Christmas Tipples
Here in this house we adhere to a Catholic interpretation of Christmas, Catholic in both senses of the word in that we take the best from all over Europe. Christmas Eve is still Advent and therefore a fast (that means fish – and plenty of it). The standard interpretation is carp, but it is a muddy, slimy sort of fish and even in childhood we complained of having to eat it. Most years we eat lobster, but in these lean, post-Brexit days that is far from certain.
If we do manage lobster then the vinous locus classicus is Corton-Charlemagne: Miss Right for Mr Lobster. That can be inhibitingly pricy – so the trick is to think top Burgundy and scroll down – a Puligny-Montrachet would have more ‘nerf’ than a Meursault, or maybe even a ripe-ish Chablis. If you can’t run to lobster, then buy a nice big sea bass, depending on how you cook it, this would open the discussion to all sorts of sappy white wines starting with a Loire Sauvignon such as a Sancerre or Pouilly Fumé. If new world wines are more your bag: think wiry (not fat or blowsy) Chardonnay for the lobster, and lean, biting Sauvignon Blanc for the fish.
A bottle of champagne is opened to mark the point when my children have finished decorating the tree and I have put a flame to the logs in the grate – then the festivities may begin. We don’t buy a tree in August or November, but at the very last moment, and we abide by the tradition of hanging the baubles in preparation for the feast itself.
