Choosing wine for Christmas can be daunting – especially if you have a lot of entertaining to do. Dan Nicholl, founder and presenter of South Africa’s only online wine show Dan Really Likes Wine, makes it easier this year with a few suggestions that might help to simplify the challenge…
We might not have the snowy winter celebration our Christmas cards depict, but that does mean we can celebrate in that most South African of ways: the braai. Cue something to take the sting out of a hot summer day… Sauvignon blanc is comfortably South Africa’s best-selling white wine, and the refreshment factor has obvious appeal. But there can be more nuanced, complex layers to the grape, and Klein Constantia is a terrific example of masterful offerings. Winemaker Matt Day is a sauvignon blanc savant, and his … is a great option. For the red wine drinkers, there are myriad options in a lighter, more elegant style, with pinot noir a great of a red you can leave in the fridge for 20 minutes to great effect. Paul Clüver’s estate pinot noir is a lovely wine at a great price, combining earthy notes with some red fruit brightness; if you want to spend a little more, then the Newton Johnson Family Vineyards pinot noir whispers all that is good about Heme-en-Aarde pinot.
If you’re enthusiastic/daft enough to have a big Christmas party, you’ll want the holy grail of wine: great wine at great value. For your white wine, the chenin blanc of former My Kitchen Rules star Martin Lamprecht, under his Marras label, is a crowd-pleaser at a crazily low price, making a couple of cases for the holiday season a shred investment. For the red wine drinkers, Mike Ratcliffe’s Vilafonté team have just released their hugely popular Seriously Old Dirt in magnum, offering an impressively sized bottle full of excellent red at a most manageable price.
For the smaller, more bespoke Christmas meal, I’ve got some Aristargos lined up from David and Nadia, masterful with anything involving chenin blanc – one of the nine varietals involved in this sumptuous white wine that unfolds layer after layer of delight. I also have a small amount of Callie Louw’s iconic Porseleinberg syrah, a 100-point wine in its 2018 iteration, and one I share most reluctantly. If you can find some, grab it (and then invite me round for a glass); if not, Christo Le Riche’s reserve cabernet sauvignon is a striking example of great Stellenbosch cabernet sauvignon.
As a parent of relatively young children, I get dragged out of bed at an ungodly hour to open Christmas presents, a ritual that cannot be survived without fortifying bubbles. The Cipher from Charles Fox in Elgin has been a personal favourite for many years, a blast of freshness that does grand service to a smoked salmon croissant (another Christmas morning staple). For a little energy, also consider a demi-sec, or nectar – the added sweetness isn’t my usual choice in Cap Classique, but a wake-up jolt as wrapping paper is torn off of overexcited children can help to get you through the day.
And finally, Christmas lunch. We’ve all been subjected to the shredded cardboard that is dry, overcooked turkey, and while you hopefully avoid that this year, having a rich, bold white wine with pure, intense fruit is a good idea, whatever the state of the bird. Iona has long won favour for a fine sauvignon blanc, but this year it’s the chardonnay that’s been turning heads. Mine included. For the gammon fans amongst you, seek out the new grenache from Thelema, a lovely example of a grape I suspect we’ll see a lot more of in 2025.
But whatever you do decide on, enjoy your chosen bottles, and celebrate the Christmas gift we get all year round – the extraordinary quality and value of South African wine.