Food and Drink at Christmas
This is one of the best times of the year to indulge in a few favourites, and relish the wonderful array of food and drink available over the winter.
Christmas is a time for celebration – and sharing with family and friends. Others of course see this time as an occasion to splash out on the finer things in life.
We’ve teamed up some of the more popular Christmas food items with some glorious English wine. There are several suggestions, and some of the wines are available nationally – but remember – you can always order the wines on line direct from the vineyards or a number of mail order wine companies! |
What will English Wine Producers be having for Christmas?
Bob Lindo from Camel Valley Vineyard is looking forward to a real 'English' Christmas. He says:
'Nothing gives me greater pleasure than the thought of people all over Cornwall, England and beyond drinking our wine on Christmas day. I and my family, will of course be joining them: Camel Valley brut with Cornish smoked salmon, our Bacchus to start the turkey and our rose to finish it, our red with Cornish blue cheese and I've saved a few half bottles of our sweet wine for the pud.
 Merry Christmas!'
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A Christmas recipe from the vineyards!
Chilford Hall's Bitter Chocolate Mousse
Chilford Hall have just a little 2001 Medium 'Brian de Scalariis' remaining. This wine is gorgeous, rounded, voluptuous without any hint of obesity and demands to be drunk with bitter chocolate mousse. Here is Simon Alper's own recipe:
200g of dark chocolate (min 75% cocoa)
6 eggs
A few milk chocolate drops
Melt the chocolate with the egg yolks
Whisk the egg whites until stiff and fold into the chocolate
Add a few milk chocolate drops
Spoon into individual dishes and leave to set.
Consume with 2001 Brian to induce instant obesity!
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Some suggestions on what to drink with your Christmas Feast
Below are a list of some suggested wines to accompany some classic dishes to enjoy at Christmas.
Click here for availability. |
| Smoked Salmon |
Full bodied dry white
OR
Sparkling Wine |
Chapel Down Pinot Blanc
Breaky Bottom Seyval Blanc 1996
Nyetimber Classic Cuvee 1999
Ridgeview Merret Bloomsbury 2002/03 |
| Shellfish |
Crisp dry white |
Chilford Hundred Dry 2002
Chapel Down Flint Dry |
| Roast Turkey |
Light fruity red
(Pinot Noir; Regent; Triomphe) |
Heart of England Orpheus Red 2004
Chapel Down Pinot Noir 2003
Denbies Yew Tree Pinot 2003 |
| Roast Goose |
Fuller bodied red
(Rondo, Dornfelder) |
Chapel Down Rondo Reserve 2002 |
| Cold meat and baked potatoes |
Fruity red |
Bookers Dark Harvest 2003
Three Choirs Cellar Door Four Oaks 2003 |
| Christmas Pudding |
Dessert wine
Sparkling Red |
Chapel Down Nectar 2003
Heart of England Bolingbroke Red Sparkling |
Chocolate Mousse
(Recipe above) |
Medium white
Sparkling red |
Chilford Hundred Medium 2001
Heart of England Bolingbroke Red Sparkling |
CHEESE
Did you know that there are more cheeses produced in the UK than in France? We have a stunning range of British cheeses which are readily-available. Here are just a few suggestions of what wines to marry with the different cheeses, after some tried and tested experimentation … well someone has to!
More information on cheeses is available on www.britishcheese.co.uk along with useful serving suggestions and recipe ideas.
|
| Stilton |
Dessert wine |
Eglantine North Star 2003
Astley Late Harvest 2003 |
| Farmhouse Cheddar |
Medium dry white
Light fruity red |
Biddenden Ortega 2004
Three Choirs Cellar Door Four Oaks 2003 |
| Stinking Bishop |
Vintage sparkling |
Chapel Down Pinot Reserve |
Goats Cheese
(warm or cold) |
Fruity Red |
Heart of England Orpheus |
| Wenslydale with Cranberries |
Dessert |
Chapel Down Nectar |
Turkey Tips from the vineyards!
