Olly Smith’s best festive drinks 

BRITISH BUBBLY Wiston Estate Cuvée 2017 (12%), £40, wistonestate.com. It was amazing! I had a great time with my friends. Wonderful level of toastiness with lots of delicious zingy sensations. Incredible, richly flavored and with a lingering elegance. Seriously good value; CHAMPAGNE Les Pionniers Brut NV (12%), £19, Co-Op. This Champagne looks great and tastes just as good as Champagne at twice the cost. Richness, depth and elegant effervescence, this is what Cinderella would pop when she finally gets to the ball; PARTY BUBBLES Cava Prestige Brut NV (12%), £10, M&S. What is the price of fizz that’s this delicious? In a word – Cava. Get ahead of the curve and scoop up this Spanish splendour for its rich, silky power – a total bargain that can stand up to nibbles of all shapes and sizes.

BEST ALL-ROUNDER Anspach & Hobday The Lager (4.7%), £10.50 for 4 x 440ml cans, anspachand hobday.com. Get a case this crisp, naturally carbonated lager. It’s fresh, fab and one of the world’s best. Make sure to stock the fridge so that you can keep your loved ones hydrated throughout the season.

Superb WITH SHELLFISH Château des Rontets Pouilly-Fuissé Clos Varambon 2018 (13.5%), £32.90, Theatre of Wine. It’s worth every penny. The best Chardonnay. It shines brighter than a chalk whistle. I tasted this with Tom Parker Bowles and it was a rare moment of silent reverence; TURKEY TREAT Château Dasvin-Bel-Air 2018 (14.5%), £12.75, Co-Op. Bordeaux high street can feel like drinking February weather: dull and depressing. It’s a bargain: a beautiful blend of complexity and delicious, rich, earthy spices. You can go classic with your turkey, without spending a fortune.

WINTER ROSÉ Chinon Rosé 2020 Domaine Bernard Baudry (13.5%), £16.95, leaandsandeman.co.uk. Pink is my favorite winter color. Its red-berry brilliance makes it feel festive. This Cab Franc-based wine has a rich strawberry flavor, great texture and a hint of spice. Utterly gorgeous; BEEF’S BEST FRIEND The Best Amarone 2017 (14.5%), £16, Morrisons. If you’re cooking any kind of beef this season, deploy this big, full-throttle fruity and spicy wielder of joyful power. This red is a powerful, strong and beautiful choice for horseradish. This red is astonishingly powerful.

BEST WITH HAM Oliver’s Fine Cider Bottle Conditioned Medium Season 2018 (5.4%), £12, oliverscider andperry.co.uk. I’ve been a fan of Tom Oliver’s ciders for years. There’s a lot of fun and finesse in this cider. There’s no better pairing with ham and it can stand up to pickles, relishes and chutneys too. A world-class wonder; SCRUMMY WITH STILTON Disznoko Tokaji Aszu 5 Puttonyos 2018 (12.3%), £19.99, Waitrose. The wine is a long-standing festive favorite of mine. Imagine apricot jam with a zillion citrus volts running through it and you’re close to the impact. With Stilton, it’s a contrasting pairing to send your tastebuds into the stratosphere.

DUCK AND GAME Scorpo Noirien Pinot Noir Mornington Peninsula 2019 (14%), £19.45, hhandc.co.uk. Australia is your best bet! This corner of Oz feels like Pinot Noir’s second spiritual home after Burgundy. It has an excellent concentration of concentrated fruit, with just a hint of oak. Single-word tasting note: exuberant; SMOKED SALMON STUNNER Bourgogne Aligoté 2019 Domaine Marquis d’Angerville (11.5%), £31.95, Corney & Barrow. Although bubbly is often brilliant, this white still wine will add flair and finesse to your Christmas morning. It’s bright and magic, like a lemon rind strung around a chalk pen.

FRIDGE-READY WHITE Classic Sauvignon Domaine Beauséjour 2020 (12.5%), £9.99, adnams.co.uk. The perfect bottle for anyone visiting. Lemony freshness and passionfruit frisson to lift the mood thanks to amazing work from Philipe Trotignon’s boutique and hands-on wine growing; ALL-ROUND RED El Chaparral de Vega Sindoa Garnacha 2018 (15%), from £7.99, Majestic. It is one of my favourite reds for Christmas. The scent is scintillating as white pepper and when you sip, it’s a cascade of fabulous fruitiness with a long-lasting warming feeling. If you have the opportunity, buy a whole case.

