We are all looking forward to the Bank Holiday weekend and some brighter weather. As well as enjoying wines at home, with the reopening of hospitality, this is also a great chance to celebrate the wonderful diversity of wines at your favourite pub, bar, hotel or restaurant. Read on for The Wine Tipster’s 8 recent favourite wines as shared across his Twitter and Instagram accounts over the past few months. Don’t forget to follow for live tips and recommendations!

Simpsons Wine Estate Chardonnay 2020 from Barham, Canterbury, Kent is a lovely Chardonnay stylishly crafted by Ruth and Charles Simpson. English wine is booming at the moment, and this impressive bottle is no exception. Available from Waitrose (£14.99).

Albariño Madurado 2019 Rias Baixas from Viña Lareira, Spain is packed with intense fruit flavours. The smooth texture and balance make it a wonderful drinking experience, and its attractive dry finish result in a great Albariño to shout about! Available from Waitrose (£11.99)

Having celebrated International Sauvignon Blanc Day this May, Yealands Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2020, Awatere Valley, Marlborough is a must try. This is the perfect Sauvignon Blanc to pair with food such as sea bass or even fish and chips as the crisp acidity, freshness and beautiful fruit flavours make it a classic for The Wine Tipster. Available from Waitrose (£11.59).

One of The Wine Tipster’s favourite grape varieties is Mourvèdre, especially from the Bandol appellation. A firm favourite of The Wine Tipster is this Bandol 2015 Dedicace Henri Fabre, made from 90% Mourvèdre and 10% Grenache. This wine ages beautifully, yet is so impressive now and benefits from being decanted. Available from The Oxford Wine Company (£22.95)

A great value red The Wine Tipster has enjoyed recently is the Altano Douro 2019 Organic from the Douro, made by the Symingtons. Organic wine is an important advance in the industry which has great results with this full-bodied and versatile bottle. Available from Waitrose (£10.99).

The team at Chapel Down make exceptional English wine, and the Bacchus 2019, Kent is a great choice. It has wonderful fruit aromas of green apples and grapefruit, with satisfying citrus and tropical tasting notes. Another great bottle for fish dishes, this really is England’s Sauvignon Blanc! Available from Waitrose (£11.19).

A tried and tested favourite rosé of The Wine Tipster’s is the Côtes de Provence Château Léoube ‘Love by Léoube’ Organic Rosé 2019. With a beautiful delicacy that is classic of the dry Provence rosé style, this is a classy organic bottle from Daylesford (£15.99).

Finally, the crisp white Burgundy Mâcon-Azé 2019 from Louis Jadot has a flinty finish that is perfect for roast chicken. Available from Waitrose (£12.99).

Share your recent favourites with The Wine Tipster on Social Media, and let him know how you’ve been celebrating International Wine Day! Cheers!

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Three days of top quality racing; 500 million viewers over 140 countries; 30 unique fences; One Grand National Champion. The 2021 Randox Grand National meeting is a racing event for seasoned fans and first time punters alike, bringing everyone together over this amazing sport. With nearly 200 years of history and featuring the famous fences, such as Becher’s Brook, The Chair, Foinavon, The Canal Turn and Valentine’s Brook, The Grand National races are some of the most challenging tests for runners and riders.

Get Grand National ready with the Wed 7th April Preview Night.

Don’t forget to check out The Wine Tipster’s Unibet Racing Blog for each day of the meeting and all his top tips. You won’t want to miss his naps this week!

All 21 races will be covered on RacingTV and ITV Racing so you won’t miss a thing.

Randox Liverpool’s NHS Day Thurs 8th April

Celebrating the heroes of the NHS, the first day of the Randox Grand National Meeting is bound to get off to a flying start with four Grade 1 races in running order: Manifesto Novices’ Chase, Doom Bar Anniversary 4-Y-O Juvenile Hurdle, Bowl Chase and Aintree Hurdle . The Wine Tipster can’t wait for the Rose Paterson Randox Foxhunters’ Open Hunters’ Chase held over the iconic fences for amateur riders. What a thrill!

The Fan National Sweepstake declarations will be made on the 8th too.

Randox Ladies Day Fri 9th April

Ladies Day is not only an impressive day for fashion, but also for the four Grade 1 races to get your racing gears going with the Top Novices’ Hurdle, Mildmay Novices’ Chase, Marsh Melling Chase and Sefton Novices’ Hurdle. A firm favourite among Liverpudlians, this year you can bring the catwalk to your own home! Share your best raceday outfits with The Wine Tipster on Twitter and Instagram.

