If you don’t start – and finish – Christmas with a good glass of sparkling wine or champagne, then when are you going to pour one? Whether you’re after a seriously good bottle of champagne or English sparkling wine for Christmas Day, an inexpensive fizz for casual drinking, or a blanc de noirs to pour when you come in from an icy walk across frosty fields, here are some superb suggestions
These sparkling wines have tight energy and focus. With intense citrus notes, they are refreshing rather than rich.
12.5%, The Wine Society, £20.81
From the Alpine region of Savoie, a brisk, narrow, ultra-dry and quite delicate crémant. Think candied lemon, chalk and grapefruit pith. Jacquère is the main grape, with chardonnay and pinot noir in support.
12%, The Wine Barn, £25.70
Precious little German sekt makes it to our shores, and this is one worth drinking all through a meal, perhaps with roast gammon. Notes of lime blossom and sweet lime with background hints of curry leaf and rye.
None of these wines are made by the “traditional method”, so they don’t have the toasty, yeasty dimension of, say, champagne or cava. Think instead soft but still refreshing, with plenty of undemanding pleasure. Some of these would be good party material.
11%, Sainsbury’s, £8, down to £7 from Weds to Jan 2
A very simple but also attractive effervescent white made in Emilia-Romagna from the pignoletto grape.
12%, Majestic, £13.99, or £9.99 in a mixed six
Sprightly and delicate, with subtle flavours of yellow plums and physalis, this is made close to the Slovenian border using the ribolla gialla grape.
12.5%, Waitrose, £15.99, down to £10 until Jan 1
At the sweeter end of brut, this pale pink Aussie sparkler is made from pinot noir, chardonnay and shiraz and has a subtle smell of raspberries.
11%, Booths, £10.50, down to £10 until Jan 1
Easily my favourite of the supermarket proseccos, very attractive for the price, with cool notes of ripe and unripe pear. Also comes in magnums (£19).
10%, Swig, £14.50; Noble Green Wines, £13.50
A gorgeously rounded, semi-sparkling pink from prosecco country. This tastes of redcurrant and raspberry coulis and is sealed with cork and string. Lovely.
Waitrose, £21.99 for a 1.5l magnum, down to £14.99 until Jan 1
The swagger of a magnum brings a sense of occasion and this decent, clean supermarket prosecco is well priced on offer.
These sparkling wines are all made using the so-called traditional method (like champagne), which involves a secondary fermentation in the bottle.
12.5%, Tesco, £10
From the Pyrenees, a zesty sparkling wine made mostly from the local mauzac grape, which brings a crisp bite of green apples. Very good value.
12%, The Wine Society, £10.76
Chenin blanc is the main grape in this Loire fizz. Think baked-apple brioche and quince. A repeat buy for me.
12%, Sainsbury’s, £11.50, down to £10.50 until Tuesday
If you have yet to try crémant from Alsace, do give it a go. This one’s a little sweeter than some crémants, but its structure supports that. Made by the Cave de Turckheim from 75% pinot blanc and 25% pinot gris, it has an attractive floral lift.
There is now a wide range of styles of sparkling wine in the UK. All of the below are made by the traditional method.
12%, Majestic, £38.99, or £26.99 in a mixed six
This has a lovely shortbready richness and is a great buy on the mixed-six price. Made at Defined Wine by Nick Lane, who used to work for Dom Pérignon.
12%, Lea & Sandeman, £27.50, or £24.50 in a case; The Wine Society, £29.31
Langham Estate is much admired and this brace of cuvées shows a great versatility in its style. The Corallianis chardonnay-dominant and classic English – mineral, faintly creamy, calm as a mill pond and with glacial acidity.
12%, Lea & Sandeman, £27.50, or £24.50 in a case
Langham’s Culver Classic is surprisingly reminiscent of champagne. It is pinot-dominant (noir and meunier), a more oxidative style, reminiscent of red apples, spice, honey and toasted hazelnuts.
12%, Swig, £45
Ten years old! England is growing up. Named “supreme champion” in the 2023 WineGB Awards, this is a real star. The grapes come mostly from Sussex and Hampshire but also from Dorset and Kent, with chardonnay leading the blend. Impressively integrated, immaculately paced, and gently aromatic with patisserie notes.
12%, Grape Britannia, £65; Hennings, £70; The Whisky Exchange, £69.75
An exceptional blanc de blancs from Dermot Sugrue, arguably England’s most influential winemaker. Precise and complex, it combines the just-creamy side of chardonnay with notes of smoke and morels.
Rosé in winter is all the more alluring when it’s sparkling. There are a couple of pinks in the “frothy and gentle” section too.
12%, Morrisons, £12.50 down to £10 until Jan 1
Chardonnay, chenin blanc and pinot noir riff along to give a sparkling wine with a whiff of raspberry cheesecake.
12%, Majestic, £29.99, or £22.99 in a mixed six
Pale and elegant, this has long been an extremely-good-value champagne, and it is on form as ever.
12%, Yapp Brothers, £39.50
A single-estate wine made from grapes grown in East Sussex. An intense smell of wild strawberries and raspberries gives way to a savoury and quite dry wine. Pure class.
Many put their faith in supermarket own labels and grandes marques. But which are the ones really worth buying?
12.5%, Waitrose, £26.99, down to £23.99 until Jan 1
A top pick. Made by Maison Alexandre Bonnet from 100 per cent pinot noir, this is reminiscent of black cherries, biscuits and a cold day on wintery fields. Stylish and impressive.
12.5%, M&S, £28
It’s good to see the St Gall brand back in M&S. This is an excellent choice for those who enjoy the open, briochey warmth of the chardonnay-pinot blend (in this case the balance is 66-34).
12.5%, Tesco, £30
A very good all-chardonnay vintage champagne that, like M&S’s St Gall, is made by the Union Champagne co-operative.
Waitrose, £42.99, down to £32.99 until Jan 1
It’s become rare for me to recommend a NV grande marque – big name – champagne as I often find you can get better value elsewhere. But Taittinger is absolutely on form right now and this is a good price.
12%, Co-op, £37
A gold-medal-winning champagne that is simply superb, with a toasty, honeyed nose and firm structure. Made for Co-op by Piper-Heidsieck, it’s a 60-40 blend of pinot noir and chardonnay. The NV is also brilliant, and currently on offer at £21.75.
12.5%, Majestic, £61.99, or £49.99 in a mixed six
Gorgeously biscuity, made from all three champagne grapes, and as festive as Christmas itself.
Perhaps you’d like to branch out, but where do you start? Here are some ideas.
12%, slurp.co.uk, £34.95; Tanners, £33; Waitrose, £34.99, down to £29.99 until Jan 1
From the makers of Bollinger, a soave and polished champagne made from 45% chardonnay, 35% pinot noir and 20% pinot meunier. Delicious.
12.5%, Lea & Sandeman, £39.95, or £36.95 in a case
A grower champagne made from 80 per cent pinot meunier, the most spicy of champagne grapes, bringing notes of caramelised Brazil nuts and orris to form an interesting champagne. Drink with dinner – porchetta and parsnips will love it.
12%, Majestic, £43.99, or £38.99 in a mixed six
A poised and quite savoury all-chardonnay champagne from an under-appreciated house.
12.5%, Lea & Sandeman, £44.95, or £41.50 on current special offer
The blanc de noirs style is one that I particularly love to drink in cold weather and this 100 per cent pinot noir with a faintly coppery hue is such an elegant one.
12%, wanderlustwine.co.uk, £66.90; The Whisky Exchange, £75.95
Another blanc de noirs, this time a vintage, with hints of fleshy black cherries and softly smoky guaiac wood.
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