Who can get through Christmas day sober? Not me, says iVillage wine expert Alice King, who offers her top festive wine choices for every eventuality

Christmas is a good excuse to splash out on some decent bottles of plonk. In my house we always start the day with a glass of two of champagne, and I’d recommend going for the real McCoy – my favourite non-vintage champagnes at the moment are as Louis Roederer, Veuve Clicquot and Pol Roger. All these are widely available at around £25 a bottle.

Or treat yourself to supermarket own label vintage champagne. Tesco’s 1995 Premier Cru Vintage Champagne (£17.99) is delicious, rich and creamy – it tastes like a much more expensive bottle.

Apéritifs
Instead of sticking to old favourites, why not try something a bit more unusual? Safeway’s Gewürztraminer (£5.99) both smells and tastes like Turkish delight combined with tropical fruit salad. Majestic stock an wacky Aussie wine: Rosemount GTR Gewürztraminer Riesling (£5.99), an unusual blend of grapes. If you prefer something a little less spicy, opt for a Riesling such as Bethany Riesling 2001 (£5.49) from Australia’s Barossa Valley, again available at Majestic.

Turkey and Chicken
It’s really a matter of personal preference whether you go for red or white. If you opt for white, how about trying a Semillon Chardonnay blend? Rosemount 2001 Semillon Chardonnay is good value at £5.99, or if you are having lots of people for Christmas lunch try the Barramundi Semillon Chardonnay 3-litre bag-in-a-box wine (£13.99). The latter works out to the equivalent of just £3.49 a bottle and will provide up to 34 glasses. Both wines are available from Tesco.

If you prefer red, Argentina is great value at the moment. Try either the spicy blackcurrant-like Santa Julia Bondara Sangiovese 2000 or the slightly richer, heavier Santa Julia Tempranillo, (both Sainsbury’s, £4.49).

Over the page: What to drink if you’re not eating turkey

Goose duck and game
You need a rich full-bodied red to complement game. Anything made from the Syrah or Shiraz grape is ideal. Tesco’s new French La Baume Syrah is good value at £4.99. Much more pricey but worth is it is the Australian Tatchilla Foundation Shiraz 1998, (Majestic, £14.99). I recently drunk this with duck and the combination was fantastic.

Beef, lamb or pork
Here, I’d suggest a really good Merlot, which is the mainstay grape of St-Emilion. But as these famous clarets are pretty expensive, try a Chilean version. One of the best I’ve tasted recently is Cono Sur Merlot 2000, rich and chocolate-like and a bargain from Tesco at just £4.99. Pour this into a decanter and your guests will probably thing there are drinking a much more expensive French wine.

Vegetarian
Safeway have a great range of organic wines, which are often favoured by vegetarians. Their own-label organic Sancerre is crisp, elegant and good value at £7.99. Or try their earthy red Chinon Chateau de Coulaine 1999 (£5.99). This can be served chilled and tastes good with spicy vegetarian dishes.

Christmas pudding
If you’re not a fan of really sticky sweet whites why not try a medium dry fizz instead? Sainsbury’s Demi-Sec Champagne (£12.99) is rich and creamy with nutty overtones.

Or be even more daring and dry a sparkling red with your Christmas pud. Tesco’s list the excellent blackcurrant and spicy Banrock Ridge Sparkling Shiraz (£7.99), which not only tastes good but with its deep red colour, looks festive too.

Have a great Christmas.