Randox Grand National Day Sat 10th April

And finally, the day everyone has been waiting for. One of the world’s most famous sporting occasions shown live on ITV. The 17:15 Randox Grand National Steeplechase features forty runners competing over more than four miles and over 30 unique fences, with winners automatically becoming sporting legends. Saturday isn’t just about The Grand National, The Mersey Novices’ Hurdle, The Doom Bar Maghull Novices’ Steeplechase and the Ryanair Stayers’ Hurdle are the Grade 1 races of the day, and the 7 racecard is packed with top racing action.

Satisfy your Grand National obsession with these Facts and Figures from its 182 year history.

Celebrating The Grand National

Go all out for this momentous occasion with a bottle of show-stopping Coates & Seely Brut Britagne Reserve NV, Hampshire (£31.95 Coates & Seely, Magnum £64.95 Lea & Sandeman). Or their Rosé Brut Britagne NV, Hampshire (£32.96 Coates & Seely, £31.75 Lea & Sandeman) always hits the spot.

Looking for an easy drinker that matches the quality of the racing? Yealands Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2020, Awatere Valley, Marlborough, New Zealand (£11.59 Waitrose) is a truly class act.

An unbeatable great value Red for the top racing is the Ramos Reserva Vinho Regional Alentejano 2018 from Portugal and available in Majestic £8.99.

Something stronger for the edge-of-the-seat viewing? A glass of top quality Glenfarclas 10 Year Old Malt is a smooth taste experience (£32.90 Master of Malt, £34.95 The Whiskey Exchange).

The Wine Tipster wishes you a winning Grand National! Cheers!

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The days are getting longer, the blossom is nearly in full bloom and Spring is finally here. If you’re wondering what wine to pair with your Easter treats then look no further because The Wine Tipster has a range of options to put a spring in your step.

As the last goodbye to Winter and the welcoming of Spring, you have the choice of both wintery and fresh wines at Easter. For the traditional lamb roast on Easter Sunday, a warming red from bordeaux, rioja, beaujolais, chianti or the rhône match the spread well. This Domaine Lucien Lardy Moulin-à-Vent 2019, Beaujolais, France (£14.99 Majestic) is great value and versatile.

Heading further south to the Rhône Valley, the medium-bodied and accessible Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre blend of  Les Dauphins Côtes du Rhône-Villages 2019, abv 13.5%, Rhone, France, (£9.99 Waitrose) pairs beautifully with a less traditional option such as Moroccan spiced lamb.

For a lighter option such as a zesty stuffed chicken or a spring vegetable tart then the Delheim Wild Ferment Chenin Blanc 2019, Stellenbosch, South Africa (£14.99 The Oxford Wine Company) is a superb lightly oaked, rich and complex white perfect for these pairing options.

Fish is traditional on Good Friday but can be hard to pair with a suitable wine. For an easy option for any fish dish, the un-oaked Bouchard Finlayson ‘Sans Barrique’ Chardonnay 2019, Cape South Coast, South Africa (£14.60 Tanners) is stunning.

Or if you are looking for an Easter wine for under a tenner then Dark Horse Chardonnay 2019, California, USA is widely available (£8-£9 from Asda, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Waitrose) and great with fish.

Eggs are a must at Easter, both savoury and sweet. However you like your eggs in the morning, Prosecco DOC is the perfect accompaniment to Brunch, and the Le Colture Sylvoz Prosecco DOC Brut, Treviso, Veneto (£12.95 Corney & Barrow) really hits the spot.

For chocolate eggs, a drier Brut Prosecco DOC balances the sweetness of the chocolate in the most delicious way. Celebrate in style with the Le Rughe Prosecco DOC Rosé Millesimato 2020 Brut, Treviso, Veneto (£14.95 and £26.95 in magnum Beverage Boys) – a glass of pink bubbly with a milk chocolate Easter egg is just right for Easter!   

For a great Spring spirit, the cosmic Moon Cherry Gin (£34.95 Master of Malt, £34.95 The Gin Stall, £34.99 Beverage Boys) with Twelve Below Apple & Garden Mint Tonic (£2.25 Beverage Boys) is refreshingly simple and delicious. Get a free 500ml bottle of Classic Twelve Below Tonic with every Moon Gin purchase from Beverage Boys.

Share your Easter celebration pictures and wine pairings with The Wine Tipster on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. Happy Spring!

The countdown is over. The Cheltenham Festival is finally here, and The Wine Tipster is excited to make this year’s At Home Festival unforgettable for all the right reasons. Read on for top tipples to accompany you through the four days of unbeatable racing and how you can recreate the electric Roar of Cheltenham at home.

