Winter Whites: 3 Wines That Will Guarantee A White Christmas
Dogs aren’t just for Christmas and white wines aren’t just for the summer. I’ve got three recommendations for you to show you you can indeed have your wish and enjoy a white Christmas!
17 Trees Pinot Grigio 2020 - £9.99, Waitrose and Ocado 12% ABV
17 Trees Pinot Grigio 2020
This bright, fresh Pinot Grigio from De Bortoli is as crisp as the first snow of winter and will serve you well at get-togethers as a beginning-of-the-evening wine that needs no food pairing. If you insist, some salty snacks would go down well, which will sweeten the citrus and bring out that crunchy green apple.
Made in the Riverina region of Australia, all 17 Trees wines are vegan, sustainably produced, made from recycled materials and are packaged in recyclable materials - AND every six bottles purchased will go towards planting one tree, helping to rebuild the Australian forest. There is even a QR code on the bottle that tracks the impact of your purchase - it really is a unique project, which has an almost immediate impact on the environment. If you’re considering buying a real Christmas tree this year, perhaps this is the wine for you...
El Tesoro de Las Montañas Chardonnay, Valle Central - £6.99, Co-Op 12.5% ABV
El Tesoro de Las Montañas Chardonnay
Don’t run away - this is not your heavy, astringently oaked Chardonnay! This wine is made in Chile’s Central Valley, which benefits from cool air coming down from the Andean Mountains. This ensures that a fresh vibrancy is retained in the wine, making it light and truly gluggable.
Citrus notes refresh the palate, but tropical fruit flavours, like pineapple and guava, dominate, making this a great wine with lightly spiced food. The texture is slightly creamy, so don’t be afraid to pair it with more substantial dishes, like aubergine, pork and anything with mountains of cheese.
Laithwaites Bordeaux Sauvignon Blanc 2019 - £9.99, Laithwaites 12% ABV
Laithwaites Bordeaux Sauvignon Blanc 2019
A Bordeaux Sauvignon Blanc in the winter is pure class, especially such a clean and steely one as this. More restrained than it’s popular Marlborough cousin (which, to me, sings of summer), you should get those tell-tale Savvy B aroma of cut grass and asparagus, but also some fragrant lemons, elderflower and gooseberry notes. I think the difference between higher and lower quality Sauvignon Blanc is the line of minerality that lingers on the palate afterwards, a savoury depth that tastes like rocks, stones and earth. In a good way!
Do you make a turkey curry with the Christmas Day leftovers? If you do, this would be ideal with it.