Over 100 people joined Neil Phillips, The Wine Tipster, at his masterclass, Prosecco DOC and Grana Padano PDO Cheese. “Italian moments – the flavour of joy” in Oxford.

Prosecco continues to develop its growth, and popularity will continue to expand, remaining on-trend with Prosecco DOC producers making excellent sparkling wines. Prosecco DOC are excellent food pairing wines, particularly with Grana Padano, a wonderfully versatile cheese.
The crowd were able to taste two vintages of Grana Padano, Grana Padano aged for over 16 months and Grana Padano “Riserva” aged for at least 20 months – there is a third vintage of Grana Padano aged between 9 and 16 months. They were then paired with a selection of Prosecco.

Not only is Grana Padano a key part of your cheese board, it can also be incorporated into a variety of dishes such as Squid salad with Grana Padano shavings and lemon powder, Risotto with peas, Grana Padano and basil and “ Maltagliati” with chanterelle mushroom sauce and Grana Padano.

For more information on Prosecco DOC (Origin Controlled Designation) go to www.discoverproseccowine.it and Grana Padano PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) www.granapadano.it. The Grana Padano aged over 16 months can be found in major retailers with the Grana Padano Riserva aged over 20 months available in Waitrose, Sainbury’s, Marks & Spencer and specialist shops.

To buy the featured wines they are available as follows: Prosecco Ruggeri Argeo DOC Treviso Brut, visit, www.greatwesternwine.co.uk. Mionetto Treviso DOC Treviso Brut is available on Amazon, Bosco del Merlo DOC Extra Dry 2015 from www.thewineryuk.com and Mionetto DOC Treviso Extra Dry from Tesco.

It has been a great summer for Foodies Festival around the country with excellent sessions in Bristol, Tatton Park, Birmingham and Brighton. The Wine Tipster will be presenting his masterclass, Prosecco DOC and Grana Padano PDO Cheese. “Italian moments – the flavour of joy” at the Foodies Festival in London at Truman Brewery on 18th and 20th November.

With Christmas round the corner, it’s time to buy your bubbly, wines, sherries, spirits and ports. Here’s my time-saving list of recommendations that will work perfectly with every Christmas occasion.

Bubbly and sparkling wines play an important role in any festivities. If you want to create a stylish way to share and enjoy bubbly at your party, then opt for a magnum. They also make great presents! For a really special occasion, buy a vintage champagne. The 10 out of 10 vintage is 2002 and I’d definitely recommend Pommery Cuvée Louise 2002, from Ocado (£109.99). Look out for their Pommery Grand Cru Vintage 2004 too, which is stunning, Ocado (£51.99),  Another lovely vintage to enjoy now is the 2006 Jacquart Blanc de Blancs which is excellent and available at Tesco (£40) . For a signature celebration champagne, go for Laurent-Perrier Brut NV, available on offer at Waitrose (£24.99) and also at Sainsbury’s. Serve with a dash of sloe gin.

Alternatively, a magnum of Prosecco, will also add a fun, celebratory feel to any yuletide party. Try the fresh, creamy style of premium Prosecco Magnum NV Masottina  from M&S (£19.99). This is also one to carry through and continue to serve with a smoked salmon starter on Christmas Day. Alternatively open a bottle of dry sherry such as Gonzalez Byass Tio Pepe Fino (£9.99) available in all major retailers. Serve this delicious, refreshing sherry chilled. Once opened, you’ll need to drink this within a couple of days. Otherwise, a Sauvignon Blanc from the Loire, such as a good Sancerre, will also work well here like Sancerre Blanc 2013 Domaine Vacheron, at Majestic (£17.99).

