Affordable white wines for Christmas

The Christmas and New Year period is when we’ll be popping more corks than normal. Well, some of us will be!  Thing is, we don't want to break the bank, but we still want the wine to be really darn good. Is this possible? Yes! We’ve done the ‘hard’ work and sipped our way through enough wine this year, so we can bring you the most delicious booze for your buck. Here are some great, special, yet affordable white wines for Christmas.

Eylo Verdejo, Rueda 2020

Vibrant, tropical and zesty, Verdejo is a luscious, Spanish grape that lovers of Sauvignon who want something a bit different will adore. A little fuller-bodied than a Sauvignon, the Eylo has a lush note of smoky guava with its citrusy, crisp goodness. Drink this with goats cheese, white fish and smoked salmon - or just sip it alone. 

ABV: 13.5%
Size: 750ml
Grape: Verdejo (Spain)
Find here from Laithwaites: £10.99

Tempus Two Quartz Chardonnay, 2020

Modern style, easy drinking, Aussie Chardonnay at its best and by that, we mean fresh and fruity with notes of melon and white peach - not a sickly oak bomb. This is a great food wine that will work with your turkey as well as nutty hard cheeses.  A proper, reliable crowd pleaser. 

ABV: 12%
Size: 750ml
Grape: Chardonnay (South Australia)
Find here from Sainsbury’s: £7

Tesco Finest Soave Superiore Classico, 2020 

Soave lost favour as a wine style when Pinot Grigio took over for a while, but it’s finding favour again as a go-to, quality-driven, dry white wine style. Easy with everything, alone or with food, this particular version with its touch of salted almonds will appeal to everyone and at any time. 

ABV: 13%
Size: 750ml
Grape: Garganega (Soave Classico, Italy)
Find here from Tesco: £7.50 (IWSC 2021 Gold Medal Winner) 

Campanula Pinot Grigio, 2020

It’s not every day we recommend Pinot Grigio because to be honest, we were a bit over it. However, Hungary is producing some really fabulous whites at the moment and this little PG is rather good. It has the classic white pear and mineral vibe going on with a lovely balance and texture. Italy, watch your backs! 

ABV: 12.5%
Size: 750ml
Grape: Pinot Grigio (Hungary)
Find here from Laithwaites: £9.99

Chapel Down Chardonnay, 2020

There’s something about Chardonnay grapes in Kent and the sunny 2020 vintage really made them sing! This is a glorious, mid-world style of Chardonnay that has a crispness that Chablis lovers will enjoy with an extra dollop of fruit to keep everyone happy. Peach, melon, a touch of vanilla pod and a cool slick of citrus. Lovely. 

ABV: 11.5%
Size: 750ml
Grape: Chardonnay (England)
Find here from Majestic £11.99

L’émigre Blanc, Graves, White Bordeaux, 2020

Ok, so £14.99 is not your cheapest wine but for a high class, White Bordeaux it’s actually pretty good value. White Bordeaux will usually be a blend of zesty, citrusy Sauvignon Blanc with the more waxy, weighty Sémillon. The result is rich and intense yet elegant, with a touch of spice. This white Bordeaux is organic with great intensity offering well defined flavours of elderflower, lime and blackcurrant leaf. Its label appeal is big too!

ABV: 12%
Size: 750ml
Grape: Sauvignon Blend (Graves - Bordeaux, France)
Find here from Virgin Wines: £14.99

See our other guides on red wines, rum, gin and more!

Is This the Future of Wine Tastings?

Like pretty much everything over the past year, wine tastings have gone virtual. And while these have made for some fun nights in – knocking back bottles while winemakers give their spiel on Zoom – in most cases it’s felt like a temporary replacement until we can all get together again and do things ‘properly’.

New brand VIVANT is looking to change all that. This is the first truly digital-forward wine tasting platform we’ve tried and actually, it turns being online into a benefit.

Here’s how it works: For an annual fee (£149, following a one-month free trial) you can join unlimited themed online sessions, though you’ll have to pay extra for tasting samples, generally suitable for two people (price point varies, but around £50 as these are premium wines). The sessions, which are run live by wine ‘advisors’, teach you to taste the wines and include videos from winemakers themselves. The best bit? They’re interactive – as you go, ask questions, answer quiz questions and get feedback on your tasting notes. It’s great if you’re looking to properly learn more about how to analyse what’s in your glass.

