Mary Dowey on wines for Christmas dinner and dessert.
With two weeks to go before the marathon feast, let there be no panic. Out with your palm pilot (or crumpled envelope) to make a shopping list, then promise yourself a glass of something tasty if you manage to buy in all the Christmas booze by next weekend.
The formula for selecting your Christmas wines is straightforward. For Christmas Day, the two most important items are a smart and popular white wine for the first course and a rich, round red for the turkey (or whatever you may be plotting in its place). Two less crucial, but attractive additions are a sparkling wine or champagne to start with, if you like the idea of getting things off to a giddy start, and a sweet wine to suit the pudding.
For St Stephen's Day, and all the other days of relaxation which blur so pleasantly together, I'll give plenty of specific suggestions next week. But in case you want to plan ahead now, the general idea is to stash away supplies of a light, zesty white; a lively light-to- medium-bodied red; maybe some frivolous, relatively inexpensive fizz, and a soothing port. The speed at which sated appetites revive - ready for yet more food and drink - is one of the miracles of Christmas!
CHRISTMAS DINNER
BRILLIANT BUBBLY
Aim high. That means it's far better to go for a top-drawer sparkling wine than a bottom-rung champagne. Serve well chilled, with some tasty nibbles. Cheese puffs or buttery little cheese biscuits make a good match.
Champagne Pol Roger 'White Foil' Brut NV.
Impeccable champagne from one of the very finest houses - delicately biscuity, yet deliciously refreshing. From selected Superquinns; selected O'Briens; selected Pettitts in south-east; McCabes, Blackrock & Gables, Foxrock; Byrnes, Dundalk; McPhails, Drogheda; Old Stand, Mullingar and others, usually €39.95. See also Bottles of the Week.
SMART WHITE
Why think beyond Chablis when most people consider it stylish - and delicious, too, provided it comes from a really good producer, so that it doesn't taste bitter or austere? It is also a winner with smoked salmon and many other starters.
Domaine William Fèvre Chablis Premier Cru Montmains 2002. From a top producer, this is young for a premier cru, but already fabulous. From McCabes Blackrock & Gables, Foxrock; Redmonds, Ranelagh; Scrivens, Kinsale; Fields, Skibbereen, about €28. See also Bottles of the Week.
ROUND RED
Turkey needs a rich red with round, easy tannins: a very dry wine will make the bird seem as dry as sawdust. That rules out most of Bordeaux, except for modern, Merlot-based reds from the Right Bank (like Saint-Emilion and Pomerol). Instead, consider the Southern Rhône (Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Gigondas, Vacqueyras, Rasteau or just plain Côtes du Rhône Villages), the Languedoc or Australian Shiraz in its most luscious form (McLaren Vale is especially voluptuous).
Abbots Boreas Coteaux du Languedoc 2000.
Gorgeous southern French blend of Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre with heady aromas and velvety richness. From O'Briens, €14.99.
Chapel Hill Shiraz, McLaren Vale 2000.
An Aussie blockbuster, turkey-friendly thanks to sumptuous black fruit flavours and fine tannins. From Terroirs, Donnybrook; Kellys, Clontarf; Cheers-Gibneys, Malahide; Cheers-Wicklow Arms, Delgany; Donlons, Longford; O'Donovans, Cork; www.gifts.ie, about €22.50.
Château Teyssier Saint-Emilion Grand Cru 2001.
Bordeaux that is rich, smooth and plummy enough to suit the bird, with no astringent tannins. Super-suave. From Mitchell & Son, Kildare St & Glasthule; Vaults, Harcourt St; selected O'Briens; Kellys, Clontarf; Harvest, Galway; Half Door, Bandon; Fahys, Ballina and others, about €26.50. See also Bottles of the Week
FOR THE PUD
I still think that Hungarian Tokaji Aszu, recommended for Christmases past, is a winner. But here's a new idea: Banyuls Les Clos de Paulilles 2001. If your household isn't mad about Christmas pudding, why not make a chocolate log instead, and match it with Banyuls? With smooth, black cherry flavours, this sweet red wine is an unbeatable match for dark chocolate desserts. Just don't try it with traditional Christmas pud. From McCabes, Blackrock & Gables Foxrock; also direct from James Nicholson, www.jnwine.com, €17.25-€18.95.
WORLD OF WINE
Wine obsessives will enjoy galloping around the globe with director Jonathan Nossiter for a close-up view of some of the major issues and key figures behind current trends in Mondovino, the new film about the wine world.
The plot is fairly simple. The forces of globalisation - personified by the Mondavi Corporation in California, the powerful American wine critic Robert Parker and the globetrotting French wine consultant Michel Rolland - are pitted against small producers who believe that a particular patch of land gives their wines precious individuality.
Nothing very new about this, but the arguments are vividly enunciated amid evocative footage of vineyards, ancient cellars and high-tech labs. The notion that the power of brands is a new phenomenon is shaky, however (what about Blue Nun?).