I love Christmas. Family, friends, food, wine, laughs, late nights and slight indigestion just about sums up mine. But as much as you hold loved ones close at Christmas, you really miss the ones that aren’t here. So, here’s to the person or people you are missing this Christmas. Thinking of you.
Current white in the fridge: Taste The Difference Gruner Veltliner 2010, £7.99, Sainsbury’s
When faced with the supermarket wall of wine it can be almost impossible to know where to start, even when you know what you like. To try and make it easier to shop, Sainsbury’s has introduced a colour coding system for its wines to help identify different styles more easily. This Gruner Veltliner, a dry white wine from Austria, comes under ‘complex & elegant’. They are not wrong: this is all peachy fruit with a kick of white pepper. Other descriptions include crisp & delicate, soft & fruity, smooth & mellow and rich & complex, with colour coding on the back label and on the top of the bottle. Less lucky dip, more guided sip. Bravo.
Current Port on the side: Waitrose Tawny Port, £7.59, Waitrose
I know, a Port! Well, it is Christmas. So, I’ve shipped in some of the Waitrose own label Tawny Port with this week’s delivery (my first ever home delivery, definitely not my last). It is made by the Symington family, one of the Douro region’s most well thought of and dependable producers. The word Tawny tells you the wine is aged in oak barrels, accounting for the slightly faded colour and nutty aromas and flavours of the wine. Made from traditional red grapes including Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca and Tinta Roriz, this is a lovely, simple Tawny that longs to be paired off with a mince pie or a hunk of Stilton.
Happy Christmas x
Been meaning to ask for your sherry recommendations – sort of rediscovered it but now confused about what to buy. Any ideas?
What a nice sentiment. I'm missing an entire country, as it happens…I like to do things big!
Muddling – Sherry, clever you, absolutely an overlooked & under-rated drink. Sherry is enjoying a bit of a renaissance here. Go for drier manzanilla or fino styles if you want a nutty, savoury sip. La Gitana is a great manzanilla to try (£6.45 a bottle on offer in Tesco at the moment). Lustau is a top quality producer and they make the Sainsbury's Taste the Difference 12yo dry Olorosso (£7.99), which is super gorgeous. If you want to taste Christmas in a glass and can handle the sweetness, try the Lustau Rich Olorosso, Waitrose sell it for about £20. Think I'll do a post on Sherry in the new year, just for you x
Vinogirl – ah, thinking of you! Happy Christmas…
Happy Christmas KM and family!
This would be a great gift for the wine lover who has everything. Thanks for the great post.
Thank you! Have discovered manzanilla over the holiday period and am a total convert – shall await the post with bated breath