Around 68% of us will be eating turkey on Christmas Day, according to a 2014 Gallup survey in Prospect magazine. So what’s the best wine to serve with it? Many opt for a Bordeaux to complement all the rich flavours of the accompanying dishes. If you’re looking for good value, choose a Bordeaux with a Cru Bourgeois label – a mark of quality. Bordeaux wines from 2009 are considered the ‘once in a lifetime’ vintage for Bordeauxs, but the 2010 Bordeaux are also considered exceptional. Bordeaux wines do need to breathe properly, so decant 2-3 hours before serving. Within this style of wine, some of the best value Cru Bourgeois wines are available at Berry Brothers & Rudd, Fine & Rare, Lea & Sandeman and The Wine Society.

Alternatively, a Rioja works well with turkey and game, including venison. Try Campo de Viejo Gran Reserva 2007 at Sainsbury’s (£15.99) or a Louis Jadot CÔte du Beaune-Villages 2012 (£16.99 – buy 2 save 15%) at Majestic, the Jackson Estate Vintage Widow Pinot Noir 2012 at Ocado (£19.49 to £16.49).

On Boxing Day, serve cold turkey with a fabulous Beaujolais such as the ripe and fruity, Château des Labourons Fleurie 2011, produced by Henry Fessy, and available through winedirect.com (£16.99). Or, equally good, the Brouilly Henry Fessy 2012 at Waitrose (£11.99) would also be very good here.

Now the cheeseboard. Pair a classic stilton or Alex James’ Blue Monday with Sandeman Late Bottled Vintage Port 2009 at Waitrose (£15.99 to £12.99) or Sandeman 20-year-old Tawny Port, also from Waitrose, (£32.49). Other wines that will complement cheese include a red such as such a Bordeaux with a good cheddar, while Roquefort is a good match for Sauternes.

Tawny port is also a good accompaniment to mince pies, Christmas pud and as an aperitif, served chilled. Other rich, fruity wines that complement intense fruit flavours include; the Gonzalez Byass Matusalem Oloroso Dulce Muy Viejo VORS – a rich, dark Oloroso sherry, available at Waitrose (£19.99 half bottle), or try Blandys 15-year old Malmsey Madeira from The Oxford Wine Company (£26.99). Alternatively, opt for the rich, luscious flavours of the perfect Christmas tipple, Californian Elysium Rutherglen Black Muscat 2012, (£11.99) available at The Oxford Wine Company.

Good all-round easy drinkers I’m very happy to offer anytime over the festive break include South Africa’s Zalze Sangiovese 2013 (£6.99), available at Co-Op. Peter Yealands’ Sauvignon Blanc 2013 from Co-op (£9.99) and Sainsbury’s (on offer £7.50) and  Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference, Macon Villages 2013 (£8.99). For a Rose, try Les Dauphins Rosé 2013 at Asda, (£6.99).

Have a wonderful Christmas and make sure you watch the William Hill King George VI on Boxing Day at Kempton. Also, don’t miss the Coral Welsh Grand National at Chepstow on Saturday 27th December.

Fantastic weather at the Big Feastival yesterday in the Cotswolds and here is The Wine Tipster in Alex James’ Cheese Hub waxing lyrically about Blue Monday! Blue Monday is a lovely blue cheese, less intense than others, with a savoury,creamy character, good lenghty finish too and is a must for any cheeseboard. Rather than matching with port, The Wine Tipster selected the smooth, intensely fruity Casillero del Diablo Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon, Central Valley, Chile 2012 which was a good match.

In this wine matching session The Wine Tipster also featured Alex’s Farleigh Wallop, Little Wallop, Goddess and Good Queen Maude. The semi-soft Goddess which is perfect at around eight -ten weeks, changing from creamy notes at four-five weeks  to a more buttery intense and indulgent cheese at this age was  matched with Heidsieck Monopole’s Rosé Top NV and showed, once again, how versatile Champagne can be with cheese.

The Good Queen Maude, made at Alex’s farm using raw ewes’ milk and matured for four months is firm, smooth with a lingering spicy finish. This delicious cheese worked well with the spicy notes of the good value Zalze Shiraz Grenache Viognier 2012, Western Cape, South Africa, currently on offer at £5.99 down from £7.99 in the Co-op.

