Christmas Time, Mistletoe & lots of Wine

As December approaches we find more and more often that our customers are looking for advice for something just a little special, something that will pair well with not just particular occasions but also with festive fare.

With that in mind I have been gathering up top tips from all of the team here at Exel Wines to bring you the definitive guide to wines for this Christmas season.  These are all tried and trusted wines that we think you will love and we have tried to organise them by the sort of foods and occasions they might go well with.

Aperitif & Canape drinks

Reserve de Sours Single Vintage 2009 - This is one of our newest finds from old friends Chateau de Sours in Bordeaux.  The regular NV version is still available but since the release of this limited edition single vintage version featuring much longer lees aging we have just fallen in love all over again.  The wine shows divine fresh fruity flavours, and works great as an aperitif wine or with lighter smoked salmon dishes.  At just £15.95 per bottle this is still great value (bare in mind that the cheaper NV version usually sells in the big chains for around £20).

Nyetimber Blanc de Blanc 2007 - This Christmas why not think British for a real genuine alternative to Champagne.  If you want a Champagne alternative at Christmas then it must be dependable and Nyetimber is just that scoping more awards than your average Champagne house could dream of!  Citrus, apples and minerality are the hall marks of this vintage.  £39.99

Hidalgo La Gitana Manzanilla Sherry - Dry nutty and light, this sherry is undoubtedly the best value you are likely to see in a 75cl bottle!  Great as a staple aperitif, but also charismatic enough to work with canapes and antipasti type dishes. £10.74 per bottle is virtually giving this away!

Williams & Humbert Dry Sack Medium - A little sweeter but not excessive.  If a more "traditionally British" sherry is your cup on tea then try the Williams & Humbert Medium Sherry. Great over ice or with one of many nice pasta dishes.  £12.03

Fish & Shellfish

Heredad Ugarte Viura 2012 - This white Rioja is deliciously delicate and great with the simplest of fish dishes especially appetisers.  Smoked salmon, oysters, plain steamed lobster use your imagination or just enjoy it over lunch thinking of warm summers in Spain. £10.14

Bodegas Protos Verdejo 2011 - This crisp dry Spanish white from Rueda is just the ticket.  A little fuller in body than the viura above think mussels, think roast fish dishes think Charcuterie even.  On second thoughts, don't think just do it! £10.55

The Wine People Miopasso Fiano 2012 - A Sicilian masterpiece, floral in flavour with touches of honey and a wonderful balance of flavour.  We love the look of this wine as much as its friendly price for a slightly more quirky wine.  £9.44

Pascal Jolivet Sancerre 2012 - What better time for a bit of French style and sophistication than a Christmas fish course?  We have been following this Loire favourite for a while and we tip it as one of the best value wines from the Loire. £17.14

Turkey with all the Trimmings

Grant Burge GB23 Chardonnay Viognier 2011 - A budget busting wine from down under with a great balance of flavour and acidity.  The Chardonnay brings citrus fruits to the table while the viognier adds the extra dimension and a peach quality that helps the wine stand up to the biggest meal of the year.  £8.63

Moulin de Gassac Guilhem Rose 2010 - A rose... At Christmas?  Well why not we say!  So long as it is a good quality complex rose full of character.  So where else would you find that than from the makers of Mas de Daumas Gassac.  The Moulin de Gassac wines are actually a co-op run by the family behind Gassac bringing together some 700 wine growers and often nearly as many grape varieties!! £6.99

Domaine Faively Cote de Beaune Villages 2007 - Pinot Noir is a grape made for Christmas day, so long as you pick a good quality offering with a little oak aging you will find yourself sipping a wine of infinite complexity and character.  Stick with something reputable from the heartland of Burgundy like this Faively wine.  £16.74

Game Dishes

Moulin de Gassac Guilhem Rouge 2010 - The red version of the above rose.  This wine is effortlessly full flavoured but soft and fruity.  A typical Mediterranean blend, but with a few extra unusual varieties in the mix too. £6.98

