Genuinely our favourite time of year, one can enjoy festive tipples on any day of the week - it is Christmas after all!

Embrace this festive season with some delightful wines and much more from Ellis Wharton Wines. Make sure you visit our wine warehouse for personal recommendations, we love to help you find that perfect gift.

Our blog will focus on the main event highlighting our perfect bottles for your Christmas day celebrations. We will then also feature our traditional festive team suggestions. Find out what we will be drinking this Christmas which is always great fun.

Firstly, don’t forget Santa! We suggest Hidalgo’s Alameda Cream Sherry with its concentrated fig, raisin and nutty characters. It rewards with the flavours of Christmas with each sip.

Christmas morning should begin with decadence. We recommend a glass of bubbles or buck's fizz with your bacon sandwich with Bodegas Sumarroca, Cava Reserva Brut 2021. This organic Cava is full of flavour and the perfect start.

Next, time to pause the fun for elevenses. This is the moment that really signals Christmas: opening your fine bubbly. We have a huge range of options for all budgets from Grande Marque Champagne to Prosecco and everything in between. We recommend either Exton Park RB32 Brut Reserve or Champagne Tarlant Brut Nature perfect to toast Christmas.

Time for the main event, your Traditional Christmas feast. Hopefully all coming together nicely in the kitchen, it is time to open your wine! Traditionally with turkey and all the trimmings we would recommend a light bodied, lower tannin red such as a red Burgundy, or Beaujolais Cru, or a full-bodied bold white such as a White Burgundy, or White Rioja.

Our first recommendation is Von Buhl’s Bone-Dry Riesling. It is available in show stopping Magnum bottle too with bright and lively aromas of fresh pineapple and apricot, counterbalanced by an edge of flint, a classic German dry Riesling with depth and concentration which would pair effortlessly with your meal.

Our red choice, with turkey in mind also available in Magnum is the RAAR Shiraz Carbonic Maceration. This wine won South African Shiraz of 2024! With only four 500 litre barrels produced this wine is most definitely something special for Christmas. Full of red fruit, delicate spices and velvety soft tannins this is the perfect match for your turkey and all the trimmings.

Christmas pudding poses the timeless conundrum once again. The only truly satisfying pairing is something richer and sweeter. For this, we have Tokaji, Sauternes and much more for all budgets. We are turning to Austria with a brilliant producer Helmut Lang, Samling 88 which is a Trockenbeerenauslese think Tokaji Aszu with bells and whistles on! This is a truly sensational dessert wine full of honey, nuts, raisins and flowers.

The end of the feast. We love Port, preferably of considerable seniority. Especially at this stage of the day. Why? Because it’s rich, warming, and pairs beautifully with festive overindulgence and fireside sipping. Add Christmas cheese and a slice of Christmas cake; we don’t know a more perfect pairing.

And finally, the nightcap: Single malt whisky? Fine Cognac? Aged Rum? We have a diverse choice in our Artisanal spirits.

Festive Team Drinks Guide 2024

Without further ado we have interviewed our team in between their busy Christmas schedules to bring you their recommendations which we will share next.

Victoria and Charles – Are planning Christmas in their new house with all their family.

Andrea – Our Trade Sales manager will be drinking something fizzy, probably our Biodynamic 1701 Franciacorta Brut Nature which she is not pairing and not sharing! With her family for their main event, she will be opening Le Difese from Tenuta San Guido which will pair perfectly with their traditional Christmas dinner.

John – Our Warehouse Manager is having a family Christmas up country this year and so will be making a beeline for them on Christmas eve when we down tools and very much looking forward to a family celebration and has the important job of delivering the wine!

Their mid-morning on Christmas day, will begin with a toast with the great value Paul Mas Cremant de Limoux , a very sensible start. For their main event, Magnums of the outstanding Chateau Musar 2016 paired with a rib of beef and all the trimmings are planned which will be perfect together.

Paul – Our Assistant Warehouse Manager is looking forward to his family get together. They will be hosting a boxing day buffet with his extended family and friends which sounds brilliant. They are a thirsty lot, so Paul is planning for La Scarpetta Prosecco Spumante and his favourite Finca La Solana Crianza which is a rich Spanish red full of flavour to accompany the buffet.

Jim – Our retail manager is hosting his family this year and are going for the traditional turkey feast with all the trimmings sourced from local Cornish businesses. Magnums will be required throughout the day except for the unavoidably early start to Christmas morning family fun and excited young kids.

Champagne Tarlant Brut Nature Zero will be served with elevenses which is a fantastic grower Champagne and seriously good in Magnum! The main event will be paired with either RAAR Grenache Noir (if there are any left!) or Von Buhl's brilliant value Spatburgunder Magnum which has the flavours of Christmas all wrapped up with fantastic winemaking.

On that note, Merry Christmas from us all at EWWines. We hope to see you soon.