Cheltenham is synonymous with superb racing, and The Festival is the pinnacle of the Jump season. The Festival has been held at Cheltenham since 1911, and The Stayers’ Hurdle is the oldest championship race having first been run in 1912. Over its many successful years, the Festival has expanded from three days to four, and now boasts four days of seven-race cards, 14 Grade One races and some of the best horses, trainers and jockeys in the world. It really is Horseracing’s Olympics!

This year, The Festival is supporting the charity WellChild. WellChild is a national charity that gives sick children the best chance to thrive through support at home and for their families.

Celebrate in Style

To match the atmosphere and excitement of each day of racing, The Wine Tipster has chosen some Grade 1 wines and spirits to give you that wonderful Cheltenham experience at home:

Day One Tues 16 March

Kicking off The Festival is an incredible card of four Grade One races including the top class Unibet Champion Hurdle. Start your At Home Festival off with a bang with a Cheltenham Sponsor, Nyetimber. Their world-renowned English Sparkling Wine is meticulously crafted in West Sussex, Hampshire and Kent, Their Classic Cuvée MV is a wonderfully elegant option for the start of The Festival. Pair it with smoked salmon blinis for a great aperitif.

For a touch of Pink at the start of Cheltenham, Château Léoube’s artisan organic wines are just the thing. Their award-winning Rosé de Léoube is a rosé for all seasons, full of mineral notes and fruit on the palate. Pair with a light lunch and you have yourself a winner.

Day Two Wed 17 March

As the going gets underway, there are seven classic races to really spoil punters. The Grade One Queen Mother Champion Chase is set to be an unmissable watch, as is the Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase. Watch it with a Glenfarclas 15 year old Single Malt on the rocks. The rich history of this family owned business make for award-winning Sherry cask aged malts in the traditional Speyside way.

Day Three 18 March

Not one but three Grade 1 races make Thursday a truly magnificent day. Hold on to your Racing Gin & Tonic throughout the Marsh Novices’ Chase. Ryanair Chase and the Stayers’ Hurdle ! Racing Gin is a recent addition to the gin scene, but is perfect for race lovers. Featuring beautiful silks on the label, and with a herbaceous and floral taste, this gin is great with a classic tonic water or in any cocktail.

Gold Cup Day Fri 19 March

Saviour the outstanding Gold Cup Day – the pinnacle of the Cheltenham Festival. With the coveted Grade One WellChild Cheltenham Gold Cup featured as the Blue Riband of Jump racing, you’ll surely be wanting a bottle to match the magnificence of The Festival’s finale. Jack Mann Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 from Houghton Wines in the Swan Valley in Western Australia, pays homage to the great winemaker Jack Mann MBE, who shared a birthday with Gold Cup Day! It’s a rich and concentrated red with a pure Cabernet Sauvignon dark fruits, spicy, oaky notes and a wonderful long finish. Decant for a couple of hours beforehand, this is delicious with a Roast.

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For more food pairing ideas, get inspired with world class hospitality recipes from The Jockey Club’s top chefs. All the dishes work well with the bottles here, and are a great way to get the Cheltenham Hospitality experience at home.

If you really want to bring Cheltenham home, get yourself an At Home Hamper! Brought to you by British Fine Foods, these luxury hampers come in three options, full of award-winning food from artisan producers across the UK. Each hamper comes with a different bottle to really make your At Home experience special. Order here in time for The Festival! 10% of each hamper sale will go to WellChild.

Be Raceday Ready

• Check out how to watch The Festival from home. ITV Racing and Racing TV will be showing The Festival, and if you miss any of the action, The Jockey Club’s Racing Replays are available 20 minutes after the winner crosses the line.
• The official racecard is available here with details of horses and jockeys available here.
• Find out more about each of the top quality races here.
• Put your racing knowledge to the test with The Ultimate Racing Quiz featuring Double Grand National-winning jockey Ruby Walsh and Gold Cup-winning Jockey and Festival legend Barry Geraghty
• The Race Results and Winners page will help in your revision for the quiz!
• Download The Jockey Club App with a digital racecard, live updates, competitions and the latest odds at your fingertips.
• Check out the latest editions of Kalendar Magazine between races
• Why not impress your friends and family with some top facts and stats!
• Got kids? Find some fun raceday activities for them to enjoy here – host a mini best dressed competition, make hats or turn your garden into a track!
• You can still dress the part from your home! Browse out The Jockey Club website for At Home Style inspiration.

However you choose to celebrate this superb meeting, share pictures and comments with The Wine Tipster on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook and make sure to follow him for daily updates and Unibet Racing Blogs.