Founded by the owner of Burgundy’s Château de Pommard, Michael Baum, VIVANT is, like the château itself, big on sustainability, and promotes producers that are chemical-free and minimal intervention. On our 45-minute tasting called ‘A Sea of Pinot Noir in the Côte de Nuits’, we sampled silky reds from Domaine Antoine Lienhardt and Domaine Rossignol-Trapet (the latter’s Latricières-Chambertin Grand Cru was seriously tasty). Even though it was pitched at an advanced level, we thought it would still be accessible for relative newbies – anyone with an interest in wine would get something out of it.  

Most experiences currently involve French producers and given that samples are shipped from the continent, you’ll need to order well in advance to ensure a timely arrival. Double-check the time you’ve booked, too – catering to audiences in different countries, sessions run anytime from weekday lunch breaks up to 11pm on a Saturday night.

You can find out more about Vivant here and if you would like a list of other companies doing online wine or spirits tastings then make sure to have a look through our Companies Running Virtual Wine & Spirits Tastings guide!

One Minute Wine Ace: Cabernet Sauvignon

You can generally presume that all professional, male rugby players have certain elements in common: they are full in body, fairly heavy and well structured. There are forwards who pack a slightly bigger punch and backs who are a tad more refined and lean, but generally speaking, you can always tell a rugby player a mile off, no matter where in the team they play. It’s the obvious build and all those purpley-black bruises that do it! And with all their years of training and experience, you can take a bet that their playing quality is going to be pretty reliable, no matter which country it is that they play for. They also tend to need a few years to chill out and mellow…

Yes, Cabernet Sauvignon is the professional rugby player of the wine world. This heavy-duty grape variety has the thickest skin of all the grapes, giving it lots of tooth-drying tannin and plenty of brawn! ‘Cabernet’, as it’s often known, is a hardy, well-structured grape that makes pretty reliable wine just about anywhere. This is why you can find it all over the world now. When at its very best, it can sometimes take a few years to mature, so bear that in mind when you’re picking one out. Look for a concentrated, dark blue-black and purple colour with distinctive, spicy blackcurrant and cedar flavours. In some cases, you’ll also spot a telltale minty or eucalyptus note, which is often a hint that it’s from a warmer climate.

CABERNET SAUVIGNON TASTING TOUR

Cabernet Sauvignon makes pretty reliable wines from many places globally, but here are four key styles to start your journey with,

Cabernet 1: Be prepared to spend some cash and head to Bordeaux, France: the Old World home of Cabernet, where it’s usually blended with Merlot among other grapes. Look for one from the Left Bank of the river Gironde for a classic earthy, cedary number that’s Cabernet dominant. Heard of Chateau Margaux? That’s a Cabernet-dominant, Left Bank Bordeaux wine.

Try: Château de Lamarque, Haut-Medoc, 2015 for £22.95 from Corneyandbarrow.com.

Cabernet 2: Compare your Bordeaux with a Cabernet Sauvignon from Coonawarra in Australia for a fuller-bodied, juicier version with tonnes of ripe blackcurrant and a characteristic mint and eucalyptus twang. Coonawarra is one of Cabernet’s classic, New World homes. 

Try: Wakefield Jaraman Cabernet Sauvignon for £17.99 or £15.99 mix six price from Majestic.

Cabernet 3: At a similar price and standard to Bordeaux, you could also try some serious Cabernets from Napa Valley, California for a style that is somewhere between the two above: big wines made in a Bordeaux style, but with a pleasing extra dollop of fruit.

Try: Illustrious Cabernet Sauvignon 2018, £36 a bottle or £32.40 mix 6 price from Laithwaites.

Cabernet 4: For something a little more entry-level price wise, check out what they can do with Cabernet over in the warm Colchagua Valley in Chile. Here, Cabernets are about full-on, sweeter, blackcurrant-scented wines with a savory, smoky kick. You can get some great ones for £6 or so but there are also some super-serious wines coming out of Chile too. 

Try: Montes Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Chile, £9 from Coop.

Like this? Try our other One Minute Wine Ace articles on Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Cotes du Rhone and Sauvignon Blanc.