The Ulitmate Seasonal Guide to an English Wine Christmas

As the presenter of a podcast all about English wine and the people who make it, I'm a huge advocate for wine produced on our home soil. But long before I founded The English Wine Diaries in 2020, Christmas was a time of year when we'd always have a bottle from one of our local vineyards on hand to share with guests.

With the growing pace in which vineyards are cropping up here in the UK, there are now over 900 in England and Wales (an increase of 74 per cent in just five years) - it's little surprise that popping open a bottle of English fizz, instead of Champagne on celebratory occasions, has become commonplace across the country

However, while Britain has become renowned for its bubbles, we are now also producing some exceptional still wines that equally deserve a spot at the Christmas table. Here are some of my top picks to pair with all your festive favourites:

Smoked salmon and scrambled eggs with Breaky Bottom Cuvée John Agard 2017

Once the stockings have been opened, Christmas festivities are kick-started with smoked salmon and scrambled egg, a tradition that has stayed with me since childhood

It used to be served with a glass of Buck's Fizz, but, I can' t quite bring myself to mix orange juice with English sparkling wine. So, leave the OJ to one side.

A classic cuvée made from the holy trinity of Champagne grape varieties, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, really hits the spot. This award-winning example from Breaky Bottom, a six-acre vineyard in the South Downs, is both beautifully balanced and wonderfully layered on the palate and nose - its citrus notes and acidity standing up brilliantly to the saltiness of smoked salmon.

Breaky Bottom owner, Peter Hall, makes just two cuvées each year, dedicating each to a close friend or relative - in this case playwright and poet, John Agard.

Buy Breaky Bottom Cuvée John Agard 2017 from £36

Shellfish with Gusbourne Blancs de Blancs 2017

Gusbourne, grows grapes in both Kent and Sussex. This blanc de blancs can be enjoyed by itself as an aperitif but is also a perfect accompaniment to fresh shellfish, thanks to its saline minerality

If you're tradition is to serve oysters before lunch, or a classic prawn cocktail as a starter, then this is an excellent choice.

A nose full of ripe citrus, grapefruit and pear prepares you for a sparkling wine that is generous with fruit flavours of lemon, green apple and nectarine with layers of toasted brioche and hazelnut.

It's an elegant wine that will impress guests this year but would also be suitable to cellar for Christmases in years to come.

Buy Gusbourne Blanc de Blancs 2017 from £59.85

Turkey with Henners Native Grace Barrel Chardonnay 2020

England is now making still Chardonnay wines as good as the winemakers of Chablis.

The exceptional vintage of 2020 has been responsible for some incredible examples and this barrel fermented Chardonnay from Henners in Herstmonceux, East Sussex, is one.

Winemaker Collette O'Leary has used only parcels of vines showing the greatest potential in the vineyard to produce this 100% Chardonnay, which was fermented in old and new oak, aged for six months and then blended.

A fabulous foodie wine, there are the usual green and citrus fruit flavours you'd expect from a Chablis-style wine but, due to the time spent in barrel, there is a delicate spice and creamy, richness to the wine, which enables it to pair brilliantly with both the light and dark turkey meat, as well as the creaminess of accompaniments such as bread sauce.

Buy Henners Native Grace Barrel Fermented Chardonnay 2020 from £18.45

Duck or goose with Lyme Bay Pinot Noir 2021

An English Pinot Noir could also work well with turkey, particularly the dark meat, but if you're serving duck or goose instead for your Christmas lunch, then it's a no brainer.

While perhaps not as intense as the 2020 vintage, this Pinot Noir from Lyme Bay is made from grapes grown in Essex's Crouch Valley, which is arguably regarded as the best site for still wines in England. Essex benefits from some of the lowest levels of rainfall and highest levels of sunshine in the country, allowing Pinot Noir to ripen to levels previously unknown in the UK. Consequently, the wine's colour and flavour are more concentrated.

The intense cherry, red berry and bramble fruit flavours of this wine brilliantly complement duck, while the higher acidity and lower tannin character of a young Pinot Noir such as this cuts through the fattiness of goose meat.

