IT'S Christmas! Yay! A top time to taste awesome vino and get stuck into the world of wine and food in a focused, all day and all night sort of way. Let's romp! For Christmas lunch, I favour opening both reds and whites to give people the choice of what to slurp with their dinner, but there’s also a good rule of thumb to bear in mind: if you're cooking turkey, you could match either red or white, but let the stuffing guide your palate. For a fruity stuffing go white, but if you’re creating a meaty stuffing, go red. Generally chardonnay with some finesse and a sliver of oak ageing is a glorious match, or for reds, pinot noir is tough to beat. There's a world of pinot noir out there - Otago in New Zealand is pumping out some wonderful kit, or you could try Oregon in the USA; Germany makes Spätburgunder which is pinot noir with a spicy kick, or you could pick a classic vintage red from Burgundy for a more savoury-tasting treat.

The dried fruits on offer at Christmas are a great chance to get busy with sweet oloroso sherry and tawny port, some of the world's best value and most underrated drinks. Christmas pudding is a riot of fruit flavour and serious chunky texture, an old liqueur muscat from Australia works a treat as an accompaniment or you could try a chilled sparkling moscato with its frothy contrast to the dish and low alcohol to keep the Christmas party swinging. I love the chance to drink off-beat liqueurs at Christmas time. Amarula is a creamy African liqueur from Waitrose which offers a change from Baileys and works a treat poured over vanilla ice cream. Waitrose also stock St-Germain Elderflower liqueur which is and great fun to mix into good value sparkling wine to add an extra layer of flavour and complexity. 

Which brings me to fizz - new year is around the corner and your fizz choices have never been better. For value, cava is worth a look, as it's made in the same way as champagne but from local Spanish grape varieties. Prosecco is genius, great value fun frothy party fizz and the best option if you're making Bellinis or other fruity cocktails from fruit-based purées. But if you want to go the whole hog and push the boat out on a champagne frenzy, there's a world of glory to chose from - Laurent-Perrier offers a bright, fresh and elegant style, Bollinger is more toasty and Ruinart offers fruit and finesse. Or you could pick an English sparkling wine from Ridgeview, Camel Valley or Hush Heath, whichever way your bubbly pops. Have a smashing Christmas and I look forward to seeing you at Taste of Christmas and the Taste Festivals in 2010! Cheers!

Olly Recommends

Wines from Waitrose

With Christmas cake and mince pies or just for the sheer taste of Christmas you can't beat Anthemis Muscat of Samos 2002 (pictured left). It's orangey with toffee notes, mellow, richly sweet and packed with Christmassy dried fruit flavours. Serve chilled and unwind by your fire/radiator/lover.

Splash out on some fine champagne with Le Mesnil Blanc de Blanc 2002 Grand Cru champagne, with its super-bright freshness, clean ping and crisp refreshing bubbles. 100 per cent bright zinging Chardonnay, it's absolutely uplifting!

For a silky glass of full-flavoured red that still manages to pull off impressive finesse, grab Mas d'en Gil Coma Vella 2005 from Priorat in Spain which is a blend of Garnacha Peluda, Garnacha Pais, Cariñena, cabernet sauvignon, syrah and merlot. Deft, pure and beautifully slinky red wine.

Wines from merchants

Majestic have a spicy red which is unmissable - Costero Syrah 2007 from Viña Leyda (pictured left), with a peppery spank guaranteed to warm you up from the inside out. Genius booze.

www.majestic.co.uk

Adnams Cellar and Kitchen stock John Forrest, The White, which is a zinging, mildly aromatic blend of viognier, pinot gris, sauvignon blanc, riesling, chardonnay, chenin blanc, and gewürztraminer sourced from all over New Zealand.

http://cellarandkitchen.adnams.co.uk

Oddbins have Boekenhoutskloof Cabernet Sauvignon from South Africa which is great with a meaty roast - packed with leafy black fruit with long lasting complex flavours to keep your tongue tingling. A powerful gem.

www.oddbins.com