Christmas Wines

Well, that time of year is approaching (fast!), so I have been putting a lot of thought into what would be nice to have on the table to accompany Christmas dinner. Last year we enjoyed a wonderful bottle of Veritas Petit Verdot Monticello 2007 from Virginia, a really classy wine, just perfect for the occasion.

Veritas Petit Verdot Monticello 2007

Various stickies were available to go with the pudding and the cheese and biscuits. I think I plumped for a glass of Madeira (Malmsey), and this year will be no exception!

So what to enjoy for 2010? I've given it a lot of thought, and chosen what I hope is a nice selection - something for everyone to enjoy, whatever their preference.

For an aperitif I think most people appreciate a glass of fizz before lunch, if you haven't already enjoyed a glass or two (with or without added OJ) during the morning! This year I would love to have some English sparkling wine, and will plump for a bottle or two of Chapel Down NV Reserve, available from a range of good wine retailers (e.g. Waitrose, £16.99).

If you opt for white wine this year, either to go with a starter or just to drink with the bird I would thoroughly recommend a Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand or South Africa. I've got a few bottles of Small and Small 2010 Marlborough SB from NZ (Naked Wines, £10.99 (£7.33 for cashback customers)) - it's a wonderfully complex and fruity example of this varietal, not too sharp and grassy like SBs can be, it's well-balanced, crisp and shouldn't overpower the meat. This is Bill and Claudia Small's first vintage bottling their own wine, and I think it's a triumph!

For red I think I'll choose a lighter wine this year, and as I'm a big fan of this grape in general I am going with Pinot Noir, again from New Zealand. I love to try as many PNs as possible from different parts of the world, and I'm always impressed by the delicate character that the New Zealand climate and terroir elucidates from the grape. I'm going to try Grasshopper Rock, 2008 from the Earnsclough Estate, Alexandra, Central Otago. This is a gold medal winning wine, recommended by Tim Atkin. Unfortunately it's sold out now at Naked Wines, but was selling for £17.49 a bottle - not cheap, but it's Christmas, so it's worth spending a little more isn't it?

Anyway - since it's out of stock, a delicious alternative (and a bargain too!) would be a Chilean PN, from Constanza Schwaderer and Felipe Garcia. Their Kimbao (named after their pet labrador) 2010 Pinot Noir is delicious, well-rounded and perfect for Christmas dinner. It's just £10.99 (£7.33 for cashback customers) from Naked Wines.

To accompany your Christmas pud, or whatever you choose to have after the main event, you need something special to wash it all down, and this year I've put aside a couple of bottles (375ml) of Seifried "Sweet Agnes" Riesling (2009) from Nelson, New Zealand. It's absolutely gorgeous, just like the wonderful woman it is named after. Agnes Seifried is the co-founder of the Seifried estate and I was privileged enough to meet her at the London International Wine Fair back in May, in fact she poured me a glass of this golden nectar. This wine is widely available in the UK (Waitrose, Naked Wines, and the various Direct Wines brands all sell it) and you can pick it up from £13.29 a bottle (case purchase from Waitrose Wine Direct).

Finally, if you fancy something a little stronger, and warming as you conk out in a comfortable armchair (certainly part of my plan!), why not try a glass or two of Madeira? I'm planning to savour a bottle of Henriques & Henriques 10 Year Old Malmsey (widely available, from around £16.99). You can find 15 or 20 year old versions of the same, but be prepared to pay quite a bit more.

I hope you've enjoyed this little selection of wines to enjoy over the festive season. Last year was all about Virginia for me, this year I suppose it's mostly about New Zealand. Whatever you decide to drink this year, please enjoy responsibly (i.e. lose the car keys!) and above all have a wonderful time with friends and/or family. Compliments of the season, and many thanks for reading.

Happy Holidays!

LIWF

I was rushing about like a mad thing on Tuesday afternoon at LIWF - really didn't have time to blog/tweet anything, it was pretty overwhelming - that show is HUGE, so much bigger than the last time I went, which must have been 1991 - 18 years ago at Earl's Court, or Olympia, can't remember which.

Highlights for me included meeting all the nice people from Naked Wines , who kindly invited me and a number of other Archangels to help find some new stars for their exciting business. Big thanks to Mark, Remi, Josh, Francesca, Greg and Joe - unfortunately I couldn't be there all day but the short time I was there was great fun and really interesting. Hope to attend all 3 days next year, let's see if this blog takes off.

It was also a great pleasure to meet one of the winemakers supplying NW, Argentina's Patricio Gouguenheim - he was there showing off his new vintages, including a delightful rosé, and his new Malbec. I look forward to buying them within a couple of months!

NW tasked me with finding a good value Cava for NW to sell - my peers spent the morning searching for great boutique wines from France, Italy, Chile, Argentina and New Zealand. I found a couple of interesting suppliers:

Torre Oria, based in Madrid, but selling wines out of Catalunya including some very nice brut and semi-seco blancos and rosados. I particularly enjoyed their Marqués de Requena Brut Rosado, aroma bursting with berry fruits and a slight citrussy tang, beautifully dry with a hint of raspberries. 100% Garnacha, 12% alcohol.

Castell d'Or, a larger, co-operative outfit, specialising in wines from all over Catalunya, with multiple brands from the different areas. Their Cava Cossetania Brut Blanco from the Penedes region was enjoyable and realistically priced.

There were a couple of other Cava suppliers around (other than the big hitters Freixenet and Codorniu) but most seemed to be larger providers of Spanish wines in general, rather than regionally focused smaller outfits.

I then moved on to check out the wines from Virginia, mainly from personal interest having travelled to the area on several occasions with work. I'll post about that separately as there were a number of interesting wines (especially the Viogniers).