The dilemma – rushing out of the door to a Christmas drinks party do you grab a) a bottle of bubbly b) a bottle of good red or c) a bottle of wine that you normally would add to gravy ? Is it the question of whether it will get subtly added to a wine rack where it will stay until the friends in question are on their own and want to enjoy it rather than share, or whether it will get added to the masses of bottles, get opened, warm up and then thrown away at the end of the night ? Does it matter and should we just not think about it, the ‘giving‘ aspect being the most important. It’s hard to say when you’ve got a warm glass of something white in your hand, that you know has been open for hours and that your good bottle has now been hidden away for later.

The answer methinks is to buy a case of wine – 12 bottles. Not expensive, good enough quality, but not so that you’re going to cry about it if you don’t see it again. For this I can recommend our Range Valley Merlot/Cabernet at £5.09 a bottle it’s not going to break the bank and if you do actually get to drink it yourself, hopefully with your host/hostess, it will be very well received !