Guide to Christmas Drinking With The Wine Gang

Christmas is more often than not an excuse to get out that vintage bottle of red or champagne that you’ve been keeping for a special occasion. It’s also a time when you’re expected to entertain family, which depending on the one you’ve been blessed with, can rely on a few bottles of wine to make everything run that little bit smoother. We had a chat with the Wine Gang to get a few expert tips on Christmas drinking.

So, who are the Wine Gang?

A team of five strong, Jane Parkinson, Anthony Rose, Tom Cannavan, David Williams and Joanna Simon make up the gang. Combined, they form a formidable blend of wine correspondents for newspapers which include The Independent and The Observer, judges for top wine competitions, editors of wine magazines and you might even recognise Jane from BBC1’s Saturday Kitchen where she is their resident wine expert. If you’ve read The Sunday Times at all in the past 22 years, you probably read Joanna’s wine column or heard her show on BBC Radio 4. Their reputation has gone from strength to strength and since the launch of their Wine Festival’s they are making the art of wine drinking accessible to all people and the size of their purses.

We asked...

It’s Christmas Day and you fancy a tipple what’s the first thing you reach for?

Me? Well the first glass of Christmas comes soon after (or maybe slightly before) noon, with some Champagne to wash down a mince pie or two. Champagne really is a versatile and delicious food drink: of course it is the ultimate toast for any special occasion, but it has so much more to offer too. It partners almost all fish and seafood beautifully, from smoked salmon blinis to a plump piece of halibut, but it can be an extraordinary match with something like roast chicken - or even turkey - too.  For that do try to get hold of a vintage Champagne, especially one with a little bit of age. Many of the supermarkets and wine merchants will have vintage 2004 and 2005 wines on the shelves for Christmas - 10 years slowly aging gives these wines extra creamy depth that can be so good with roasted poultry.

What would you pair with your Christmas turkey?

With roast chicken, turkey, duck or goose it's hard to see past Pinot Noir as a red wine choice however, we wouldn’t be too prescriptive about it because you have to think not just of the turkey but the trimmings too, the cranberry sauce, the red cabbage etc, all of which can have powerful flavours and add sweetness. If you prefer white, go for a full-bodied Chardonnay from Burgundy or the New World; if red, medium-bodied, youthful and not too tannic wines such as Chianti Classico, Rioja and Argentinian Malbec are just the ticket. Those with fine wine cellars may relish the opportunity to bring up that Bordeaux or Burgundy that they’ve been itching to open even if not necessarily ideal from a pure wine and food matching point of view.

And our Christmas Puddings?  

With Christmas pudding there's a great choice of dessert wines. Dark and rich desserts like this are best with dark and rich dessert wines. Some Ports will do the job, but possibly even better still is an Australian 'Liquor Muscat' - look out for little half bottles of these mahogany brown sticky wines with masses of sweetness but a nutty, raisin quality that is delicious on its own, but even better with a modest portion of Christmas pud.

Thinking about our Christmas cheeseboards, are there any combinations of wine and cheese we don’t want to miss?

Matching wines and cheese can be a minefield but shouldn’t have to be, bearing in mind that soft-rind cheeses such as Brie and Camembert are notoriously difficult with most wines, although a demi-sec Vouvray can work. The traditional options of Port (vintage, late bottled vintage and vintage character) and Stilton, and Sauvignon Blanc and goat’s cheese, are a good starting point. Blue cheeses are also beautifully offset by Sauternes, sweet botrytis Rieslings, Semillons and tawny ports. A hard cheese such as Mimolette is a favourite of the Bordelais.

For lovers of mulled wine, what would you recommend for mulling at this time of year?

In the absence of a good grand cru Burgundy or Bordeaux (joking), we would go for a good refreshing young glugger such as a Beaujolais, a Spanish tinto from Campo de Borja, a southern French or Italian red, or an Australian Shiraz or California Zinfandel. 

And finally some myth busting – should red wine always be served at room temperature and white wine chilled?

It’s not an assumption so much as a guideline and room temperature is of course a moveable feast. Room temperature generally for reds is fine if it doesn’t mean an over-centrally heated room, so roughly between 14C and 18C is the norm, although low tannin reds such as Beaujolais can even improve served slightly chilled. Whites should be chilled to between roughly 6C – 10C but not served too cold, Champagne a few degrees above fridge temperature.