KEY POINTS:
In the interests of enjoying Christmas Day without skimping too much
on things, even this year in worrying times, your meal will still need the accompaniment of some great wines.
Martinborough and Italy almost always come up trumps, if you choose right, but these choices are
merely the tip of the tree of top wines available. Just as these wines need to be bought at a specialist wine
store, ordered via mail or online the most interesting wines you'll find will also be available at independent
wine shops.
2007 Ata Rangi Martinborough Pinot Noir $65, www.atarangi.co.nz
If asked to name a single New Zealand pinot noir that will impress everyone, from the fussiest wine drinker to the label-conscious, Ata
Rangi is the wine.
Its track record is longer than most and its owners remain hands-on at their tiny Martinborough winery. This wine is hot off the bottling line now, so needs decanting to put its best foot forward. Flavours of Damson plums, savoury spice and fresh red cherries.
Eat with: Roasted root vegetables with aioli and if meat is part of your Christmas main, the gamier the better with this pinot noir.
2007 Ata Rangi Petrie Chardonnay $28, www.atarangi.co.nz
There's no shortage of chardonnay in the world but few New Zealand versions taste as good as this beautifully balanced, creamy white
Wairarapa wine.
Not to be confused with Ata Rangi's top chardonnay (made with grapes off their home vineyard), this wine is made with grapes grown further north, near Masterton in the Wairarapa. This is a big chardonnay.
Citrusy flavours balance the wine's creamy aroma and taste, and every sip leads you into the next one.
Eat with: Roast pork and roast chicken make a great marriage with this wine. Or drink as an accompaniment to great goat's cheese.
Carpene Malvolti Prosecco Brut $25, www.touchofitaly.co.nz
Prosecco is often much maligned by wine drinkers, who assume better bubbles are available pretty much everywhere else wine is made. It's not always true. The Carpene Malvolti Prosecco Brut is the apex of
this style, regarded as the best or at least one of the best northern Italian bubbles. It's clean, fresh, light and still has citrusy fresh flavours. It's also versatile with a wide range of foods - from your
favourite nibbles to seafood, even as a dessert wine - and its crisp, dry style works well with fruit salad.
Eat with: Pre-Christmas dinner nibbles.
