If there’s one thing that truly defines the festive season, it’s the bottles we open and the glasses we raise. Whether you’re stocking up for parties, planning the perfect Christmas Day pairing, or simply looking for something special to drink by the fire, this year’s line-up of wines, fizz, spirits and impressive non-alcoholic options is richer and more exciting than ever. From supermarket steals to prestige cuvées, English sparkling stars to new world gems, we’ve rounded up the standout bottles worth adding to your festive table and a few unexpected discoveries that might just become your new traditions. Let’s dive in.
Wines
Perhaps the thing we’re going to consume the most of this Christmas, we like to try and cover a wide range of prices in our recommendations and, at the more accessible end of the market, have been suitably impressed with Aldi’s range: there’s a reason they were recently voted Wine Supermarket of the Year. Specially Selected Stellenbosch Chardonnay (£6.99, 75cl) is, as they declare, “sunshine in a glass”, with bags of tropical fruit flavours balanced by a little pepperiness.
Specially Selected Cigales Rosado (£8.99, 75cl) should tick some rosé boxes, with hints of red fruit, pink grapefruit and pomegranate. As for Moldovan Rară Neagră (£7.99, 75cl), the days of joking about Eastern European wines are long gone, and this is a lot of big red flavours – black pepper, dark chocolate, cherry – for not much cash. And I’ve long rattled on about the brilliance of English sparkling, so their Specially Selected Sparkling Wine of England (£9.99, 75cl) is a very welcome addition to the range, and an absolute bargain.
On the subject of English sparkling, the Plumpton Estate Brut Rosé NV (RRP £32.95) is a pleasing blend of Pinot Meunier, Pinot Noir & Chardonnay, aged on lees for at least a year. Think strawberries and brioche, in a pleasingly crisp and versatile liquid. Chapel Down are, of course, always worth a look. Their Brut (£30, or £44 for a personalised bottle) blends Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Pinot Blanc to hugely enjoyable effect, and it’s easy to see why it’s the UK’s best-selling homegrown sparkler. The Rosé too (£33, £47 for the personalised one) is great, winner of the Decanter Best In Show 2024. They’re available from Chapel Down, Amazon and assorted supermarkets.
A new name – for me at least – is Tinwood Estate. Based in the South Downs, they offer what look to be appealing overnight stays in their luxury lodges but also have a fine range of sparkling wines: Blanc de Blancs (£33); Brut (£33); Rosé (£35) and Blanc de Noir (£45) which, between them, should cover all your charcuterie and seafood (and general drinking) requirements this festive season.
Heading to the home of fizz, I’ve long been a fan of Bruno Paillard and its flagship wine, Première Cuvée Extra-Brut, is celebrating its 40th anniversary. It remains a glorious thing of depth and sophistication, and is perfect to sip on Christmas Day (or, indeed, any time). Also, this sort of quality for £48 (via Wanderlustwine)? Can’t grumble with that in the current climate… Although if you are watching the pennies, take a look at – yes, it’s them again – Aldi and their award-winning Veuve Monsigny Champagne, which is a ludicrous £15.49 a bottle.
Prosecco has come in for a lot of stick of late, but it’s not its fault that it’s become synonymous with awful bottomless brunches. When it’s good, Prosecco gives a lot of bang for the buck, and ZONIN is a fine example of that. Made by one of Italy’s foremost wine families, their ZONIN Prosecco Brut Millesimato (£19.99) and ZONIN Prosecco Rosé DOC Millesimato (£20.99) – both available from Partridges – are solid options, particularly for pescatarian snacks or lunches.
Oh, diverting back to these shores, I must mention 1086 by Nyetimber. The first prestige cuvée to be produced in England, it showcases this multi-award-winning producer’s abilities in two exceptional bottles. 1086 by Nyetimber 2013 is golden, with a nose of fruit and flowers, while, on the palate, there’s depth and a delightful lick of acidity and a remarkable finish. (£150 from Nyetimber.com, Waitrose Cellar, Selfridges and Fortnum and Mason.) 1086 by Nyetimber Rosé 2016 is about as good as English sparkling rosé can be: opulent, indulgent, and graceful with a long finish. (£175 from the same locations).
