Chats with Charlie Stein #6: Festive Drinks

For us, Christmas Day is all about the food and drink that everyone gets to share around the table. Whether you start the day with smoked salmon for breakfast or favour going straight into presents to allow for an earlier lunch, the all-important drinks to accompany each point of the day are key to get right – including the quantity of bottles of each option required to please your audience.

Our wine expert Charlie Stein has shared what he and the Stein’s like to include in their Christmas Day drinks line-up – taking into consideration an apéritif, toast drink, Christmas dinner pairing and finally a digestif to bring festive proceedings to an end after the long and lively main event.

Watch Charlie’s Christmas Day drinks line-up

What Charlie likes to drink on Christmas Day

Apéritif: As is the case for many households around the country, it’s got to be Champagne to kick off the festive celebrations. Charlie is very keen on a Ruinart Blanc de Blancs or our classic Rick Stein Champagne.

For the toast: Tradition dictates that the Stein’s toast an Australian sparkling shiraz – something Rick is very keen on, but Charlie less so.

With dinner: Due to the variety of big flavours on the plate for Christmas dinner, which tends to feature goose for the Stein’s, a robust wine is needed so it doesn’t get lost. A White Burgundy and a red from Bordeaux or Burgundy work very nicely indeed.

Digestif: After pudding and cheese, Charlie’s very favourite drink to enjoy on the sofa is La Vieille Prune. A cult eau-de-vie from Gascony in the south of France made from plums that first dates back to the very early 1900s. This plum brandy is a great after-dinner drink.