UNMISSABLE BARGAIN Pouilly-Fumé Les Clos du Matin 2020 (14.5%), £10 (down from £15.99 until 14 December), Waitrose. Sauvignon Blanc this good rarely costs £10. Breezy as a grapefruit in a windsock, this is stunning stuff – a wine of focus, texture and sheer charm; IMPRESS YOUR GUESTS Jürgen Hofmann Grauer Burgunder Trocken 2020 (12.5%), £15.95, yapp.co.uk. If you’ve ever enjoyed a glass of Pinot Grigio, this is next-level loveliness. The white wine is extraordinarily rich and peachy, with sparkling mineral brilliance. It is amazing! Liquid joy from Germany; GREAT AS A GIFT Château Pibran 2017 (13.5%), £45.90, gerrardseel.co.uk. This top-quality red is made by the legendary Pichon Baron team (which can cost a lot more), and it has a soft, ripe blackcurrant flavor that could lead to a higher price. It is ready to be poured now, or it could mature and develop beautifully over the next ten years.

BEST SAUTERNES Specially Selected Sauternes 2016 (13.5%), £7.49 (half bottle), Aldi. This is one of those ‘everyone must taste’ wines. It’s made by Château de Suduiraut and is a beautiful fusion of vanilla, apricot and sweet pine nut. Serve chilled with a crème brûlée or apple tart; TOP PORT Tesco Finest LBV Port 2015 (20%), £11. Big win for Tesco here, a Port for which I’d happily pay more than the price tag. The flavor is sweet, brambly and has huge holiday spices wrapping the circle around a center of richness. Enjoy a warm cup of dark chocolate with this cracker.

WITH CHRISTMAS PUD Don Zoilo 12-Year-Old Pedro Ximénez (18%), £8.50 (half bottle), The Wine Society. This is the sweet, silky drink I have been dreaming of! If all the world’s dried figs and sticky dates jumped into a pool and made an opulent alliance, this would be the scrumptious result. This is a great drink to enjoy with some chocolates.

MIGHTY MADEIRA 5-Year-Old Medium Rich Madeira NV (19%), £10, M&S. A treat that tastes like liquid mince pies with that citrus tanginess – keep it chilled in the fridge and pour yourself a glass every time you open a door on your advent calendar; WHITE PORT Taylor’s Chip Dry (20%), £13.99, Waitrose. Gorgeous to switch out for the gin in a G&T or to splash into a martini. But try sipping it on its own, simply chilled over ice – wowser! This is the original white Port created back in 1934 and it’s still dazzlingly delicious today.

RUM TO ROCK YOUR WORLD The Salford Spiced Rum (40%), £35.95, thewhiskyexchange.com. It’s a great all-arounder that can be used in wintry cocktails, or simply to enjoy over ice. Distilled and made right here in Britain and utterly delicious, with orangey flair and warming spice; GIN OF DREAMS Gyre & Gimble Callooh Callay (45%), £35, gyreandgimble.co.uk. Bold flavour, surging with juniper and a turbine of citrus-saline-spice, this top all-rounder from Norwich is great for martinis but try it in a G&T and you’ll be making a second round in no time.

WOW-FACTOR WHISKY Glencadam 15-Year-Old (46%), £57.95, thewhiskyexchange.com. This was recommended to me by Julie at Edinburgh’s Scotch Whisky Experience, and feels like a comparative bargain compared to other single malts. Its creamy, cinnamon-sweet sweetness and purity are the reasons I purchased it. Essential festive sipping. Santa will thank you; VODKA WITH VA-VA VOOM Aval Dor Original Cornish Vodka (40%), £37, colwithfarm distillery.co.uk. This is a great find. What a great vodka! Bright, refreshing, and creamy. Made in small batches from Cornish spuds, this is distilled 40 times and blended with local water – sip it over ice or stack it in your bloody mary.

A KICKING COGNAC Hermitage 20-Year-Old Grande Champagne Cognac by Chez Richon (42%), £109.90, brandyclassics.com. This ultimate holiday spirit is like a huge pineapple with a toffee apple dip. Enjoy it alongside your favourite Christmas movie. This is worth the effort.