Every year at Christmas, my dad makes a trifle. And, because nobody else in our household eats it, he spends the period between Christmas and New Year devouring the entire thing by himself. Like a legend. This annual tradition of three decades’ standing has affirmed to me one thing as an adult: that Christmas is about enjoying whatever weird thing you like.
Who cares if it’s costly, difficult to find or you’re the only person in a house of five who likes it? Below, a mix of unapologetic classics and weird (yet wonderful) new favourites. After all, there’s no such thing as a guilty pleasure – least of all at Christmas.
Fizz
Contevedo Cava Brut £5.49 Aldi, 11.5%. A no-fuss supermarket cava: refreshing and appley, with a hint of nuttiness.
Tesco Finest Prosecco Valdobbiadene DOCG £9.50 Tesco, 11%. Prosecco is often a bit too sweet for me, but this is a delicious drier version. A serious step up from Tesco’s own-label fizz.
Camillo Donati Lambrusco Rosso Seco 2023 £19.95 Buon Vino, 12.5%. A vivacious and reliably delicious lambrusco. Serve chilled while unwrapping the presents, or to quell the Boxing Day hangover.
Domaine Karanika Bru Cuvée Speciale Xinomavro 2022 £26 Maltby & Greek, 12%. Ever tried Greek sparkling? This is classically styled and made from an indigenous red grape, so it’s a bit like a blanc de noirs. Palate-filling and moreish.
Langham Wine Estate Culver Classic Cuvée NV £30.95 Grape Britannia, 12%. Young winemaker Tommy Grimshaw takes cues from grower champagne for his English sparkling wines. This one’s red fruit-dominant, and has some serious acidity to balance the playful notes of Petits Filous yoghurt.
Leclerc Briant Réserve Brut NV £50 Berry Bros & Rudd, 12%. Many supermarket non-vintages are pushing £50, so why not spend the money on a blend sourced from premier and grand cru villages instead? This one has notes of salted almonds and ripe stone fruit.
White
The Society’s White Rioja 2022 £9.25 The Wine Society, 12%. I have a lot of strong feelings towards TWS’s own-label range, and all of them are good. Serve this with your turkey.
Marlborough Heartland Sauvignon Blanc 2023 £12.50 Sainsbury’s, 12.5%. Fab value. A partnership between winemaker David Hohnen and the farming families of Marlborough Grape Grower’s Co-operative.
Domäne Wachau Grüner Veltliner £13 Tesco, 12%. An eyebrow-raising supermarket find. Would be good with smoked salmon. Chic label, too.
Aslina Chenin Blanc 2022 £16.99 Waitrose, 13%. South African chenin with seven days of skin contact to dial up the texture and ripe pear notes.
Altitudes Ixsir 2022 £24 The Great Wine Co, 13%. Opulent and aromatic Lebanese white. It’s 30% viognier (which explains the Rhône-like plump peach), with the rest equal parts muscat and local obeidy.
Domaine Buisson-Battault Bourgogne Chardonnay 2018 £28 Emile Wines, 12.5%. Elegant, floral, oak-aged – like a baby meursault, just not, you know, as expensive. And as giftable as it is drinkable.
Red
Aldi Specially Selected Toscana Rosso 2022 £7.69, 14%. A lesser, but rather tasty dupe of Tignanello. Sangiovese-dominated with dark fruit and good grip.
Château Lanessan, Haut-Médoc 2012 £17 The Wine Society, 13%. This 12-year-old polished claret spearheads Matthew Horsley’s first Christmas as the Society’s new bordeaux buyer.
Vignerons d’Estézargues Les Oliviers Côtes du Rhône 2022 £13.95 Parched, 14%. This organic Rhône blend is always, always in my fridge door. From a wine cooperative that uses only organic and biodynamic fruit.
Waitrose No 1 Reserva Quinta da Rosa Portugal £10.79 (on offer) Waitrose, 14%. Portuguese blends endure as a great place to find value. This ripe, full-bodied example is just as good with food as it is without.
Winzer Krems Blauer Zweigelt 2019 £11.50 Ocado, 13%. Something light, simple and Austrian for Boxing Day cold cuts.
Domaine du Bel Air Jour de Soif Bourgueil 2021 £22 Berry Bros & Rudd, 13%. Deceptively fresh and fruity. An undercurrent of earthiness makes this a nice match for goose or duck.
Low/No-alcohol
Romain des Grottes L’Antidote 2023 £15 Wright’s Wines, 0%. Made from gamay juice blended with 15 herbs from the vineyard, plus apple, ginger and lemon. A tonic for the sore-headed.
Real Dry Dragon Sparkling Tea £9.50 Waitrose, 0%. Pan-fired dragon well green tea yields steely citrus. It’s as if they made a sparkling tea in the Côtes des Blancs.
Wednesday’s Domaine Piquant NV £12.59 Laithwaites, 0.04%. A juicy, 100% airén that’s been dealcoholised. Tastes off-dry rather than over sweet, which can be a symptom of non-alcs made in that way.
Three Spirit Blurred Vines Sharp £15.95 The Whisky Exchange, 0%. A blend designed by plant scientists and winemakers. Crisp, refined, with jalepeño oil to mimic alcohol burn. Genius.
Botivo Botanical Aperitivo 50cl £26.50 Botivo, 0%. You’ll see this in pretty much every cool bar these days. Bittersweet botanical brew that you can top up with soda. One for kombucha lovers.