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The Wine Tipster is honoured to be a Brand Ambassador for this exciting new spirit, and is looking forward to sharing his thoughts on this wonderful gin which embodies both of his two passions!

Founded by a team of hospitality professionals, The Burford Distilling Company (BDC) was established in Autumn 2020 and has got off to a fine start with the release of Racing Gin. Inspired by the team’s love of horse racing and connections to the Cotswolds, this gin is targeted at racegoers and features a beautiful label of racing silks.

There are a great number of ways to enjoy the gin, BDC recommend serving with ginger beer for a deliciously warming beverage, or with a citrus tonic for a wonderfully summery number.

Here’s what The Wine Tipster has to say about Racing Gin:

“Racing fans take note – if you enjoy quality gin, you’ll love Racing Gin from The Burford Distilling Company. This brilliant new gin has citrus notes of lime and lemon zest, combined with herbaceous rosemary and thyme, following through with savoury, floral and spicy tones. It’s balanced, delicate and elegant, with great staying power on the finish. Classic Racing Gin & Tonic is a safe bet, while some will fancy a flutter on creative cocktails. Perfect for enjoying whilst watching racing at home”

Stockists

• Available from The Burford Distilling Company website for £37.00
• The Oxford Wine Company
• Café de la Post in Chadlington, Oxfordshire is a great way to support local
• Beverage Boys
• Master of Malt
• Sip and Share currently have a 10% sale which applies to Racing Gin
• Vinotopia Wine Merchants

A smashing first release from BDC, we look forward to many more top quality bottles! Watch this space.

Rosé is pink, Curaçao is blue, Happy Valentine’s Day from The Wine Tipster to you! Here are The Wine Tipster’s top 4 bottles of Rosé to make Valentine’s Day special however you choose to celebrate it.

As the quality of Rosé has continued to grow, the popularity of this pale pink wine has extended to an appreciation of the subtlety and celebratory nature of rosé all year round. With the 2020/21 addition of Prosecco DOC Rosé to the market, this popular choice really knows no limits.

Here are The Wine Tipster’s top celebratory Rosés perfect for Valentine’s Day:

Château Léoube Rosé de Léoube 2019 – £18.99 Daylesford

Provence in Southern France is the obvious place to go for classic pale pink, lighter styles of rosé. Château Léoube’s Rosé de Léoube is superbly delicate and elegant. This dry organic rosé is lovely on its own or with some salmon, seafood or cheese.

Prosecco DOC Rosé Millesimato 2019 Astoria Extra Dry Gerrard Seel £13.95

Astoria produce a range of excellent Prosecco DOC wines, including their Prosecco DOC Rosé Millesimato 2019 Extra Dry, which has attractive redcurrant fruit, with tangy notes, hints of white pepper and a creamy texture. A winner!

Prosecco DOC Rosé Millesimato 2019 La Gioiosa £11.99 – £13.99 with offers Waitrose, Majestic, Ocado

La Gioiosa is a very known and highly respected Prosecco DOC producer. Their Prosecco DOC Rosé Millesimato 2019 has a lovely balance of soft strawberry fruit, with floral and creamy notes and a long elegant finish. No wonder Prosecco DOC Rosé is so popular

Mirabeau Pure Rosé Provence 2019 – £14.99 Waitrose

Mirabeau’s ‘Provence in a Glass’ is inspired by summer days on the Côte d’Azur, just the bottle to lessen the February chill. With a crisp finish and delightful aromas of peach and lychee, this bottle is beautiful enough to be a present by itself!

However you choose to celebrate Valentine’s Day this year, share your Rosé pictures with The Wine Tipster on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, and subscribe to get blogs directly to your inbox.

2021 is the Year of the Ox and February 12th marks the start of the 15 days of Chinese New Year celebrations. Here, The Wine Tipster shares a cocktail recipe perfect for ringing in the New Year in style using China’s most popular spirit that has over 6000 years of history.

Baijiu is worth 54% of the global spirits market and its presence as a luxury spirit is becoming more well known in the UK luxury drinks market thanks to Cheng International. The white spirit is distilled from sorghum, wheat, rice or corn using traditional processes, producing distinct aromas of baijiu and different regional styles. Fenjiu is is thought to be the oldest and most premium baijiu with a delicate, multi-layered tasting experience akin to the finest single-malt whisky, vintage port or cognac.

The range of Baijius from Fenjiu is easily available in the UK as they are listed with Harrods , Harvey Nichols , Selfridges, Slurp, The Oxford Wine Company, Beverage Boys London and Amazon

Traditionally used to toast the New Year in, The Wine Tipster loves the modern twist of using this ancient spirit as a base for The New Year Martini. This is a fantastic way to appreciate the versatility of Fenjiu which is a must have for special occasions.

