There’s something about this time of year that makes us go all retro and buy food and wine we never normally eat or drink. When it comes to wine, that tends to mean French classics such as chablis, Saint-Émilion and châteauneuf-du-pape, all of which are usually heavily promoted over the festive period. Arguably, they’re all good with traditional Christmas fare, but their prices generally reflect that: sancerre, for example, routinely costs between £18 and £25 these days.
I’m also betting that a significant number of readers will not be celebrating Christmas with turkey, and may well be having something from an entirely different culinary tradition. So why not branch out on the wine, too? This year, I’ve been drinking Greek, Georgian and even Brazilian wine. More about those in the new year, though I do quite like the idea of being disruptive and serving a Georgian saperavi such as the exotic Tbilvino from Kakheti (£13.99 Majestic, 13%) with Christmas lunch, particularly at the current mix-six deal price of £9.33. That would be great with a Middle Eastern-style feast or anything aubergine-related.
