Great British Food - Christmas 2025

It’s time to get those glasses clinking! These top wine picks from Cindy- MarieHarvey will be sure towowyour guests Raise a Glass The festive time is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate – but the perennial question of what to drink, with so many flavours on the table, and so many different styles of guest to please, can become quite a challenge. Fear not, as English wines have such a diversity these days that there is a wine to tick the box for every occasion For those who like to style the festive meals a little different to the traditional, often meaning a hit of chilli heat or warming spices such as cumin and nutmeg, look no further than Pinot Gris Pithos from Freedom of the Press (freedomofthepress.co.uk ) – not only gently spicy, but with clear fresh acidity to cope with curried meats (turkey or otherwise on Boxing Day!). The grapes are grown in Essex but the winery is in the Cotswolds, and part of the wine is aged in amphora. Friends dropping in at random times (often when you’ve just got the present wrapping table all laid out?!) requires something to be always kept ready in the fridge. Gusbourne (gusbourne. com) have a wonderful Sparkling Rosé, with fine bubbles and lively red fruit – always a crowd pleaser. Or maybe crack open a bottle of Harrow & Hope ’s Blanc de Noirs 2019 from the Chiltern Hills – lots of typical brioche notes but with freshness and elegance (harrowandhope.com ). Chardonnay is a must have grape variety for many at Christmas, so it’s fortunate there are some stellar examples being produced in the South of England. Danbury Ridge Chardonnay 2022 is a spectacular wine, complex with great texture and finish (danburyridge.com) . It would be perfect with Christmas Eve fish supper as it is heavenly with any fish cooked in butter such as sole meuniere. Or sign up for a few bottles of the utterly wonderfully named ‘Bonkers zombie robot alien monsters from the future ate my brain (sur lie)’ from the brilliant team at Sugrue South Downs (sugruesouthdowns.com ). Absolutely in my top 10 wines tasted this year, made unusually by a solera system, this Chardonnay has bags of character and great balance of acidity and creaminess. If you are looking for a white to enjoy with guinea fowl this one is for you (though would equally be happy with a classically roasted turkey)! From the vineyards of Kent, Simpsons Roman Road Chardonnay (simpsonswine.com ) is a great example of how impressive this variety can be when grown in the right place and treated with love and attention. Its minerality from the iconic chalk soils of Kent is backed up with structure from nine months in small barrels. It’s a great wine matched with nothing more than a festive chatty catch up with friends and family – but it also heavenly with a platter of English cheeses, especially soft ones such as St Jude or Baron Bigod. Celebration? Palate livener? Pick me up? All count as valid reasons for opening a bottle of bubbles, so make sure the wine fridge is stocked with this year’s new arrival at the Sussex wine estate Ambriel – their Wendling Blanc de Blancs 2018 (ambrielsparkling.com ). A delight on the nose with wonderful complexity thanks to over five years on the lees – this wine needs no excuse to be opened and enjoyed! Pinot Noir has happily found a new home in England, with some truly delicious wines being made including Lyme Bay Martins Lane Pinot Noir, with its multi layered flavours of coffee, smoky, black fruit – ideal if you are cooking duck for Christmas (lymebaywinery.co.uk) . Or seek out Simpsons Rabbit Hole Pinot Noir (simpsonswine.com ), especially if you can find one of their Library releases – fabulous with anything of mushrooms/fungi, so if you’re having truffles on your Christmas menu this would be the perfect pairing. For all those multiple outings of mince pies and Christmas cake, something sweet but not too sweet is ideal, so open a bottle of Schonberger from Biddenden in Kent (biddendenvineyards.com ). Luscious yet balanced with acidity; one glass leads to the next all too easily! Cindy-Marie Harvey is the owner of wine tour company Love Wine Food and author of Watercress, Willow & Wine (Whitefox, £25), the ideal Christmas present for wine lovers and foodies alike ( lovewinefood.com ). 43 greatbr i t i shfoodawards.com IDEAS | WINE