To make the Fenjiu Chinese New Year Martini:

In celebration of the Year of the Ox, Fenjiu pairs beautifully with delicious ‘Fortune Dumplings.’ A must-have for festive Chinese occasions, you can see how to make them on Cheng International’s Instagram here.

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The Wine Tipster wishes you and your families a very Happy Chinese New Year, share pictures of your cocktail creations with him on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, and subscribe to get blogs directly to your inbox.

For The Wine Tipster’s latest guest blog, he welcomes Beth O’Brien of Beth’s Food Odyssey to share a vegetarian option for the festive season. Beth is a final year dentistry student at Sheffield University who started documenting her passion for cooking on her Instagram account over 2 years ago. From intricate bakes to colourful salad-bowls and much more, Beth’s voyage into the culinary world provides inspiration for any adventurous cook. Read on for the latest recipe she’s developed, and The Wine Tipster’s vegan wine pairings. Enjoy!

Seasonal Mushroom and Kale Quiche with Roasted Leeks and Garlicky Crushed Potatoes

Deep into Winter, months from the long, light days where fresh vegetables can be thrown together to create light summer salads, cooking vegetarian meals can be a challenge for some. Meat can be easily paired with root vegetables to make hearty winter dishes, making this an attractive option for an evening meal.

However, having not eaten meat for many years, I have found that warming, wintery, vegetarian dishes can be easily created using the produce available to you at this time. Eating seasonally has the benefits of fresher produce, greater nutritional content, a lesser environmental impact, and often a cheaper price. There is the added bonus of supporting the local economy, something that is more important than ever right now.

Taking this into consideration, this vegetarian dish uses solely seasonal produce. Mushrooms, onions, kale, leeks and potatoes are all grown locally in the month of December. Although I have suggested some accompaniments for the quiche, it would work well with many other dishes. The perfect Christmas Eve or Boxing Day centrepiece for non-meat-eating guests, perhaps…

Serves 4

Ingredients

Mushroom and kale quiche:

1 block shortcrust pastry

1 tablespoon butter

1 onion

2 large garlic cloves

1 teaspoon fresh thyme (or ½ teaspoon dried thyme)

½ teaspoon chilli flakes

1 pack (300g) mushrooms

Salt

Pepper

Zest of 1 lemon

80-100g kale

160ml double cream

80ml whole milk

4 eggs

50g gruyère

Roasted leeks:

3 leeks

1 teaspoon fresh thyme (or ½ teaspoon dried thyme)

Salt

Pepper

2 teaspoons butter

A few splashes of white wine

Garlicky crushed potatoes:

800g new/baby potatoes

Salt

Olive oil

3 cloves garlic

Method

Mushroom and kale quiche:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 190°C

2. Roll out the pastry to be just wider than the quiche tin (I used a 25cm diameter tin). Put the pastry into the quiche tin, gently moulding it to the shape of the tin and letting the edges of the pastry fall over the sides. Leave these edges on for blind baking the pastry

3. Blind bake the pastry. Cover the pastry with baking parchment and fill the parchment with ceramic baking beans or dried beans. Bake for 15 minutes, then remove the beans and cook for another 5-8 minutes until the base is golden brown. After removing from the oven, trim the overhangs of pastry

4. Meanwhile, dice the onion, finely chop the garlic and thyme, and slice the mushrooms

5. Add the butter to a frying pan and melt. Add the onion and cook until beginning to soften. Add the garlic, thyme and chilli flakes and cook for about 30 seconds before adding the mushrooms. Cook on a fairly high heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once the mushrooms have cooked and most of the liquid has evaporated, remove from the heat, season with salt and pepper, and add the lemon zest

6. Heat a pan of water to boiling. Add the kale to the boiling water for 30 seconds to soften before draining

7. In a jug, combine the beaten eggs, milk and cream. Season with salt and pepper

8. Assemble the quiche. Spread the mushroom mixture over the base of the pastry. Add the kale in a layer on top. Pour the cream mixture evenly over the mushrooms and kale. Most of the kale should be covered by the mixture so that it does not burn. Grate the cheese and scatter evenly on top

9. Bake in the oven for about 40 minutes, until the top is golden brown, and a knife put into the centre comes out clean.

