Christmas is a time for families, giving and receiving presents and of course a festive tipple.   Many people splash out on a bottle or two of good wine to go with Christmas dinner but how do you know whether your money has been well spent.  We are pleased to recommend some locally available wines that are ideal for Christmas entertaining.

What to Look For

When matching food and wine you are supposed to look at the weight and texture of the food and balance it with the intensity of the wine, or at least that's the theory. The nature of the traditional Christmas dinner makes it difficult to match the array of flavours from turkey to cranberries, the sausages to the bread sauce not to mention all the herbs and seasonings that are used. 

Pre-Dinner Nibbles

So let's set the scene:  your friends and family have arrived on Christmas morning, presents have been opened and the kids are running amok in the house. What better way to start the dinner off than with a glass of bubbly Summaroca Cava Gran Brut from the Penedes region. This can be taken to the table if your guests are slow drinkers and have the freshness to match most starters.

Starters

As a rule, when matching food you usually aim to have a soft medium dry wine served with your starter, the theory being that you start with a young, white wine and move through the meal to the reds and finally the fortified wine. However with Christmas the choice of the food is critical.  Anything filled with Serrano ham or salami would kill a light wine, so try to seek something with intensity such as a Bahia de Denia.  If it's fish dish you are starting with, then continue with the bubbles or move to a traditional wine such as Monasterio de Palazios from the Rueda region or perhaps a Finca la Estacada Blanco from the vineyards of Utiel-Requena. Of course if foie gras is on the menu then how about a good Fino sherry served chilled or even a sweet moscatel such as Fusta Nova.

The Main Dish

Turkey is a funny old bird. By itself it goes with anything from big dry whites such as Chardonnay Hill to a fruity red rioja such as Tres Ducados. However once its stuffed and covered in sauce then look to something heavier like a Finca la Estacada Tinto 6 o 12 meses en barrica (Utiel Requena), Moneo Roble (Ribera del Duero) or Hoya de Cadenas (Valencia).

Puddings and Cheese

What better to go with Christmas pudding than a luscious, sweet muscatel.

After dinner drinks

How about a glass of Malaga Virgen Port before (or after) you sleep it off?