Uncorking Christmas!
I recently read that most of the wine in Britain is now bought by women, so here are some vino suggestions for your Christmas shopping as offered by a woman...
   A good wine to start off the Christmas slurping is from the Sauvignon Blanc grape. It is dry and crisp with a citrusy, grapefruit flavour and is ideal for drinking on its own or with light food. Look out for New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc as I think they make the best value at around five pounds per bottle - perhaps even less.
   Having turkey for Christmas din-dins? The Chardonnay grape is much more robust, bursting with peach and vanilla flavours and in most cases, is 

CLAIRE CARE

stored in oak barrels which gives it that woody, smokey flavour. My advice is to always read the back label as Chardonnay can come as a dry wine or fairly medium, so is a good all rounder for most people's tastes. It's a good wine to have with white meat such as turkey - although whether the turkey would agree is another matter!
   If you are a real red wine lover, then the Cabernet Sauvignon grape must be a favourite as its' classic blackcurrant and fresh mint flavours can be rather amazing. With this wine, it is worth spending some extra money as sometimes you only get what you pay for and Cabernet Sauvignon is one of these.
   The French are experts at making top quality wine using the Cabernet Sauvignon grape. Look at all the Bordeaux and Claret in the shops, they are all mainly 70% Cabernet Sauvignon with a blend of Shirah.
   Speaking of Shirah brings us round to the possibility of a goose for Christmas. In Australia, they call their Shirah grape 'Shiraz' and a good Shiraz can blow your Christmas stockings off! It has spicy, peppery flavours and is usually big on alcohol quantity. Australians always seem to make 

Sweet Wines
I know that you can either love or hate sweet wines and dessert wine is certainly sweet, but if you chill it down enough - and I mean really cold because it is fairly syrupy - then this wine can be like drinking heaven on earth! It's like drinking pure nectar from flowers and smells like Honeysuckle as well. A great wine to have with your Christmas cake or pudding. Because it's so sweet it comes in half bottles, so you drink it in the same way as sherry. It can also be deceptively strong in alcohol.
   And finally Champagne; There is so much snobbery surrounding the price of Champagne that it can almost be likened to designer clothes. There you pay for the name on the label, but with Champagne you don't always get what you pay for. That's why it's worth shopping around and trying all the House Champagnes that the supermarkets now make. If you start tasting now, by Christmas you'll have the perfect choice - or an equally great hangover!
   Good luck and I hope that everyone has a very Merry Christmas!

Claire Ottley
DaC Customer Service dept