Roasted leeks:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 190°C

2. Cut the leeks in half lengthways and lay flat in a roasting dish

3. Finely chop the thyme and scatter over the leeks along with a pinch of salt and pepper

4. Distribute the butter in small blobs over the leeks. Then, pour over a few dashes of wine

5. Roast in the oven for 30-40 minutes until tender and browning around the edges.

Garlicky crushed potatoes:

1. Put a large pan of water on the heat and add a tablespoon of salt. Put the potatoes into the pan whole. Parboil for about 20 minutes, until a knife can easily slide through them

2. Drain the potatoes and place on a chopping board. Flatten them using the palm of your hand

3. Peel the garlic cloves and crush them using the heel of a knife

4. Add multiple glugs of oil into a large frying pan on a fairly high heat. Once hot, place the flattened potatoes into the oil in a single layer. Scatter a generous pinch of salt over the potatoes and add the crushed garlic. Leave the potatoes for 5-10 minutes to brown and crisp on one side

5. Once crisped, turn the potatoes over, adding more oil and salt. Again, leave on this side until golden and crispy

Wine Pairings

Les Dauphins Côtes du Rhône-Villages 2018, Cellier des Dauphins, Rhône, France (£9.99 from Waitrose).

This vegetarian and vegan friendly wine is warm, smooth, spicy and a great medium bodied red. It is not only great for those cold wintry evenings but is also a super pairing with Beth’s fabulous dish. This is a great value red which has the structure to match the flavours and textures of the mushrooms, kale and roasted leeks, whilst the low tannins and smooth style make for a lovely pairing with Beth’s delicious garlicky crushed potatoes. Enjoy!

Morgon La Chanaise 2017, Dominique Piron, Beaujolais, France (£14.99 from Waitrose).

Another top vegetarian and vegan friendly wine for Beth’s dish. Beaujolais remains one of the most overlooked wine regions. Its reds are made from the Gamay grape variety, and Beaujolais and Beaujolais Villages make for super easy drinking. For a suitable pairing with Beth’s seasonal dish, we need to choose from one of ten Beaujolais crus where the best vineyards are. Fleurie is the most well known cru, which is lovely and perfumed, yet the intensity of this Morgon from Dominique Piron has the generous fruit character required and the supple tannins to compliment Beth’s wonderful dish.

Thanks again to Beth for sharing her wonderful seasonal quiche with us, do try out the recipe and wine pairings and share with us on Instagram here and here, and Twitter here. Cheers!

Christina McElhinney is a racing producer for Racing TV who has previously written for The Wine Tipster’s blog. Her own blog, The Food Waffle, is a place where the musings of an amateur home gardener and resourceful cook join and result in delicious recipes and accessible tips. Here, The Wine Tipster adds wine pairings to Christina’s Christmas Salad. Enjoy!

Christmas Salad: Maple Syrup & Whiskey Bacon and Warm Chestnuts with Blue Cheese Dressing

Obviously, Christmas is great. There’s food everywhere, plenty of wine around, generally speaking everyone’s in a good mood until the first row over sprouts kicks off and there are probably several million repeats of The Vicar Of Dibley that are virtually mandatory to watch whilst constantly shoving chocolate in your mouth because at Christmas, calories don’t actually exist.

Except unfortunately they do. And for all it’s great, Christmas can be a bit of an ambush on your body and while the first few days of carefree – or even deliberately headstrong – indulgence, I know I end up waving the white flag and needing something a bit lighter. Sort of like hitting the turkey wall – you suddenly realise that you’re not far off being unable to get off the sofa not because you don’t want to but because you would need at least three people and a JCB to help you actually do it.

But any day over the Christmas period that doesn’t involve the sort of ingredients and flavours you associate with the holidays feels like a criminal waste. So this year I decided I’d prep a recipe that not only uses things that are always so abundant in the days around the 25^th but also embraces that they are flavours that are so often associated with the time of year, whilst also shoehorning in something green, light and actually presenting some degree nutritional benefit.

Salad at Christmas…it sounds almost wrong. Almost as if you’d have to psych yourself up for it. But for me, I always find that once you muster the willpower to pick up the fruit rather than the chocolate bar, you’re instantly rewarded by realising how truly delicious the healthy option usually is, and I’m hoping this Christmas this recipe will offer that same benefit whilst also embracing the flavours of the festive season.

So which flavours? For me, chestnuts are the taste of Christmas. I love them for their earthy sweetness, and there are almost always some of the pre-cooked ones in a packet hidden away in the pantry. Something that I always have in the house in abundance in December – to cover and protect that crucial turkey and wrap those pigs in their required blankets – is top-quality, free range smoked streaky bacon. Stilton is always a staple of the cheese board, there’s always a bottle of whiskey (or two) around and Christmas spices are never complete without cinnamon.

