Elise Lane Is Co-Founder Of Laneberg Wine – a unique urban winery focused on producing fantastic quality wines from English grapes. Savour Magazine Welcomes Elise As Our Wine Expert. here she gives us her top wines to drink on Christmas Day.
When I think about wine on Christmas Day I think of it as such an great opportunity to try something new and have a treat. One of the things I like to look out for is lower alcohol wines, especially as drinking wine during the day tends to make me want to snooze!
If you’re like me and like to kick off your Christmas Day drinking with some fizz, then look no further than some English Pet Nat – this is the way fizz used to be made. Pet Nat stands for Petillant Naturel. The wine is quickly bottled at the perfect time during the very last stage of the fermentation, the carbon dioxide that is produced is trapped and dissolved in the wine, giving it a light sparkle, it’s also cloudy as the yeast is left in the bottle.
It’s tricky to get the timing right. I have tried making it once as an experiment and it was delicious, but I’ve never produced it commercially, therefore my recommendation is made by the English organic winemaking master Will Davenport.
This wine is only 8.5% alcohol but it’s fresh and bone dry with lovely citrus and green apple notes and slight hint of bready yeasty notes.
£19.99 from Guest Wines.
When it comes to the meal itself, I recommend two wines I’ve made myself at Laneberg Wine. Our Bacchus is a fresh aromatic white wine in the style of Sauvignon Blanc, the Bacchus grapes were grown in Hampshire and it has 11% alcohol. It is fabulous on its own or with food, it will suit a smoked salmon starter as the crisp acidity cuts through the oiliness of the salmon, or if you like white wine with your turkey, it also pairs really well. It’s not overpowered by the myriad of flavours in your meal.
Laneberg Bacchus is £17 or 5% off 6 bottles or more using the build your own case feature. 10% off your first order if you sign up to our mailing list, where you’ll learn all about our winemaking.
If red wine is more your thing, we have made a Pinot Noir, also with grapes from Hampshire. English Pinot Noir is becoming quite popular, as it grows and ripens so well in our cool climate. It is also 11% alcohol, but it doesn’t lack flavour or body. With lovely wild strawberry and raspberry flavours and a hint of smoky oak it is light enough to pair with white meat.
Laneberg Pinot Noir £19 17 or 5% off 6 bottles or more using the build your own case feature.
