Forget the 12 days of Christmas, we have, for you, the 12 fizzes for this festive season. A selection of fruity, sparkling delights from a range of wineries, using differing grapes to enjoy during all aspects of the Christmas period. If you’re looking for something to pair with canapes, seafood, cheese, a fruity dessert or even the classic buffet item – a sausage roll – we happen to have some great picks for you.
Whether you are a gifter of the fizzy stuff or it’s what your Christmas diet is based upon, we have a great selection of sparkling wines to choose from, so read on to discover our top sparkling wines to devour or gift this festive season.
McGuigan Black Label Sparkling Shiraz
It may have a low price but how could we not include this uncommon sparkling red offering?! For those looking for something unique, this indulgent Shiraz is the brand’s first sparkling red and has tastes of plums, cherries and chocolate. McGuigan’s Black Label Sparkling Shiraz is a rich wine that’s versatile enough to partner with red meat.
Price: £7.50
Where to buy: Sainsbury’s
The Emissary Prosecco
A deliciously light Prosecco DOC Treviso, with a floral and mineral nose with a touch of citrus. Displays notes of white flowers and on the palate, it is lively yet elegant and very refreshing with a dry finish. Enjoy this Italian fizz with fish or canapes.
Price: £15.00
Where to buy: www.winebuyers.com
i heart Champagne Didier Chopin
With a stunning bottle design, i heart Champagne Didier Chopin is dry in style, with rich flavours of honeyed fruit and subtle hints of toasted brioche, which combine to deliver a smooth, lasting finish. Perfect for celebrations, this fizz pairs beautifully with canapés, fish or even with a fruity festive dessert, such as an indulgent Christmas trifle.
Price: £23.00
Where to buy: Sainsbury’s
Lyme Bay Winery Classic Cuvée
Devon-based Lyme Bay Winery takes inspiration from the beautiful countryside and Jurassic coastline where it is situated to create its delicious English wines. An elegant English sparkling wine, the classic cuvée shows a depth of citrus and stone fruits flavours, along with the more complex secondary aromas of cooked apples, breadcrumbs, honey and almond. It has great depth and length, with crisp finesse and full mouth feel.
Price: £28.49
Where to buy: Lyme Bay
Smith and Evans English Sparkling Wine
Whether you’re at a party, raising a glass at Christmas dinner or toasting the new year, the festive season deserves something extra special, and for those who want to enjoy something closer to home, have a taste of one of England’s finest.
Produced in Somerset and suitable for vegetarians and vegans, Smith & Evans English Sparkling Wine offers aromas and flavours created from a blend of ripe Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier Grapes.
Price: £28.99
Where to buy: Waitrose
Tinwood Estate Brut
This English sparkling wine from Tinwood Estate, in West Sussex is pale gold in colour with a lovely mousse and a fine stream of bubbles. This is ideal for Christmas as it drinks well on its own or pairs well with a range of foods, including roast turkey or chicken, pork and pastry dishes, and it also happens to be excellent with sausage rolls too!
Price: £29.00
Where to buy: tinwoodestate.com
Hattingley Valley Classic Reserve
The perfect accompaniment to any festive gathering, Hattingley Valley’s Classic Reserve, the most popular blend, is the perfect aperitif or gift this holiday season. The award-winning elegant wine is a perfectly balanced blend of several vintages with an abundance of fine bubbles. An impeccable aperitif to pre-dinner canapés or a flawless bottle of fizz to accompany any festive merriment, all bottles come with a newly designed Union Jack gift box.
Price: £29.00
Where to buy: hattingleyvalley.com
Freixenet limited-edition Cordon Rosado gift pack
Presented in a striking stripy pink sleeve, the premium rosé Cava is the ultimate bottle to celebrate the start of the Christmas celebrations in style. A family-owned business with over 150 years of wine-making heritage in the Penedès region west of Barcelona, Freixenet is renowned for the quality and consistency of its world-leading Denominación de Origen sparkling wine. This rosé Cava is the perfect accompaniment for canapés with fruity desserts and cheese – best served chilled.
Price: £30.00
Where to buy: Freixenet Fizz Boutique
Black Chalk ‘Classic’ 2015
Created by award winning winemaker, Jacob Leadley, Black Chalk wines are sourced entirely from Hampshire grapes grown on chalk soil. Black Chalk Classic is a blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir and the grapes are hand selected each year from some of the county’s finest chalkland vineyards. Stylistically, purity of fruit is key, along with structure and a complex, balanced palate, while the careful use of oak for a proportion of the wines and time on lees helps to develop this complexity. Serve with a classy aperitif, smoked seafood or Brie.
Price: £40.00
Where to buy: blackchalkwines.co.uk
Billecart-Salmon Brut Sous Bois NV
This unique cuvee, which is entirely vinified in oak, is composed of the Champenois grape varieties. First, you’ll spot the stream of persistent, fine bubbles and then a burst of flavours (notes of grilled brioche and toffee) thanks to the distinguished power and maturity which is a mark of any great wine of Champagne. There is a rich smell which is harmoniously expressed (dried fruits, fresh citrus and white flesh fruits) and coupled with finely buttered seductive notes. This fine offering would make an ideal accompaniment to poultry dishes or Girolle mushrooms so perhaps best enjoyed with the main meal.
Price: £60.00
Where to buy: champagnediret.co.uk
Champagne Bruno Paillard Blanc de Blancs Reserve Privée Grand Cru NV
Maison Bruno Paillard is an independent, family-owned house, with exceptional vineyards located in the heart of Champagne. Preserving the inimitable chalky minerality of the Champagne terroir, is a priority of the Maison, which works sustainably and with organic principles to express this specificity. For this wine Bruno employs a technique that is little used now in Champagne – he adds less yeast than for normal Champagne during secondary fermentation. This gives lower pressure and a gentler delicate bubble with real finesse. Réserve Privée is a blanc de blancs Champagne from Bruno Paillard made using grand cru grapes – best paired with shellfish, crab and lobster.
Price: £67.95
Where to buy: The Whisky Exchange
Billecart-Salmon Vintage 2008
The blend of cuvée has been made with a strong dominance of Grands Crus Pinot Noir. It promises a subtle richness of flavours and an ageing potential worthy of a great vintage Champagne. With an appearance of soft golden glints and citrus zest, seeded white flesh fruit and Breton biscuits on the palate, the wine offers a persistent finish with a structure defined by the quality of its potential as a great vintage. Billecart-Salmon Vintage 2008 also offers a delicious fruit intensity aroma with elegant lemony citrus notes and nuts (flaked almonds, Menton lemons) and it is best served at 11-12°C. Enjoy with exceptional fish dishes, shellfish, the finest hams or risotto.
Price: £80.00
Where to buy: champagnediret.co.uk