Domaine Coste Chaude Cuvee La Rocaille 2006 - Now with fantastic bottle age this Cotes du Rhone wine is softer and mellower than your average wine from this part of the world.  There are more expensive cuvee's from this vineyard but the La Rocaille does it for us! £14.75

Red Meat

Chakana Malbec 2013 - The Argentines, love their red meat so you know you can trust them for a cracking wine to pair here.  100% Malbec, full of body in a glass coating, lip smacking sort of way. £7.97

Welgegund Pinotage 2009 - We have been tipping this wine for some time now, sadly they have just announced they are no longer producing wine (they only ever made 3,000 bottles per year in the first place!  This is perfect with a rich roast lamb or slightly oriental flavoured meats. £21.68

Los Vascos Cabernet Sauvignon 2011 - If anyone in the world knows how to make a good Cabernet wine then it must be the Rothschild family.  So you know what to expect from their Chilean venture.  Full, rich tannin but with an underlying and undisputable quality. £10.10

Bodegas Protos Joven Roble 2011 - Like your red wines just a little more subtle but still with unbeatable quality?  Then this wine from the founders of the Ribera del Duero is just for you.  In essence this is a Cosecha (young) Rioja style wine.  Heavy on the tempranillo, full in the character.  £11.96

Turkey Curry Leftovers?

Now if ever there was a wine pairing topic not covered in the average wine blog it is this one.  I do believe that I am not the only one that makes a habit of partaking in a bit of leftovers turkey curry on Boxing day right?  If so then you need a great wine that pairs with the spice.  You could opt for the age old favourite from Marlborough?  The Tinpot Hut Sauvignon Blanc features the acidity to cut effortlessly through the spice in anything but the hottest of curries. £12.55.  Personally my mantra is why opt for the usual thing in front of you when there is something special just round the corner!  With that in mind, head to the Austria winery of Weingut Aigner and their Sandgrube Gruner Veltliner. £13.40.  Fear not these are modern style wines totally dry crisp and fresh.  They possess a similar acidity and I find work great with spices and will be a nice talking point at the table.

Cheese, Chocolate, Christmas pudding and all the sweet treats

You have indulged yourself all day, and in fact most likely all month so why not carry it on into the after dinner drinks!

Bertani Recioto Valpolicella DOC 2010 - I love a nice sweet red, it tends to be the sort of thing most of us gloss over in favour of a more established Port or a Sauternes.  For me a sweet red is the king of indulgences and so very versatile in its pairings.  I love it with chocolate but equally it goes with a light fruit tart or a cheeseboard. £21.52

Jean-Christophe Barbe 'Chateau Laville' 2009 - If a more traditional dessert wine is what you desire then this little sauternes is just the ticket.  Wild heather honey with that twist of spiciness is what we pick up.  Full flavour yet fresh and fruity. £16.97

Fonseca Aged Tawny 10 Year Old - It is no secret that I love a Pinot Noir, so it is no surprise that of all the Ports I love Tawny the best.  For me its lighter delicate nature works magnificently as an after dinner drink (especially when that dinner is a gargantuan feast) due to its lighter nature. £16.35

Grant Burge 10 Year Old Tawny - Well they say to save the best for last and this is no exception!  This Tawny Port-style wine is from the Australian Barossa valley (yes they have a rich history in Port wine as well!).  For me it is Christmas day in a bottle, rich mulled wine spices and an overwhelming taste of Christmas pudding.  This is one of our fastest movers year round so we are expecting big demand from this at Christmas. £22.21

News from Down at the Shop

After a very busy weekend in the shop and at our stall at the Chocolate Festival in town, we are now well and truly pumped up and ready for the festive season!

Our first gin tasting went down a storm at the shop on Saturday evening which had been organised for a local group of customers wanted to surprise one of their friends - and what a surprise she got!  

We had all four Edinburgh Gins to taste - the Original, Elderflower, Raspberry and the new Spiced Orange. These were accompanied by fever tree tonic and lime. 