Kevin Carter, Head Chef at the Denbies Wine Estate Restaurant, shares his top tips on how to ccok the perfect turkey:
1) Always cook the turkey breast side down so the juices run clear and cook for 3-4 hours (depending on turkey size)
2) After cooking time turn turkey over and cover with bacon - turn oven up
3)The perfect stuffing - place strips of bacon slightly overlapping each other on a chopping board, spread stuffing mix over the top, place sausage meat down the middle and then wrap the bacon over making a roll - bake for 20 minutes |
What will English Wine Producers be having for Christmas?
Simon Alper, Chilford Hall Vineyard near  Cambridge:
"For Christmas, we recommend our pink fizz ‘Aluric de Norsehide’ on Christmas morning with smoked salmon and scrambled egg. Just sublime and guaranteed to keep us sedated so we don’t notice lunch is late! " |
Information on suggested wines and where to buy
|
| Wine |
Approx Price |
Availability
(also check vineyard pages for details) |
Sparkling
Nyetimber Premiere Cuvee Blanc de Blanc |
19.99 |
Nyetimber (min 12 bottles)
Fortnum & Mason
Berry Bros & Rudd
Waitrose |
| Nyetimber Classic Cuvee 1996 |
£21.00 |
Nyetimber (min 12 bottles)
Majestic
Waitrose |
| Ridgeview Merret Bloomsbury 2002/03 |
£15.95 |
Ridgeview
Waitrose
Wine Society |
Chapel Down Century Brut
|
£12.99 |
Chapel Down Wines
Sainsburys |
| Chapel Down Pinot Reserve |
£18.99 |
Chapel Down Wines |
| Chilford Hundred ‘Aluric de Norsehide’ Rose |
£16.95 |
Direct from Chilford Hall |
| Bolingbroke sparkling Red |
£14.95 |
Direct from Heart of England Vineyard |
White
Chapel Down Pinot Blanc 2002 (Quite Dry, full bodied) |
£9.99 |
Direct from Chapel Down winery |
Breaky Bottom Seyval Blanc 1996
|
£7.75 |
Direct from Breaky Bottom |
| Biddenden Ortega 2004 (Medium Dry, fruity) |
£6.25 |
Direct from Biddenden |
| Chilford Hundred ‘Brian de Scalariis’ 2001 (medium) |
|
Direct from Chilford Hall |
| Chapel Down Flint Dry (dry, medium bodied) |
£6.99 |
Direct from Chapel Down winery |
| Heart of England Sonnet XVIII (crisp, medium) |
£6.95 |
Direct from Heart of England Vineyard |
Red
Chapel Down Pinot Noir 2003
|
£12.99 |
Direct from Chapel Down winery |
| Chapel Down Rondo Reserve 2002 |
£12.99 |
Direct from Chapel Down winery |
| Three Choirs Cellar Door Red |
£10.50 |
Direct from Three Choirs in cases of 12 |
Heart of England Orpheus Red 2004
|
|
Direct from Heart of England Vineyard |
| Bookers Dark Harvest 2003 |
£8.95 |
Direct from Bookers |
Dessert
Eglantine North Star 2003
|
£17.99 |
Direct from Eglantine Vineyard |
| Chapel Down Nectar 2003 |
£7.49 |
Direct from Chapel Down winery |
| Astley Late Harvest |
£7.95 (half bottle) |
Direct from Vineyard
Tel: 01299 822907 |
What will English Wine Producers be having for Christmas?
"We launched our red sparkling Bolingboke in time for Christmas. Made from the ruby red juice of Triomphe D’Alsace, it does not require colour extraction from the skins and so is tannin-free. One unusual and significant discovery that we’ve made is that it is a magical accompaniment to desserts, even chocolate which is notoriously difficult to match wine with. It caused quite a stir at our pre-Christmas tastings! "
David Stanley:
Heart of England Vineyard
and producer of England's
first sparkling red wine. |
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