If you can't wait till the 25th to tuck in, try a glass of chilled muscat with a mince pie as a festive treat – it's the ultimate 'me time' luxury!

Opt for a sweet Riesling alongside a slice of traditional apple pie or sparkling wine with a plate of fresh fruit. There are no hard and fast rules for wine at this time of year as we tend to eat such a wide range of foods that it is difficult to find wines to complement all of the different flavours.The Hans Lang Hattenheim Hassel Riesling Beerenauslese is a lovely bottle to try – and, like Tokaji, it goes rather nicely with marzipan too. This recipe will give you a festive tasting desert wine that will go fabulously with your festive cheeseboard, with only 3 ingredients it is suitable for the beginner brewer and will impress your guests! The different ways in which these wines are produced give a myriad different flavours ranging from candied citrus fruits and grapes, butterscotch and caramel, through to dried fruits such as dates and figs and nuts. Of course the sweet wine must have good acidity too as that will also stop the combination seeming OTT; the acidity will cut through the sweetness and make the mouth water.

The Weingut Schales Silvaner Eiswein is a fabulous example of German Eiswein and great with Christmas Cake. This type of Port is best for milk chocolate treats (or sugary chocolate cakes like yule logs) and also fantastic with Christmas Pudding. Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese are the sweetest styles of German Riesling you can get made from shrivelled, noble rot affected grapes.

Rich, dark muscats are the perfect treat with dried fruit – the flavours in the wine tend to mirror those in the dessert, so give muscat a try on Christmas Day with that all important dinner finale, Christmas pudding. Enjoy with a glass of L’Epiphanie de Sauternes 2019 (from one of Bordeaux’s prestigious First Growth châteaux) and you’ll soon discover why it’s such a classic pairing. Your go-to Christmas pudding wine here is a fortified wine such as a Port or a Pedro Ximinéz Sherry.