The extended down-time of Christmas brings with it plenty of opportunities for festive sipping – if via a bewildering array of occasions. So what to sip when? Map out your season with these tailor-made recommendations – all available at sizeable discounts

Christmas inevitably requires a degree of planning – some parts of which are more pleasurable than others. There’s the food. The presents. The family gatherings. The carol concerts, the office outings, the trip to Santa’s Grotto… And, of course, the most important – and pleasurable – part of all; the one element that gets us through the whole shebang. The wine.

The festive season presents so many vinous opportunities – and options – that a degree of forethought is both practical and therapeutic. After all, the chosen accompaniment to the Christmas Day turkey (or duck, or nut roast) will be different to that for the Christmas Night Trivial Pursuit (or its Gen Z equivalent) – both in terms of style and, for most of us, price point. So what policy to adopt?

‘Drink for mood, not for food,’ was the mantra of the late critic Steven Spurrier, and it’s an approach that serves particularly well at this time of year. Taking the big feast as a starting point, while most of us will want to earmark a special bottle (or two), this is not the time to get too analytical about the finer nuances of food-and-wine matching. Most plates at the main event will be stacked with so many different elements that it would require the most versatile of wines to cater for the full range of textures and flavours. Better to stick to simple criteria – a notable wine, for sure, but nothing too delicate that risks being overpowered by the accompanying culinary assault. Something savoury, well-structured, with a bit of tannin. All of which immediately calls to mind some form of Bordeaux blend.

Not necessarily from Bordeaux, however. No-one wants to be predictable, after all. And why go to Bordeaux when a winery like Margaret River pioneer Moss Wood makes a rendering whose structure and poise is the equal of any Médoc cru classé? One of the classic Cabernets of the southern hemisphere, the 2020 vintage has been touted as among the standouts of the century so far, in a region that suffers very few dud years.

If you’re after a bit more glamour, you could always go to Tuscany. Bolgheri estate Ornellaia was founded in the 1980s by Ludovico Antinori and today comes under the auspices of the equally aristocratic Frescobaldi family. And while its eponymous Bordeaux blend and its even more extravagantly priced single-vineyard Merlot, Masseto, are top-end treasures, there are other options among a superb second string. The polish, poise and precision of its 2021 Le Volte must surely see it rank among the best-value Tuscan Cabernet-Merlot blends on the market.

If it has to be Bordeaux, why not go the whole hog and enjoy a mature classed growth at an astonishing price point? With its mellow, evolved savouriness – perfect for offsetting the sweetness of that cranberry sauce or red cabbage – the 2011 vintage of Haut-Médoc fifth growth Château Cantemerle offers benchmark older claret at scarcely believable value.

Many commentators argue that a full, rounded white actually makes for a better accompaniment to the turkey than a red. Certainly a rich white Burgundy has all the tools to stand up to all the trimmings, even if you have to be pretty rich yourself to afford the best examples these days. Less so with the Domaine Jean-Louis Chavy’s 2022 Puligny-Montrachet, though, which combines luscious fruit with a linear minerality, all cosseted in judiciously handled oak.

After all that fine wine, the evening party games call for something a little more quirky. And Argentinian star Achaval Ferrer has just the thing. Widely heralded for its single-vineyard ‘Finca’ Malbecs, this year it released its inaugural white wine. An innovative blend of Chardonnay, Semillon, Viognier and Sauvignon Blanc, the 2022 Quimera Blanco marries a textural Burgundian style with the aromatic lift and racy acidity of Sauvignon Blanc. Aside from being a fun, characterful pour, it would make for a great blind tasting, which we feel confident few, if any, guests would be able to identify. To make things a little easier, you could always serve it alongside the producer’s more orthodox Malbec – from magnum for added impact. Two wines from the same producer is a classy touch, lending the impression that they’re your house choice.

The closest thing Jeroboams’ Wine Director Peter Mitchell MW has to a house wine, he tells us, is Casaloste’s Chianti Classico. And while Peter may enjoy it more regularly, we think the 2020 vintage would make a fine accompaniment to the seemingly never-ending array of turkey sandwiches, cold cuts and other leftovers that inevitably punctuate the following days. From one of Chianti’s top producers in one of the region’s top communes (Panzano) the crunchy yet earthy fruit here is archetypal Chianti. Offering benchmark quality without feeling pretentious, it’s entirely in keeping with the humble nature of the estate and the hands-off winemaking regime of its family owners.

Along similar lines comes the elevated rusticity of the 2020 Moulin à Vent En Mortperay from Domaine A F Gros. This is a serious Beaujolais from one of the region’s top crus, made by one of Burgundy’s top names. The late-picked, de-stemmed Gamay yields a more black-cherry flavour than the bubble-gum fruitiness sometimes found in the region’s wines. Or, for a white option with the requisite structure and interest, look to the FRAM Chardonnay from South Africa, which marries ripe, tropical fruit (aided by a splash of Chenin Blanc) with a lean, green apple core.

Such a formula can be just the thing for the set-piece meals on the days immediately preceding and following the 25th. Lighter yet still textured cuvées are just the ticket for (marginally) lighter yet indulgent dishes – we’re thinking Christmas Eve fish pie or Boxing Day salmon en croute here. Domaine Louis Moreau’ Chablis Les 8 has a little extra weight from extended aged on lees, making it a more substantial Chablis. A red equivalent would be Odoul-Coquard’s 2021 Morey St Denis, Les Crais Gillon, its darker Pinot fruit harnessing a certain spicy earthiness.

And then there are the times spent on more literal trivial pursuits, on those in-between days from Christmas to New Year. Casual sipping wines, taken in front of a box set, the bumper crossword or the kids’ new gadgets are the name of the game here. Altavins’ 2019 Vinerel-Les, from Spain’s Terra Alta, is made from Macabeu (aka Viura), and has a slight savoury, bruised-apple note that would be perfect while grazing on hard cheeses. Or maybe Kelly Washington’s Pinot Noir from Central Otago, which manages to be both light on its feet but with a degree of richness that ensures it would be enjoyed very happily in an armchair by the fire.

Such contemplative sipping calls for quality not quantity, with a little going a long way. So while Pasqua’s indulgent 2015 Valpolicella Superiore Mai Dire Mai is a substantial wine, the hallmark refreshing, dry finish of its appellation keeps you coming back for more. That said, it would also go brilliantly with a venison pie. So many options – and, fortunately, so much time…