Why you should stock up on this perfect Christmas wine from Tesco

Montes Angel’s Secret Cabernet Sauvignon 2022, Chile, 14.5%, Tesco down from £15 to £12 with a Clubcard until December 31: A deep-flavoured, delicious wine that will stand up to everything Christmas can throw at it. Black fruits, plums and figs, with tobacco smoothness. Stock up.

Elia Cotes de Gascogne, France, 9% Sainsbury down from £8 to £6.50 with a Nectar card until January 1: Naturally lower in alcohol at only 9%, this is zesty and refreshing with passionfruit aromas and crisp pink grapefruit flavours. Team with grilled prawns.

Moillard Bourgogne Chardonnay, France, 12.5%, Morrisons down from £14 to £12 with a More card until January 1: Classy Chardonnay that will accompany the full roast turkey with ease or pour alongside salmon starters.

Château Pey la Tour Bordeaux Superieur 2020, France, Magnum, down from £25.99 to £19.99 until January 1: Perfect for a festive celebration, when you have enough people around the table to do it justice. Ripe, elegant and supple.

The Smart Traveller

It has been a while since there was a series of books about travelling in wine country but now The Academie du vin (www.academieduvinlibrary.com) has started a collection of travel guides, starting with an excellent pocket-size book about visiting Bordeaux.

Written by Georgie Hindle who has lived in the region for many years she introduces the many individual factors that make this lovely part of the world unique. For a start there is the 1855 classification, surely outdated and irrelevant, but still the structure that prevails when talking about the region.

The geography is vital, but then the book gets to the heart of a travellers needs, by describing the possible wine routes and providing a summary of the properties that welcome guests and what you can expect when you get there.

The section on restaurants in châteaux and in the surrounding countryside is also very useful. The Smart Traveller’s Guide, by Georgie Hindle is published by Academie du Vin at £12.99.

The Fiendish Quiz

If the thought of endless family gatherings over Christmas is starting to feel like an invasion, then you might like to look forward to next weekend when you can settle down in a quiet space to tackle the Fiendish Wine Quiz. As usual there will be 30 difficult questions to answer and there are two prizes on offer.

The top prize is a six-pack of wine provided by House of Townend and I am totally delighted by the quality of wines in this case. With Champagne, a white Burgundy, a South African Chenin, a Gran Reserva Rioja, an excellent Bordeaux and a sensational Georgian Saperavi there is plenty in this case to keep your taste buds busy all January. This is a prize well worth winning.

There is also a runner-up prize of two of the best collection of wine books recently published by Academie du Vin library. Each book covers a different part of the world and if you are the runner-up, you will be able to select the two books you would like from their impressive range.

If you plan to be away next weekend, then ask your neighbours to save their copy of The Yorkshire Post for you. Alternatively, email me at [email protected] and I’ll somehow get the quiz out to you. The closing date will be mid-January, so you will have plenty of time to get your entry in.

The only stipulation is that prizes will be delivered to UK addresses, so if you have headed off to Spain for the winter, then your neighbours will have to look after your prize until you get home.