This may be a salad…but it IS still Christmas, so you still have to make it special. Which is where soaking that beautiful free range bacon in a mix of maple syrup and whiskey comes in. Trust me, it’s delicious. When cooked, it will look very dark, but that’s the natural sugars intensifying the flavour of the one of the key stars of this salad – the others being the lightly spiced, warmed chestnuts and a blue cheese dressing.

You can do a fast(er) version of this – marinating the bacon for just a few hours will still impart some flavour of the blend – but if you feel like being organised enough, letting the bacon take on that flavour overnight is even better.

INGREDIENTS

• 5/6 rashers of top-quality, free range smoked streaky bacon
• Salad leaves – I like a mix of baby spinach, rocket and chicory but any would work
• 100g chestnuts, very lightly chopped and drizzled with a little olive oil and a dusting of ground nutmeg and cinnamon, a grating of black pepper and a pinch of brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons of maple syrup and 1 tablespoon of whiskey or bourbon, mixed together

Dressing:

• 100g Stilton or preferred blue cheese
• 150ml buttermilk
• Salt and pepper to taste

METHOD

• Lay the bacon out on baking parchment on a tray and brush over the maple syrup and whiskey mix – pour any left over on to the tray (use the parchment to stop it running off at the edges) and leave for a few hours at least.

• When ready to cook, put another layer of parchment on the bacon, put another baking tray on top and weigh down lightly. Cook slowly on low temperature like 180 degrees (fan oven) until the bacon is dark and bordering on crispy.

• Wash and mix the salad leaves and arrange on plates or a platter for sharing.

• Crumble the Stilton into a bowl, add the buttermilk and whisk gently – you want to keep a little texture so that now and then you get a bite of salad with a real punch of blue cheese flavour. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.

• When the bacon is cooked, set aside and add the lightly chopped chestnuts and a small wedge of butter to a frying pan and warm through.

• Once cooled slightly, slice the bacon diagonally and scatter the shards, along with the warm chestnuts, across the salad leaves. Drizzle the salad with a little high-quality olive oil. Pour the dressing into a serving bowl and serve alongside.

As well as being smug that you’re having a salad at Christmas, with this recipe you get to enjoy so many festive flavours and despite their contrasting qualities they work together so well. Smokiness with sweetness and that earthy hint of whiskey with the almost caramelised bacon, fresh, crunchy cool salad leaves against sweet and almost melting chestnuts with a hint of festive spice, and then the sharp zing of blue cheese and buttermilk in the dressing… combined they tick off so many flavour profiles and yet despite being a lighter meal, there are many elements here which bring the richness you need at Christmas so you don’t feel that you’re missing out on an opportunity to embrace all the indulgence.

Wine Pairing

To go with this fabulous Christmassy salad, The Wine Tipster is pairing a Pinot Gris Grand Cru Spiegel 2018 Domaine Schlumberger, Alsace, France £17.99 save £2 in mixed case Majestic or Yealands Reserve Grüner Veltliner 2019, Awatere Valley, Marlborough, New Zealand £12.99 down to £9.99 in Waitrose both of which have the palate weight, vibrant flavours and punch to marry up to its fabulous array of tantalising flavours and textures. Both of these wines have their own delicate spiciness, clean acidity, palate weight and a touch of just-right ripeness to complement this magnificent dish, bringing out the smoky, sweet and salty highlights which make this dish such a winning combination.

Thank you again to Christina McElhinney of The Food Waffle for sharing such a great recipe for the festive season, share pictures of your attempts with her on Twitter and Instagram, and don’t forget to tag The Wine Tipster on Twitter and Instagram too. Cheers!

Start the festive season with a bang this year with the highlight of Sandown’s jump racing – the Tingle Creek Festival. For the first Friday and Saturday of December, Sandown hosts two days of superb jump racing, which this year can be celebrated in person by a limited number of spectators. Don’t worry if you didn’t manage to get tickets, they sold out in 17 minutes! However you’re celebrating this year, read on for The Wine Tipster’s Sandown tips.

Friday 4th December

Tingle Creek Friday opens the festival with a top line up of races.

The Wine Tipster is especially excited to see his My Racing Manager Friends runner Funambule Sivola in the 1.50 Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase! Funambule Sivola won impressively at Wetherby on chasing debut last week and is carrying a seven pound penalty for that success today. This is much more competitive contest and his slick jumping will need to come to the fore this afternoon.

My Racing Manager was created by Elli Morgan, and The Wine Tipster is delighted to be involved. My Racing Manager has had two Cheltenham Festival winners with Coo Star Sivola and Flying Tiger.

