Play the ultimate festive drinking game

Close your eyes and open your mouth, let's see what Santa brings you.

Yes, it's that time of year again. Each Christmas at our lovely home, Rose Cottage, my darling wife, the redoubtable Madame G., and I play the ultimate festive drinking game. I close my eyes and open my mouth into which she pours a tiny drop of wine. Whereupon I, not always correctly, name that grape. Oh but when I do get it right, I'm rewarded with one of her most sensuous kisses. Who's been a good boy this year? Not me!

Alas, I can't share those kisses with you today but I can direct you towards some fantastic wine to toast the birth of Santa Claus. Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without something sparkly so why not enjoy your aperitifs with a few glasses of today's Wine of the Week, the delicate, delightfully dry, brick-red Maurice Bonnamy Cremant de Loire (£10, SuperValu/Centra)? Teeming with redcurrant, strawberry and lemon flavours, this lively and crisp sparkling splash of pink will also go well with seafood by which I mean your prawn cocktails.

The juicy red fruit flavours are nicely balanced by citrus and nutty backnotes in this effervescent fizz which has plenty of persistent frothiness and a gloriously refreshing, tingly finish.

If you're having turkey this year, you'll want either a soft, supple, well-balanced white or a relatively light, lively red. My advice is choose the colour you prefer and make sure you don't run short. We're having the very versatile, elegant and flavoursome 2020 Albert Glas Pinot Noir (£9, SuperValu). Light-bodied and smooth, it's jampacked with damson and dark cherry flavours and will enhance turkey or even goose. Lovers of white may prefer to opt for the easy-drinking and very upbeat 2021 M&S Classics Soave Classico (£7.50). This fresh, zesty Italian white is full of bright citrus and peach flavours on a complex palate alongside notes of almond and hazelnut before a lingering, finish.

If you're eating goose or beef or a fillet steak you'll want something with a bit more body. Given Argentina's recent triumph it seems obligatory to raise a festive glass to Lionel Messi, the second greatest footballer ever (after Diego Maradona). The ineffably soft, fruity and aromatic 2020 M&S Classics Malbec (£8.50) feels appropriate. Ripe, blackberry flavours, a warm, smoky palate and a spicy, oaked finish with hints of dark chocolate and vanilla combine to create a robust, rustic and satisfying Argentinian red. A worthy alternative would be the opulent, richly textured 2020 St Emilion Grand Cru (£12.99, Lidl). This medium-bodied Bordeaux red has a fruity palate full of blackberry and plum flavours which combine with subtle strands of tobacco and tar before a lengthy, deeply satisfying finish with hints of vanilla, coffee and black pepper.

And then it's on to dessert and, last but not least, the cheeseboard which I'm trusting will contain a fine Stilton. I'll have mine with the smooth, creamy and deliciously nutty M&S Special Reserve Port (currently reduced to £8).

In my experience, tipplers, some people drink to unleash their libidos while other folks do it to prop up their egos. And they drink more at Christmas so beware!

In olden times it was a much more serious business. People drank their wine or port from lead goblets and if they over-indulged they were often taken for dead and buried in error. Hence, the custom of having a wake to ensure they'd really gone took hold. Don't let it happen to you. Drink from a glass and not too much.

Let someone else be the fool this year. And don't forget the designated drivers and other non-drinkers! Sainsbury's currently stock Gordon's Alcohol-Free Gin (£13), made with fragrant distilled botanicals and plenty of bold juniper berry flavours.

Have a tip-top, tippling and above all else, peaceful Christmas. Till next year, tipplers, sante!