Let me be your personal wine adviser!

How I helped George with his Christmas menu . . .

Photo of me scoffing oysters by Jon Wynand

If you’re still mulling over what to drink at Christmas you aren’t alone.

According to recent research commissioned by glass manufacturer and bottler Encirc, despite more than a quarter of those surveyed (26%) spending more than £26 on a bottle of wine, 41% said they had no idea what they were looking for and just chose their wine based on whether it had a nice-looking label.  

But food and wine matching is my thing - always has been - and there are a number of ways in which I can help you. 

• You can head for my website matchingfoodandwine.com and find loads of articles on pairing Christmas food such as this round-up on the best wines to drink with Christmas dinner and this new post on what to pair with canapés and other party food. These are free to read but I really appreciate contributions towards the running costs of the site as a lot of work has gone into it over the years. 

• You can also support my research and writing by taking out a paid subscription to Eat This, Drink That which also gives you all my weekly food and wine tips and access to my monthly online tastings. (There’s one on wine and chocolate in February, if I can tempt you 😉)

• Or like George you can take out or gift (did I really use that word? Sorry!) a ‘concierge’ subscription which will entitle you to a free one-to-one consultation and up to five requests for personalised food and wine pairing advice. 

I thought it might help you to see how that works by telling you how our exchange this week ran.

George is an enthusiastic and talented amateur cook who wanted to know what to pair with his utterly splendid Christmas meal. (I want to go to George’s for Christmas!) 

He asked if I could help him so I asked him to send me the menu.

“We were going to start with champagne for the apéro with some homemade blinis and salmon, hummus and crudités

Hors d’œuvre is a classic prawn and crab cocktail with lime and lemon zestiness in a light Marie Rose (yoghurt rather than mayo base)

For the primo I’m making a spinach and walnut lasagne with homemade green lasagne sheets featuring a light mushroom scented white sauce - a truffle may find its way in there.

Main is going to be trad stuffed roast turkey, baked ham, sprouts with guanciale, carotte confit, jus, lingonberry sauce 

Cheeses will be a blue, a hard alpine (Abondance or the like), a chèvre and a Neufchâtel

Finishing with Xmas pudding with orange-zested whiskey cream.”

I also asked him to tell me what he already had in his wine rack. (He lives in Belgium and mainly buys French and German wine)

“I’ve just bought 60 bottles of Côtes du Rhône of all varieties and prices including  Condrieu (which I don’t want to open just yet) and white Chateauneufs. I’ve got a good range of German and Alsatian whites, a smaller mix of burgundies, whites and reds again all the way up to some Nuits St Georges (too early to open); also some decent Mosel pinot noirs; I’ve got some great Nebbiolo and Barbarescos as well as a few Barolos and some Arneis and other Piedmontese whites. And a stack of Argentinian Chardonnay!”

He’d already given it some thought 

“I was thinking a champagne to start, a white for the first two courses, a biggish red to follow, a tawny port for the cheese and maybe another off-dry white for the pudding.”

This is what I suggested:

Yes champagne to start with - lovely. 

Then a riesling I suggest - probably German rather than Alsace. Not too old a vintage. Keep it fresh!

I’d probably go for white burgundy with the lasagne or another cool climate Chardonnay but if you wanted to go Italian you could drink your Arneis or maybe a good Soave

If you’re looking for a big red with the turkey it’s hard to beat the Rhône so one of your Côte du Rhônes should fit the bill. Or any other GSMs (Grenache/Syrah Mourvèdre) You could open a white Chateauneuf then too or one of the Argentinian chardies if you wanted to cater for white wine drinkers.

Rather than port I’d be tempted to go for an Alsace white with the cheese course. Maybe a Gewürztraminer?

And with your Xmas pud I’d suggest an orangey Spanish moscatel or, if you’re feeling particularly indulgent, Grand Marnier shots!

“Would the Gewürztraminer work with the pud too or is it competing too much?”

Depends how rich and sweet it is. Possibly but have the Grand Marnier as a backup!

“Wise words! And in terms of wine and food order, first cheese then pud?”

Yes cheese first because some of your guests will definitely fancy carrying on drinking red with the cheese!

We did all this on WhatsApp “cos it’s basically quicker than email.

This would make a fantastic gift for any wine buff in the family or a business contact you were looking to impress. But if you don’t want to spend that much you can sign up for a paid subscription for as little as £4.50 a month (though the annual subscription which works out at £3.50 a month is much better value. I spent more than that on a flat white in Starbucks this week 🙄)

Subscriptions are the gift that keeps on giving …

If you want my last minute tips on Friday (along with my essential non-Christmassy Christmas playlist) sign up! 💃🏼🕺🏼

Fi x