And finally, a somewhat random, but very delicious one: a sparkling white Rioja, made from Tempranillo Blanco. Think notes of green apple and citrus, and enjoy as an aperitif or with some smoked fish. It’s a very limited run – only 8,500 bottles in fact – but picked up 91 points from Tim Atkin, and comes in at a very reasonable £21 from EW Wines.
Back to wines without bubbles, Château La Coste is a thing of beauty, a textbook Provençal Rosé that should sit well with Christmas lunch. There’s considerable minerality, and tasting notes of white fruit, vine peaches and pear. It’s £29.99 and available at Chateau La Coste or Selfridges.
Chile’s Morandé wines are also worth a look. Morandé Adventure – El Padre 2021 (£22-£26 from allaboutwine.co.uk) is a powerful, complex red. Morandé Terrarum Patrimonial Sémillon (£10.50 from waitrosecellar.com) is a crowd-pleaser that recently got a shout-out on Saturday Kitchen shout-out), while the Notebook País (£10.99, from laithwaites.co.uk) is a juicy, fruity, suitably autumnal/wintery glassful.
For me, though, it’s all about the One to One Gewürztraminer 2024 (£10, from Majestic). It’s deeply fragrant and floral, with a note of lychees, and should sit neatly alongside signature Christmas excesses such as Stilton, nuts, pate and even your curried leftovers.
Steenberg is South Africa’s oldest registered wine estate, and if lamb is playing any part in your Christmas plans, their Merlot / Cabernet Sauvignon / Malbec blend 2021 Catharina (around £25, various suppliers) is absolutely what you want alongside it. They call it “bold yet suave, forthright yet subtle, assured and alluring”. I just call it delicious, with bags of dark and red fruit, chocolate, and spice. There’s great tannin structure – you could lay this down for a few more years – but it’s also drinking superbly now.
Our traditional Christmas Eve supper is something proper and old school. It could be as simple as ham, egg and chips – because, well, ham, egg and chips – but it’s often a classic fish pie. And, with a bottle of Bodegas Cosme Palacio 1894 White 2020 in reserve (£48.22 from Wine Buyers), it probably has to be this year. It’s a blend of Viura and Malvasía. It’s rich, creamy, packed with stone fruits, a delicate acidity… It’ll be a marriage made in heaven. Or, indeed, North London and Spain.
Domaine Bousquet’s 2024 Finca Lalandes Organic Malbec (£12, Waitrose), which packs a big punch for its price tag but is also surprisingly light. I’m not referring to the liquid, which does everything a Malbec should, but the actual product: it’s bottled in light-weight glass to reduce carbon footprint.
I talked about Masi last year and, well, they’re class. Diverting back to the fizzy stuff briefly, the Canevel Prosecco di Valdobbiadene DOCG Setage (£22.59, Oakham Wines)is a belter, an absolute textbook Prosecco, but it’s the big, bold, warming Masi Costasera Amarone Classico (£38.50, Waitrose and Majestic) that will make you wish you had an open fire place and/or could invite Stephen Fry over for a chat…
Other things…
Della Vite Spritzes (RRP £4.00 per 200 ml can, Amazon). Again, mentioned those Delevingne sisters and their wines last year, and surprisingly good they were too: my cynical assumption that it was a bit of celebrity play-acting was quickly erased. The wines are still available, but they’ve now added a range of delightful canned Spritzes, such as Sicilian Lemon Spritz or Venetian Bellini Spritz.
Available via Selfridges, Seven Tails is a bit of a mystery – to call their website esoteric is possibly an understatement – but what they’re producing, such as the XO (£39.99) is a dangerously drinkable, fruit- and vanilla-forward entry-level brandy, a blend of liquids aged between five and 30 years and finished in port wine casks.
The cheap joke about Pantalones Tequila would be to declare it alright, alright, alright… In truth, it’s way more than that, but it’s merely a way of shoehorning in the fact that this brand of 100% Blue Weber Agave organic tequila, grown by fourth-generation farmers, environmentally conscious, and certified gluten-free, was founded by Matthew McConaughey and his wife Camila. There are Reposado and Anejo versions, which are worth searching out, but the entry-level Pantalones Tequila Blanco (£40) is thoroughly decent and available in 200 Waitrose stores.
