This year's best Christmas wines and fizz include a special red wine from Aldi, low-alcohol fizz from Asda, and English sparkling from Hattingley Valley.
Whether you're looking for a bottle of fizz to make a toast, or a special bottle to serve with your Christmas dinner, we've rounded up the best Christmas drinks on the market for 2021. As part of our Tried & Tasted Best Christmas Food Awards, these drinks have been tried and tested by a panel of foodie experts including Decanter's finest wine experts.
"It's always tricky to choose drinks around Christmas time because there is so much on offer. We all want Christmas to be special and some of the drinks we've tried will certainly add a touch of glamour to the festive season," says Deputy Food Editor, Rose Fooks. We've included a range of drinks in this year's collection including those that would make the best Christmas food gifts, and those drinks that can simply be enjoyed alongside your classic Christmas feast.
How did we test the best Christmas wines?
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To find out which was the best Christmas wines this year, each bottle of wine was tested by our qualified food team; Food Editor Samuel Goldsmith, Deputy Food Editor Rose Fook, Senior Food Writer Jessica Ransom, and Food Writer Keiron George who have well over 12 years worth of food and drink expertise. The judges were also accompanied by wine experts, Alex Layton and Shivani Tomar, who has an MSc in Wine Management, from Decanter.
The judges tried over 100 drinks including supermarket options and independent breweries and distillers to bring you the best of the best. Categories included the best English fizz, best supermarket fizz as well as best champagne and best value wine for under £10. This roundup of best Christmas wines and fizz were judged on smell and aromas, flavour and taste as well as quality and price value.
Best Christmas wines and fizz 2021
1. Bon Courage Wine Estate Jacques Bruére Cap Classique Blanc de Blancs
Winner: Best Overall Christmas Fizz
A fantastic New World sparkling wine with such an extraordinary amount of bottle age. "This wine oozes complexity with beautiful aromas of honeycomb, dried fruit and spices. There's a lovely hint of nutmeg and cinnamon. The flavour packs a punch too - stewed peaches, honey roasted nuts and hints of nougat. Don't rush this one, savour it and enjoy it," says Decanter wine expert Alex Layton.
VIEW AT HOMETIPPLE.COM | £17.67
2. Hattingley Valley Blanc de Blancs 2014
Winner: Best English Sparkling
You can always rely on Hattingley Valley to produce an outstanding bottle of English fizz. This example has a wonderful sweet aroma similar to that of baked pastry straight from the oven. Full of elegant flavours of ripe apricot and apple. "This is a stunning bottle of sparkling and a great choice for raising a glass to Christmas or to see in the New Year," says Deputy Food Editor, Rose Fooks.
VIEW AT HATTINGLEYVALLEY.COM | £39.50
3. Frerejean Frères Blanc de Blancs NV Premier Cru
Winner: Best Christmas Champagne
From the moment you pick up this bottle you know that Frerejean Frères really care about what they produce. This bottle is wrapped in orange cellophane to prevent it from getting light-struck. Once you've unwrapped the cellophane, there's a beautiful bottle waiting underneath. There are complex aromas of green apples and pears along with hints of honey and roasted nuts. There's an intriguing smokiness to the flavour, a hint of it over grapefruit, almonds and delicate nougat. "It was a real treat to try so many brilliant bubbles. With so many excellent contenders in this category, we were really spoilt for choice. This is a lovely fruity fizz and will be adorning my Christmas table," says Rose.
VIEW AT FREREJEANFRERES.CO.UK | £65
4. Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Blanc de Noirs Champagne
Winner: Best Supermarket Fizz
Sainsbury's has produced a real corker with this Blanc de Noirs. If you're a solo drinker or you just want enough for a couple of glasses it's also possible to buy a half bottle. With wonderful aromas of nectarines and fennel and biscuity flavours, vibrant acidity and a great flavour concentration, this bottle is great value for money.
5. Booths Rosé Prosecco
Winner: Best Prosecco
This prosecco is an absolute bargain. Full of berry flavours: ripe strawberries and raspberries. It's deliciously fresh and has a wonderful intensity of flavour. "I'm not usually one for rosé but this bottle from Booths managed to convince me otherwise - it's got such a fresh flavour and I love its berry flavour, which is not too sweet".
