From snowballs to sweet sherry, the Observer’s wine expert picks the delicious seasonal tipples you wouldn’t dream of having at any other time of year
When it comes to the festive period, I’m definitely closer to the “most wonderful time of the year” than the “bah humbug” end of the spectrum. But even this fully paid-up Christmas-enjoyer would admit there is something peculiar about many of the things we get up to in this season – not least the fact that so much of what we eat and drink between now and the new year wouldn’t get anywhere near the menu at any other time.
That starts, for me, with turkey – a strictly Christmas Day-only meat in my household. It also includes such festive staples as Quality Street, dates, mincemeat, cloves, cranberry sauce, pigs in blankets and, for that sizeable majority of people who don’t share my love of the greatest of bitter brassicas, brussels sprouts.
