Wines fit for a feast

Decanter magazine conducted an intriguing test recently, matching a full Christmas dinner to wines. Pinot noir, often viewed as a classic choice with turkey, did poorly. To the experts' surprise, a white Burgundy came out best - but only narrowly, and the scores were pretty mixed.

The lesson: if you're eating turkey, drink whatever you feel like - but it's probably better to pick something robust. On Christmas Day I will be eating goose with CVNE's beautifully balanced Imperial Rioja Reserva 2004 (Waitrose, Berry Bros, from £21.99).

For the classic seasonal choice of smoked salmon, I would go for a chablis such as Julien Brocard's Quintessence Mineral Rive 2008, Chablis 1er Cru, supremely elegant, stony and mineral (Tesco, £15.99). If I'm drinking a sauvignon blanc with salmon - or as an aperitif - I prefer it light and mineral. Astrolabe Discovery Sauvignon Blanc 2010, Awatere Valley fits the bill: herbaceous, elegant and for me about as good as New Zealand sauvignon gets (Waitrose, £15.99).

A more unusual white choice would be Austrian grüner veltliner. For an idea of how serious grüner can be, try Salomon Undhof Grüner Veltliner Von Stein Reserve 2009, Kremstal: rich, expressive and long (Lea & Sandeman, £23.50 or £20.95 in a mixed case of 12). The same producer's more affordable Hochterrassen 2009 (£9.95) is fresher and fruitier but still delightful.

For a grander white burgundy, Vincent Girardin Le Limozin 2009, Meursault is as good as you'll find at this price: toasty oak and creamy fruit (Waitrose, reduced from £29.99 to £23.99 until Jan 3). But if I were drinking white with Christmas dinner, I would go for more power: try Domaine Fontanel Blanc 2010, Côtes du Roussillon. From vines more than a century old, this is big, rich, almost oily, yet with nice minerality and acidity too. (Stone, Vine and Sun, £11.95. Mail order only from stonevine.co.uk: you can mix cases, delivery £5.50/first case. Last orders for Christmas: noon, Dec 21)

Stone, Vine and Sun also sell the same producer's excellent syrah-dominated red (£9.95). And syrah is another good Christmas dinner option. The reliable Cave de Tain co-operative's Crozes-Hermitage 2009 is sweeter than some Crozes, shot through with peppery notes and decent acidity (M&S, £10.99 reduced to £8.99 until Jan 1). Juniper Estate Shiraz 2005, Margaret River is a Western Australian take on the same grape: rich and smooth but with better acidity than most Barossa shirazes (Adnams, 30-31 Store St, WC1, £15.99).

Claret is the other classic Christmas choice: it makes more sense with goose than turkey, standing up to the meat's fattiness. Affordable mature claret is a rare commodity but Chateau Grivière 2002, Médoc is decent at the price: mature left-bank claret from a patchy vintage, showing secondary flavours of leather and chocolate (Majestic, £11.99 or £7.99 each when you buy two).

Or you can go for a bigger red such as Clos Fantine 2009, Faugères, a fine "natural" wine made with biodynamically grown syrah, grenache, carignan, mourvèdre and cinsault grapes. It's a little rustic, big, intense but well balanced (Green and Blue, 38 Lordship Lane, SE22; Bottle Apostle, 95 Lauriston Road, E9: from £13.75). Lastly Selenita 2009, Monsant offers similar intensity and sweet grenache-led fruit from this interesting Catalan appellation (The Sampler, 266, Upper St, N1 and 35 Thurloe Place, SW7, £13.70).

Twitter: @hernehillandy