Picking Your Christmas Wines: Part IV

22/12/11

The final instalment in The Wine Tipster’s series on Christmas wines is here to help you finish your Christmas meal with style, offering the best selection of wines to match with cheeses and puddings

It is always a good idea to take time over the cheeseboard, but remember that you don’t need more than three or four choices which should be served at room temperature.  I recommend good Stilton and extra mature Cheddar as key components of the selection. Find a late-bottle vintage Port from a renowned Port house to go with your Stilton and a Rioja - Spain’s top wine region -  Reserva from 2004 or 2005 for your Cheddar.

If you want to break rank, go for goats cheese with a refreshing minerally Sauvignon Blanc from Sancerre because the zippy acidity in this wine matches well with the palate-puckering flavours in the cheese.  

To finish of course we really do enjoy our Christmas Pudding and a couple of good bets to match up with it are a lusciously sweet Malmsey Madeira or some Rutherglen Black Muscat from Australia.

I hope I have taken some of the stress out of your Yuletide with my series of wine planning tips, and remember that serving your wines at the correct temperature will help your Christmas cheer.

With thanks to Neil Phillips for all his wise words and expert suggestions. Visit the Luce collection of wine cellars to learn more about how they could help you store your carefully selected wines this Christmas