The rise of agave as a whole is fascinating. It might have some serious undertones – I’ve been to places where increased temperatures mean they can no longer grow their traditional crops and have been looking for alternatives like agave that can cope with the heat – but hey, we can drink something good while the world burns. Sigh. Anyway, Maya Pistola Agavepura is India’s first aged 100% agave spirit, and it is very good too. Happily, The Whisky Exchange agrees…
It’s not Christmas without a port, right? Taylor’s have been making the stuff since 1692, so they probably know what they’re doing… There’s an extensive range, but Taylor’s LBV 2020 – £20, available from Waitrose, Sainsbury’s, Tesco – is madly enjoyable for the price. You could, of course, push it the VVOP (£850 from Hedonism), but that might be a little decadent… I’ve also been quite taken with the Taylor’s Historic Collection Reserve Tawny IV The Globe – £33, from Secret Bottle Shop – but that’s possibly mostly the bottle…
If you are seeking a little decadence, Martell’s Cordon Bleu Extra Old Cognac (£150, various stockists) is always worth considering. This iconic expression has been turning heads since 1912. It’s all orchard fruits and spice – I’m loath to say Christmas pudding in a glass but, well, you know – and again, if there’s a better way of leading into a post-turkey nap, I’d be very surprised. And if you’re looking for something extra special, or have an eye on Chinese New Year in 2026, L’Or de Jean Martell Zodiac Edition Assemblage du Cheval is a long way of saying “exceptional”. Frankly.
The Zodiac Editions see Martell Cellar Master Christophe Valtaud building on the character of L’Or de Jean Martell while highlighting the qualities of that year’s zodiac animal, in this instance, the noble, free-spirited dynamism of the horse. Only 500 bottles will be released, and there’s no price announced as yet, but previous Zodiac editions are available at around the £8-£10,000 mark, so you might want to save the Christmas money. Or at least have a flutter on the lottery. I’ve been very fortunate to try it and dear lord…
If you have relatives who like cream-based things but you baulk at buying Bailey’s, I have a couple of suggestions. Nc’nean’s Quiet Rebels Sarah (£27.50) is absolutely one you should consider, a limited edition cream-based whisky liqueur made with Nc’nean’s signature organic single malt and organic oats instead of dairy. It’s sweet, rich, and so, so superior to what your relatives are drinking, you won’t believe it. At the time of writing, it’s sold out on their site and The Whisky Exchange, but a new batch is coming…
In a similar vein comes Evan Williams Original Southern Egg Nog. It’s one of those drinks I’ve read about / seen in movies, but have never actually tried, which meant this iteration – the #1 Best Selling Spirit-Based Egg Nog in the USA, made with the #2 Best Selling Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey in the world – seemed a good place to start. Apparently, it flies off the shelf in the US and crikey, one sip of the stuff, and you can see why. Enjoy in the glass, over ice cream – at £17.99 a bottle from Amazon, you can afford to experiment.
They say ONO, I say O YES… Sake ONO. I blow a little hot and cold over sake, which, given its possible serves, is probably appropriate. Sake ONO (around £50 a bottle, various stockists) is a very pleasing thing, though, very clean, very crisp, with an undertone of umami, and it works on its own or with just about any food you care to throw at it.
Blimey. Was about to draw a line under this section and suddenly realised there hasn’t been a rum. But hey, that’s an opportunity to give a nod to Bristol’s Circumstance Distillery, where founder Liam Hirt is distilling molasses and making three rums with three “pillars” in mind: provenance, sustainability and flavour. The Single Estate White Rum and the Spiced Rum (both £30) are excellent, particularly if you’re a keen cocktail maker. The stand-out, though, is the Single Estate Aged Rum (£42), which is matured for 36 months in ex-bourbon casks. It’s a knockout.
