festive Fizz 2019: anything but Champagne

The first of the season's round-ups of recommendations is sparkling wines, from far and near but not Champagne – that gets its own show soon. Give or take special offers, they're in ascending order of price, except that this year I've given English sparkling wines their own zone (scroll down). Their quality warrants it. I'd like to have included more, but wanted to keep numbers manageable. One wine I intended recommending is out of stock, but it's worth noting for when it's b

Dec 27, 2018

WINE OF THE WEEK: Graham Beck Brut Chardonnay/Pinot Noir, Western Cape, South Africa

£10.99 (offer price), Waitrose Crowd-pleasingly approachable fizz with generous nutty, toasty, yeasty, fresh bread flavours wrapped around a fruity heart – the ideal bargain bubbly for New Year's Eve (down £4 until 22 January). It's made in the the same way as Champagne (known as the Méthode Cap Classique in the Cape) using Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, the two main varieties of Champagne, and it's aged on its lees for 15–18 months to give the generous creamy flavour and texture

Dec 18, 2018

The Festive Sweet, Sticky and Fortified Guide 2018

SWEET WINE Domaine Cady Coteaux du Layon Saint-Aubin Les Varennes 2015, France Old-vine Chenin made from botrytis (aka noble rot) affected grapes. Lovely intensity and depth of honeyed peach, apricot and spice flavours allied to riveting freshness. Those with willpower could cellar it for a decade. Those without could drink it with a wide variety of puddings (but ideally not chocolate) and cheeses, or instead of them. 12%. for 75cl: £17, The Wine Society Château Roumieu Saute

Dec 18, 2018

The Festive White Wine Guide 2018

Dry and off-dry whites from around the globe to cover the festivities and all eventualities at prices from £6 upwards and from the supermarket giants to small independents. Listed in ascending order of price, as usual. Moncaro Verdicchio dei Castelli Jesi Classico 2017, Italy A rounded, off-dry white with almond nuttiness, leafy freshness and a hint of citrus-pith bitterness on the finish to off-set the touch of sweetness. Good value. Can be drunk solo or with light fish, pa

Dec 17, 2018

Festive fizz for 2018: anything except Champagne

17 December: I've updated this post (first published on 3 December) with the addition of two more English wines: Denbies Cubitt Blanc de Noirs 2013 and Nyetimber Classic Cuvée. The first of the season's round-ups is anything sparkling except Champagne. (That comes next.) They're selected for quality, interest and value for money and cross four continents, spanning the spectrum from easy-drinking crowd pleasers to quirky Pet Nat. There is, though, nothing ultra cheap. If you w

Dec 14, 2018

The Festive Red Wine Guide 2018

Red wines from all around the world to take you through all kinds of festivities and in some cases festivities for years to come. As always, they’re listed in ascending order of price, give or take differences in retailers’ prices and special offers. Ostoros Pinot Noir 2016, Hungary Astonishing to find something that tastes of Pinot Noir at this price – light and soft textured with fresh, sweet berry fruit and Pinot's delicate stemmy earthiness. Hats off to the Society's East

Dec 20, 2017

The Festive Sweet, Sticky and Fortified Guide

Sweet and fortified wines come into their own at this time of year – for entertaining, sipping quietly and contemplatively, or giving as presents. With the exception of pale dry sherries and tawny ports, most can be kept several years (in cellar conditions). Fortifieds, in particular, are also often bargains. So here are my picks for this year, going from dry to sweet and/or fresher, lighter to richer, heavier (rather than in ascending order of price, as with my other Festiv

Dec 19, 2017

The Festive White Wine Guide 2017

Sixteen dry whites to cover the festivities and all eventualities at prices from £7 to £48 and from the supermarket giants to small independents. New Zealand Sauvignon is conspicuous by its absence, not for any lack of enthusiasm on my part, but because it was clear from my tasting notes and scores that with NZ Sauvignon you pretty well get what you pay for. If you want something more expressive, expect to pay £13-£20 and head for the likes of Greywacke, Dog Point, Churton,

Dec 15, 2017

The Festive Red Wine Guide 2017

Twenty red wines to take you through all manner of festivities and in some cases festivities for years to come. As, always, they’re listed in ascending order of price, give or take differences in retailers’ prices and special offers. There are three wines I highly recommend but have not included below because they, or a previous vintage, were in last year’s Festive Wine Guide: Les Hauts de Saint-Martin Saint-Chinian 2015 (great value at £6.99, Co-op), the exemplary CVNE Rioja