Here is a quote from Laura who attended the tasting, 'We all had an absolutely cracking time at Exel Wine's first gin tasting evening on Saturday night. It was great to try so many different gins, and the shop itself has so much character (being surrounded by so many bottles is very tempting!) it felt like the perfect venue - just the right size for our group of pals too. The variation in flavour (not just in terms of the types of gin but the difference with and without tonic) was amazing and Graham was a first class host; we had a real laugh and he didn't seem phased by our craziness at all! If you're looking for a night out with a difference, definitely give this a whirl - we'd all highly recommend it! Gin's up! :-)'

As a result of this great success, we can safely say that you should look out for more Gin Tasting evenings coming in-store soon!

To add to this, we'd also like to announce that this Saturday we are giving away a 10% discount at the shop. So, whether you are looking for a special present or just want to indulge in a few bottles of wine for yourself this weekend then don't forget to pop in to the shop on Saturday for this one-day special. (T&C’s apply*)

This week I'ave been mostly drinking...

Clive Holroyd, Database Manager

Sometimes less is more; especially so when it comes to week-ends. My superior 50% had a very long and tough week and just needed to chill and I'm always up for a bit of chilling myself. Well, warmth actually because we lit a log fire, turned the tv off (ignoring the howls of protest from son number 3) opened a bottle of wine and just relaxed the afternoon away. The missus is partial to a Merlot and suspecting she might need to unwind I had tried to find something a bit special. Apparently the Cousino Macul Antiguas Reservas Merlot Chile 2011 just flies off the shelves in our shop and I can see why. Just opening the bottle unleashes a heady aroma of autumn berries and the wine is beautifully rounded with more of the berries supported by a lovely soft vanilla flavour. Just the usual complaint; 75cl is simply not enough. So I have my orders; bottles are to be acquired for Christmas and I am not to succumb to the temptation of opening them before then.

Russell Wallace, General Manager

This week I ‘ave been mostly drinking…. My long time love, Pinot Noir. I guess that the first classification on this subject is that the wine in question is not actually Pinot Noir (I shall explain)! Since I first delved into the world of red wine my personal favourite grape has always been Pinot Noir. I crave the soft fruity flavour that just keeps going on the palette, but sadly it is a love I had forgotten recently. I would partly blame an expanding palette and part on an employment that requires me to investigate and delve into every varietal the world has to offer but I think the biggest reason is that as a grape variety Pinot Noir has just not really caught the limelight like Merlot, Shiraz, Sauvignon Blanc and all the varietals that roll off your tongue.

Pinot Noir is, however, my tip as the next big thing and something that everyone should get into especially at Christmas time. Those of you that read what I have to say with any sort of regularity will know I am a simple sort, and I like to cut out all of the extended complication that surrounds wine. So back to the issue of Pinot Noir, what I have been drinking is a lovely Burgundy from Maison Champy, their Bourgogne Passe-tout-grains. Rather than the usual Burgundian Pinot Noir this is a Gamay. What is Gamay? Gamay is the principle grape within Beaujolais, much the same as Pinot Noir, often just slightly lighter. Yes there are many different technical aspects to the grape and its precise characteristics as you can imagine but as far as the “average”, if such a thing exists, consumer would be concerned they are much the same thing. So onto the actual wine! Maison Champy owned by Pierre Meurgey are based in the beautiful village of Beaune, where Pierre started life as a negocient, a buyer and seller of grapes for the main names, to produce their wines from. One day Pierre came across an old building, part of the historic Champy estate. Pierre set about learning the history of this building and estate discovering it to be Maison Champy the first estates, some 300 years earlier, to trade as a negotient in Burgundy. Discovering this Pierre made it his goal in life to revitalise this estate and make it once again produce the world’s best pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The Passe-tout-grains is a rare example of a Burgundy made from this grape outside of its common homeplace of Beaujolais. I hesitate to use the term light to describe Burgundian reds, yes they are soft but the flavours are rich, complex and evolving and the word light just does not do it justice. Instead it is a wine you perhaps need to take your time, close out the world and just spend a moment considering.