And finally, some cracking Christmas beers from Vocation. It’s not a brewery I know – hell, there’s about 14 new ones popping up every week – but on this evidence, they’re worth keeping an eye on. I was particularly taken with the Snow Pines IPA and The Nutcracker, a chestnut and vanilla winter ale. All around £4 a can from their website.
Non-Alcoholic Drinks
Because we couldn’t forget the designated drivers, Gen Z and those of us who just don’t drink as much as they used to – remarkable given the state of the world, but there you go – a few alcohol-free options.
To be fair, the rise of the low / no movement has improved this offering a thousand-fold, from new drinks to making those that have been around a while are perhaps more readily available. The latter feels true for Saicho’s excellent range of sparkling teas. As lovers of spicy food, these are the perfect foils, but they’re just a delight to drink anytime. I’m particularly taken currently with the Saicho Jasmine Sparkling Tea (£20.00 at Majestic) and the Saicho Osmanthus Sparkling Tea (£15.50 at The Whisky Exchange).
Those lovely folk at Belvoir Farm have also made life easier with a cracking range of pre-bottled mocktails using natural ingredients, fresh pressed juices and assorted botanicals. This year seems to have been the year of the Paloma – which is no bad thing, of course – and Belvoir Farm have added a thoroughly decent, alcohol-free Pink Grapefruit Paloma to the roster.
Other drinks in the range include a Peach Bellini, Raspberry Margarita and the very good Lime & Yuzu Mojito, and those three are also available in 250ml cans, which is handy. Bottles (750ml) are around the £3.65 mark from supermarkets such as Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and Asda, and cans are around £1.40. Oh, and there’s a suitably festive Mulled Winter Punch out there too, which is well worth hunting down…
A long-term favourite of mine is Crodino Spritz 0.0% (RRP £8, Sainsbury’s and other supermarkets, for 4x175ml bottles). Get glass, add ice, pour and enjoy – it ticks all the refreshing, bittersweet boxes of that other famous Italian spritz. Frankly, it’s just a great drink.
While some of the alcohol-free spirits out there leave a lot to be desired, a nod to Sipsmith (again) because their FreeGlider is actually a very decent interpretation of their London Dry, just without the alcohol. Add a tonic, and a slice of lemon, and you might not even notice what’s missing. (£18 from their website and usual stockists).
The best named of this year’s range is undoubtedly NOOH from Chateau La Coste (RRP £25, Selfridges and others). And if you can pronounce that without doing a Mrs Doubtfire impression, you’re a much better person than I am. It’s beautifully packaged, and a sophisticated, full-bodied, alcohol-free sparkling wine, with notes of grapefruit, pear and peaches. The name is actually a pun on “nous” because it’s designed for sharing – aww – but hell, I’m still going to do it in a terrible Scottish accent.
Oh, I was also sent a sample of Sylva Orchard (£40, from their website), and it’s a delight. It’s a limited-release, small-batch, aged non-alcoholic spirit, pioneered by Seedlip founder Ben Branson. I’ve been deeply critical of Seedlip of late – first releases brilliant, last few completely undrinkable – but this is a massive return to form. Mr Lyan / Ryan Chetiyawardana is using this at his bars, which speaks volumes. The latest release, their third, is inspired by Ben’s childhood memories of fruit orchards and the nostalgia of harvest season, at his family’s farm and the results, matured with plum, apple and cherry wood, are fruit-forward and gently smoky. Bookmark this one. Trust me.
Alcohol-free wines continue to improve. Last year, I think I bored everyone I know about the brilliance of Oddbird. This year, it’s the turn of Moderato, and their Cuvee Revolutionnaire range, made in the traditional French winemaking manner, just with the alcohol (mostly) removed in a pioneering way. I’ve not tried the Moderato Cuvee Revolutionnaire Blanc de Noir Sparkling (less than 0.5%), but I have enjoyed both the Moderato Cuvee Revolutionnaire Colombard (also less than 0.5%, £13.99) – fresh, crisp, citrussy – and the Moderato Cuvee Revolutionnaire Merlot-Tannat (again less than 0.5% and £13.99), which is full-bodied, fruit-forward and smooth. They’re available from Majestic (which is a good sign) and Club Soda.
