The perfect match for a turkey

If the Christmas meal is as predictable as the date you eat it, what you choose to drink with it has never been more varied. We asked three wine experts what they would suggest to accompany the turkey

Nick Page, Berrys Brothers & Rudd’s food and wine matching expert

2003 Hewitson Mad Hatter Shiraz, McLaren Vale, Australia £19.95
“Dean Hewitson produces a range of Shiraz and Rhône-blend wines from exciting vineyard sites around the Barossa. This Shiraz, from a 45-year-old vineyard in McLaren Vale, bears the schoolboy nickname of its winemaker. Shiraz works well with turkey if you have a sweet, fruit-flavoured accompaniment, such as cranberry sauce. But make sure it's the jar variety, homemade cranberry sauce can be a much better product, but is less sweet and has more acidity and the Shiraz is quite low in acidity. And stay away from brussel sprouts, as they won’t go with the wine. Instead use sweeter vegetables such as peas.”

2003 Recioto della Valpolicella, Corte Sant’Alda, Veneto, Italy £25.00
“Corte Sant’Alda is fast becoming one of the top-flight producers of Valpolicella
and Amarone. It is owned by Marinella Camerani, who has 15 hectares of vineyards located in the foothills of the Lessini Mountains not far from Verona. Since 2000 the wines have been fermented in large French oak fermenters, using only use wild yeasts to increase their individuality. The wines are then aged in a variety of barrel sizes, made from both oak and cherry wood. Blue cheeses need full-bodied sweet wines and no/low tannins. Reciotto is certainly sweet enough and if you get one with some bottle-age, the tannins will have reduced and it will then match perfectly with a mature cheese. If stored correctly, Stilton gets milder and softer with age. Stilton would provide a very nice end to the meal, but avoid Roquefort, as its high salt content means it clashes with red wines.”

1996 Quinta do Vesuvio, Port, Portugal £35.00
“Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without a delicious Port to enjoy with English
cheeses, Christmas cake or on its own. In 1989, the Symington Group purchased Vesuvio, which despite its remoteness has to be the grandest of quintas, with about 400-hectares of land of which about 100 are covered with the finest vines. Quinta do Vesuvio only produces vintage Port, both in declared years and those not declared—though only if conditions in the latter are of a very high standard. This ability to declare in most years is due to the quality of fruit produced on the estate, which is trodden by foot.”

Pierre Mansour of The Wine Society   

The Society’s White Burgundy, France  £5.95
“This is a fresh and fine white from the Maconnais, which is very versatile and so perfect for Christmas. You can easily enjoy this wine on its own as an aperitif or with smoked salmon.”

The Society’s Exhibition Fleurie, 2005, France £7.95
“You can really celebrate this Christmas by cracking open a bottle from the outstanding Beaujolais vintage of 2005. This is a round, flavourful and wonderfully fresh wine.”

Lemelson Thea’s Selection Oregon Pinot Noir, 2004, USA £17.00
“The soft flavours of Pinot Noir work very well with turkey. This wine comes from North America’s Oregon region, which is famous for its powerful and structured pinots. Better still, it is produced from organically grown grapes.”

Hanneke Heeres, manager of the Laithwaites Wine Tasting Table

Alta Tierra Syrah 2004, Chile
“Inky black and full bodied, this wine hails from the traditional wine heartlands of Chile, but is bound to get dinner guests talking with its unique taste and vineyard provenance. It’s from from the world's highest vineyards in Chile’s Elqui Valley and has an enticing peppery and wild blackberry nose. It is a deeply concentrated and tremendously complex wine with ripe, succulent tannins and deliciously seductive notes of liquorice, dark cherry and spice.”

Laithwaites Viognier, France 2005
“At Laithwaites we pride ourselves on searching out and sourcing wines from the world’s best boutique vineyards. This Laithwaites Viognier bottles is a prime example of this. Big, golden, rich and concentrated, it’s full of honey, ripe apricots and creamy oak, all kept clean by mouthwateringly crisp citrus notes. I would also recommend this wine as the perfect accompaniment to a traditional Christmas dinner.”