The race card for Friday:

12:45 – 3m (3m37y) Sandown Park Amateur Jockeys’ Handicap Chase (Class 3) (4yo+ 0-130)

1:15 – 1m7½f (1m7f119y) Handicap Chase (Class 3) (4yo+ 0-125)

1:50 – 2m4f (2m4f10y) Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase (GBB Race) (Class 3) (4yo+ 0-135)

2:25 – 2m4f (2m3f173y) Ballymore Winter Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 2) (GBB Race) (Class 1) (4yo+)

3:00 – 2m7½f (2m7f98y) Pertemps Network Handicap Hurdle (Pertemps Hurdle Series Qualifier) (GBB Race) (Class 2) (4yo+)

3:35 – 2m4f (2m3f173y) Mares’ Handicap Hurdle (Challenger Mares’ Series Qualifier) (Class 3) (3yo+ 0-130)

Saturday 5th December

Tingle Creek Saturday hosts two top class Grade 1 races – the Henry VIII Novices’ Chase and The Tingle Creek Chase. With a history of over 40 years and named after a Jumps racehorse of the 1970s, The Tingle Creek Chase is one of the key races of the season with a purse of over £68,000. Here’s the line up:

12:05 – 2m (1m7f216y) The 1.50 Introductory Juvenile Hurdle (Gbb Race) (Class 2) (3yo)

12:40 – 2m (1m7f216y) “National Hunt” Novices’ Hurdle (Gbb Race) (Class 3) (4yo+)

1:15 – 2m (1m7f216y) Novices’ Handicap Hurdle (Gbb Race) (Class 4) (3yo+ 0-120)

1:50 – 1m7½f (1m7f119y)  Henry VIII Novices’ Chase (Grade 1) (Gbb Race) (Class 1) (4yo+)

2:25 – 1m7½f (1m7f119y) Tingle Creek Chase (Grade 1) (GBB Race) (Class 1) (4yo+)

3:00 – 3m5f (3m4f166y) National Handicap Chase (Class 2) (5yo+)

3:35 – 2m (1m7f216y) December Handicap Hurdle (Listed Race) (Class 1) (4yo+)

Look out for The Wine Tipster’s Unibet Blog on Saturday.

At Home

• Don’t miss a thing – catch every race live on Racing TV and ITV, and even rewatch highlights from racing history via Racing Replays (available 20 minutes after the winner crosses the line!).
• The Raceday App is a must for the At Home experience. Get your own digital racecard, exclusive content, and access to the Raceday 5 Game with a chance to win a bottle of Coates & Seely Rosé NV and £10,000!
• Get inspiration from others’ At Home Celebration creations here, don’t forget to share yours with The Wine Tipster, Sandown Park and The Jockey Club.
• Need to brush up on your racing knowledge and jargon? Check out Racing Explained for all the confusing terms.
• Keep up to date with all the entertainment events from The Jockey Club with their Content Hub.

Food & Drink

Taking inspiration from The Jockey Club, The Wine Tipster is looking forward to making this week’s featured dish, Braised Shank of Herdwick Lamb with Root Veg, Red Onion Jam and Greens. See the recipe from Senior Sous Chef Lawrie Jeffries here.

For something sweet, why not try a Vegan Lemon Cheesecake from Head Chef Warren O’Connor – a real winner with vegans and non-vegans alike.

To accompany a hearty winter dish this Festival, The Wine Tipster’s Top 5 Red Wines are a must for the cooler months. In particular, Don David Blend of Terroirs Malbec 2019, Calchaqui Valley, Argentina (Co-op £9) has a great autumnal flavours of blackberries and blueberries, with sweet spicy notes and silky tannins.

For another classic red, St. Hallett ‘Faith’ Shiraz 2018, Barossa Valley, Australia (Majestic £16.99 and £14.99 mixed case of six) is a must try, full of bold flavours of pepper and plums – perfect for a roast.

For a true celebration, pop open some bubbly this weekend. Moët & Chandon, official Champagne of The Jockey Club, is always a treat. The Wine Tipster especially loves their Moët Impérial, with its iconic fruitiness and elegant maturity.

Coates and Seely, official sparkling wine sponsors, is also perfect for Jump season. Pop open a bottle of their wonderful English Sparkling Brut Reserve NV for a hit of green apple freshness and a rounded palate.

Lastly, Rosé – a great all-rounder. Château Léoube’s Rosé de Léoube (Daylesford £18.99) is an elegant and dry wine with a perfect combination of minerals and fruit.

The Wine Tipster hopes that whether you are attending The Tingle Creek Festival in person or enjoying it at home, that you have a most wonderful weekend and some wins! Look out for his Unibet Blog on Saturday for tips.

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