VIEW AT BOOTHS.CO.UK | £57 (for 6 bottles)
6. Waitrose No.1 Chianti Classico Riserva Piccini
Winner: Best Red Wine to Pair with Ham
If you're looking for a full-bodied red to serve with your Christmas meat or you just want a fab red wine for over the festive season then this Chianti from Waitrose & Partners will definitely please. It's got a bright acidity with deep flavours of red cherries and plums alongside delicate flavours of strawberries and a ripe and bright acidity. One of our best Christmas wines for 2021.
7. Poggio del Moro Ivole Toscana Bianco
Winner: Best White Wine to Pair with Ham
Although we celebrate this as a great option or serving with your Christmas ham, this Toscana Bianco is much more than that. It's a bright and uplifting just as its producers suggest. Although it'll be December when you're taking a sip, you'll be transported to summer in Italy with its sweetness of white peach and pear. Decanter wine expert Alex Layton says, "This white is textured and complex. Flavour full of lemon rind and dried herbs. A great white wine to pair with your Christmas ham."
VIEW AT HOMETIPPLE.COM | £16.91
8. Château Moulinet Pomerol 2016
Winner: Best Red Wine to Serve with Beef
Aldi's Pomerol is a glossy red with huge flavours of spicy oak and dark fruit. It's relatively dry with heavy tannins which workS great with beef or for drinking in front of a roaring fire when the cold nights draw in. Aldi have been producing some fantastic wines for a while and this one is no different - it would also make a lovely gift.
9. Quinta da Pedra Alta Reserva Branco
Winner: Best White Wine to Serve with Beef
This white wine is beautifully aromatic - lychee, nectarines and pineapple all shine through. It's incredibly rich on the palate; all its white fruit flavours entwine perfectly to create a divine Christmas wine. Its robust flavour will hold up perfectly to the deep flavours of beef or lamb.
VIEW AT HOMETIPPLE.COM | £25.01
10. Domaine Pillot Volnay
Winner: Best Red Wine to Serve with Turkey
Hometipple has curated some fantastic wines for Christmas and this is yet another of their winning entries. Although turkey can hold up to some strong flavours, you need a red which isn't going to overpower it. This red is incredibly elegant with beautiful flavours of black fruit and grown-up hints of tobacco leaf and leather. We think it's a real treat for Christmas Day.
VIEW AT HOMETIPPLE.COM | £47.35
11. Edouard Delaunay Septembre Chardonnay
Winner: Best White Wine to Serve with Turkey
This will go perfectly with one of our best turkeys for Christmas. With rich flavours of green apples and pears, your Christmas lunch will only be made better with this wonderful Chardonnay. On the nose, there are lovely aromas of stone fruits alongside a discreet nuttiness. As well as the quality of the wine, the price is pretty special too at just £14.99.
VIEW AT MAJESTIC.CO.UK | £14.99
12. Calvet Reserve Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon Bordeaux 2019
Winner: Best Value Red Wine Under £10
This youthful red wine is fantastic value and, if you're looking to keep control of spending over the Christmas period, it's a great option. Even if you're not tightening the purse strings and you just want a good value red then look no further. "Great red fruit flavours combined with smoky hints to deliver a great value red. It's a young red and would benefit from decanting before drinking," Decanter wine expert Alex Layton.
VIEW AT WAITROSE CELLAR | £9.39
13. Cramele Recas Curious Parallel Fetesca Regala
Winner: Best Value White Wine Under £10
If you're looking for something to bring Christmas to life then this white from Cramele Recas is a super option. It's really bright and aromatic with wonderful flavours of gooseberry, tropical fruits and citrus fruits (think lemons and limes). There are also bright floral aromas that tantalise the nose. We just love that this bottle is under £10 too.
14. Asda Extra Special Low Alcohol Sparkling Sauvignon
Winner: Best Low Alcohol Sparkling
We were completely surprised that this was a low alcohol option when trying this best Christmas drink. Asda's de-alcoholised sparkling Sauvignon Blanc is a fantastic low alcohol fizz (less than 0.5%) option for the big day and would also be great for New Year. It's incredibly vibrant and has lovely flavours of sweet pear. It's also really well priced at just £3.50 a bottle.
15. Tesco Finest Lebkuchen Flavoured Irish Cream Liqueur
Winner: Best Festive Flavoured Drink
Lebkuchen is a German Christmas treat (basically a spiced gingerbread) and has been inventively used to create this festive cream liqueur. It's perfect over ice and our Deputy Food Editor, Rose Fooks, loves the idea of incorporating it into a Christmas hot chocolate. Smooth, creamy and totally delicious.
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