Nigel Rumsey from Rumsey’s Chocolates and The Wine Tipster joined Kat Orman on BBC Radio Oxford for Foodie Friday. Nigel produces delicious handmade chocolates and we had some fantastic matches on Friday including orange seville with Vilarnau Rosé Cava NV, a stunning combination of raspberry cream chocolate with the Edmeades Perli Late Harvest Zinfandel 2006 and the Sandeman Late Bottled Vintage Port 2008 tasted great with Gruyère cheese dipped in an organic chocolate log!

Details of the the wines, port and chocolates below.

Muscat Beaumes de Venise 2010 Vidal-Fleury, Rhone, France. Stockist: Bablake Wines £13.99.Chocolates: Organic Dark Chocolate Log and Salted Caramel.

Vilarnau Cava Brut Rosé NV, Sant’ Sadurni d’ Anoia, Spain. Stockist: The Oxford Wine Company £10.99 or £10.44 when buying a mixed case of 12 bottles.Chocolates: Orange Seville and Praline Cocoa.

Edmeades Perli Late Harvest Zinfandel 2006, Mendocino, USA. Stockist: www.hailshamcellars.com £10.79 for a half bottle. Chocolates: Raspberry Cream and Cafe

Supreme.

Sandeman Late Bottled Vintage Port 2008, Douro, Portugal. Stockist: Waitrose £15.99. Chocolates: Chilli Amaretto, Praline Cocoa and Gruyère cheese dipped in an organic chocolate log!

The Wine Tipster saw Long Run beat the mighty Denman and Kauto Star to win The Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2011 (the most emotional reception I have witnessed at any racecourse for the first three, who were all winners) and yet this gutsy effort to beat two great champions took so much out of Long Run that he will never win a Gold Cup again in my opinion. It was hard to fancy him yesterday at the unfriendly odds of 11-8 to beat either Silviniaco Conti or The Giant Bolster in the Betfair Chase and whilst he managed to beat David

Bridgewater’s horse, Long Run couldn’t cope with the jumping display of the Nicholls’ trained Silviniaco Conti. Long Run is not a smooth jumper, yet his class still keeps him very competitive in races and in an open Cheltenham Gold Cup I will take some 8/1 each way on him finishing in the first three.

Was Nicky Henderson right to run Finian’s Rainbow in the extreme going? The horse never looked happy and you wonder if the winning pot had been smaller as to whether Finian’s Rainbow would have been pulled out. At Cheltenham the previous weekend the Henderson trained Spinning Sacre wasn’t risked because of the deteriorating ground conditions in the Sholer Chase and you do wonder whether Henderson should have done the same yesterday. Let’s hope the very talented Finian’s Rainbow puts in a winning performance in his next race.

Cheltenham Racecourse fully deserves its reputation as the centre of jump racing and The Open Meeting, November 15^th – 17^th proved this once again. Not only does Cheltenham provide quality racing to an appreciative crowd, there is also plenty to engage the racegoer before, during and after racing with the popular exhibitor village, including a range of clothing, jeweller, arts and the expanding Food Hall, which featured the high quality cheeses from Philip Stansfield at The Cornish Cheese Co and delicately flavoured meats from The Cotswold Curer.

Some horses to watch out for from The Open included the David Pipe trained Dynaste in the Steel Plate and Sections Novices Chase, who looked very accomplished and one to have in your selection at The Cheltenham Festival. Another Pipe horse, Ashkazar, who can be a tricky customer, was given a quiet ride by Timmy Murphy at the back of the race in the Henrietta Knight Handicap Chase before pulling up and I’ll be looking out for him next time he runs at Cheltenham. I would also like to see where Emma Lavelle goes next with Bouggler, who looked in excellent condition on returning after a lay off and wasn’t given a hard time once he weakened in the Ultima Business Solutions Handicap Hurdle.