Buy Lyme Bay Pinot Noir 2021 from £29.70

Christmas pudding or mince pies with Knightor English Rosso Vermouth

With aromas of bitter orange zest and gentle spice, this English vermouth - a fortified and aromatised wine from Knightor in Cornwall - is the perfect tipple with all those traditional festive sweet treats like mince pies, Christmas pudding and cake.

To make the vermouth, a batch of 31 herbs, spices and zest are infused in a fruity eau de vie, distilled from Knightor wineries grape skins, before being added to a blend of their red and white base wines. Following a short period of maturation, a small amount of caramel is added to provide the classic Rosso colour and underlying aroma.

"Our owner Adrian Derx's mother was Italian, and so we wanted to create a range of vermouths to celebrate his heritage and share it with our customers," explains sales manager Liam Matthews, who suggests drinking the vermouth on the rocks or use it to make mulled wine. "Combine red wine with either dry or rosso vermouth, sugar, orange, cloves, cinnamon and allspice and warm gently - it's delightful."

Buy Knightor Rosso Vermouth from £17.55

Lighter puddings like pavlova, panettone or trifle with Langham Rosé Brut NV

This award-winning rosé is made at Langham in Dorset by Tommy Grimshaw, one of the youngest professional winemakers in England and winner of the IWSC Trophy for Sparkling Wine Producer of the Year in 2020.

With aromas of pink petals, pastry and strawberries and a fine mousse with notes of strawberries and cream and sour cherry, this is a complex yet refreshing pink fizz, which pairs wonderfully with light fruit puddings and treats, such as pavlova and panettone.

Buy Langham Rosé Brut NV from £31.50

Cheese platter and salty snacks with Huxbear Orange Bear, 2021

Orange wine has seen a boost in popularity over the past few years. While there isn' t a huge number of English winemakers trying their hand at this 'skin-contact' wine, the majority of those who are have been producing wines of exceptional quality.

This one, made by Lucy and Ben Hulland, from Huxbear in Devon, is no exception.

"Making orange wine can be a little daunting as a winemaker because, due to the many variables, not least the wild ferment, no two orange wines taste the same," explains Lucy.

"Despite this we feel drawn to it as it gives us an opportunity to experiment with low intervention winemaking."

Made from 100%chardonnay (possibly the only orange wine in England made solely from this grape), and wild fermented, the wine has notes of stone fruits, such as peach and nectarine, with a touch of vanilla, while the robust palate is suited to salty foods such as crisps, salted nuts, Manchego and blue cheese.

Buy Huxbear Orange Bear from £15.30

Boxing Day leftovers with Sharpham Pinot Rosé, 2022

For some, rosé is a wine reserved solely for summer but there are so many warming winter dishes that English rosé wine work particularly well with, including a good old Ruby Murray.

This rosé, from Sandridge Barton in Devon, is a blend of Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir and, thanks to the hot summer of 2022 is packed with aromas of redcurrant, raspberry and wild strawberry.

Taste-wise, there's enough flavour to stand up to spices and it would also go well with the cinnamon and curried flavours you find in coronation chicken. So, whether you're using your leftover turkey to make curry or sandwiches on Boxing Day, give this one a try.

Buy Sharpham Pinot Rosé 2022 from £18.90

New Year's Eve canapés with Calancombe Estate Blanc de Noirs, 2017

An English sparkler made from black grapes - in this case, 100%Pinot Noir, hand harvested from a single plot at Calancombe Estate in South Devon - this has a beautiful golden colour that feels completely fitting to a special celebration like New Year's Eve.

Citrus and strawberry aromas give way to notes of baked apple and an elegant, long-lasting creaminess. This would make the perfect aperitif to kick-start the party and a great accompaniment to canapés, such as smoked salmon blinis and cheese gougères, as well as matching the earthiness of mushroom voulevants, succulence of pork belly bites and richness of mini-roast beef and Yorkshire pudding bites.

Buy Calancombe Blanc de Noirs 2017 from £36

Rebecca Pitcairn isa journalist and host of The English Wine Diaries podcast, an interview series which uncovers the stories of people in the world of wine (and beyond) and how a loveof wine - particularly that made on British soil - has helped shape their lives and careers. To listen, visit thesouthernquarter.co.uk