This Christmas, I'll Mostly Be Drinking... Exactly What I've Drunk at Christmas for the Last Decade
If there was ever a time to buy the wine you love, it's Christmas
The wine industry is always chasing the next big thing.
In the 10+ years that I’ve been a part of it, I’ve seen trends come and go, some stick and some twist.
Including (but not limited to):
Gruner Veltliner. It was meant to be the next big thing in light white wine.
Vinho Verde from Northern Portugal. It was meant to be the next Sauvignon Blanc.
Pet Nat sparkling wine. It was meant to be the next Prosecco.
Low and no alcohol wines. They were meant to make you healthier.
All of these wines — and the hundreds of others that have made trend-setting lists — have their place. I truly believe people should look beyond old favorites. There are so many wines out there that could be right up your alley if only you’d give them a chance.
But is Christmas the time to chase new wines you don’t know? I’m not so sure.
Not because I’m a Christmas traditionalist, I’m certainly not. I’m spending this Christmas with just my husband in Jerez, southern Spain. We’ll spend Christmas day drinking Vermouth in bars and basking in the sun. As a Brit, these are hardly classic Christmas activities.
But I still stick to classic Christmas wines because I secretly (or not so secretly) love some of the more traditional wine regions of the world.
Burgundy. Barolo. Chablis. German Riesling. Champagne. Rioja. Sancerre (when it’s done well). These are the regions that consistently blow my mind.
And I quite fancy a Christmas bottle to blow my mind. After all, it’s the time to drink whatever the hell you want, regardless of how trendy — or not — it is.
If you’re a Champagne fan, this is probably not the time to experiment with funky Pet Nats (for those of you unfamiliar with this style of sparkling wine, it’s made by bottling juice while fermenting which traps CO2 in the bottle and creates fizz).
If you love Bordeaux, then by all means bring out a bottle for the Christmas table. Ditto New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Cabernet Sauvignon, or whatever it is you truly love.
I did my Christmas wine ordering last night and went full-on Burgundy.
This is a region I can’t afford to drink all the time. If I drink it during the year, it’s either on someone else’s very generous dime or — if it’s my money — I’ll buy a good producer’s entry-level wine like Bourgogne Blanc (always a better choice than a lesser producer’s higher level). Even with my elevated Christmas budget, I’m still only getting the next level up of a — granted — extremely good producer. Such is the nature of Burgundy pricing.
But I chose Burgundy for my Christmas table because I truly love it. At one point I was quite the Burgundy geek and could name you a good portion of the vineyard parcels of my favourite villages like Gevrey-Chambertin or Meursault.
If I listened to what is big in wine this year, I should be drinking wine from a can, a wine with 5% alcohol or wine from Austria. Whilst I’m sure I’d have a nice time drinking all those things, I know I’ll have an even nicer time drinking what I love.
My point is, when it comes to picking Christmas wines, don’t listen to anyone but yourself. If you don’t like the wines that that nice TV Sommelier says you should pair with turkey, don’t buy them.
Sidebar: one of the best things about turkey is that it pairs well with just about anything.
Heck, if you don’t want to drink at all, then don’t feel the pressure to do so.
People place too much pressure on Christmas as it is, and that includes what they drink with their Christmas dinner. I saw it all the time in my wine store during December.
Whereas the customers who told me they had the best time at Christmas all bought the same thing. Styles of wine they love.
Which is why I’ve drunk Burgundy for Christmas dinner every single year of my wine career.
Buy what you love, not what you think you should love, and leave the trendy stuff until next year.
Hand on heart, I didn’t mean to use this article as a marketing tool, but it would be remiss of me to not mention my newly launched remote wine recommendation service SommAnywhere.
Tell me what you like to drink and where you live. In return, I’ll give you recommendations of local-to-you independent stores you should be shopping at plus what you should buy whilst you’re there. You’ll also get lists of grape varieties and regions I reckon you’ll love as well as access to my “little black book of wineries,” those I can’t help buy when I see them.
Book the service here.
Thank you for this!
My other half and I have been enjoying Vinho Verde for almost 20 years now...affordable, easy-drinking (ahem...even right out of the bottle, ha!) and we love the tiny bit of frizzle it has. It's almost ruined me on other whites...they seem *flat* by comparison.
Several other bloggers I follow have gone sober over the years, and more and more they keep bringing it up, to the point I'm ready to stop following them. I understand it works well for many, but I don't appreciate the subtle sanctimonious tone toward us who do still enjoy "a bit of the tipple".
Cheers!