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.

Each year we leave our drinks shopping later and later so here are my Ten to Follow win bets for Christmas and the New Year.

Champagne Fever is top of many tipsters lists for the Arkle Trophy at Cheltenham in March and this horse’s name sums up the Yuletide period for fizz sales so here is my combination exacta with the Tote (first three in any order) for bubbles: Pommery Brut Royal NV £29.99, down from £38.99, Sainsbury’s  is dry, delicious and creamy, whilst the award winning Louis Roederer Brut Premier NV has made its mark as a consistently high quality performer, Majestic £42.00 buy two bottles save 1/3 to £27.98.  If you are looking for a well-bred, Group 1 quality champagne  from a great vintage year then Dom Pérignon 2004 Gift Box, £120.00- £135.00 Majestic, Selfridges has class and elegance in abundance with a memorable finish.

There have been some famous New Zealand racehorses including Playschool, ridden by Paul Nicholls,  then jockey and now seven times champion jumps trainer, who won the Hennessy and Welsh Grand National in 1987. It was around that time that many people were discovering that a chilled  New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc was the wine for them and the fan club has only carried on increasing over the years so if you are a member or haven’t yet  signed up the try this delicious, zingy, fresh, peppery, spicy, Peter Yealands Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2012 £10.85, Co-op with your smoked salmon  – some NZ Sauvignon Blanc is just too full on for this kind of matching – but this is spot on.  You may also want to snap up the  ante-post 11/4 on the Nicholls’ trained Big Buck’s for the World Hurdle at The Cheltenham Festival.

From the list of runners with drink related names at The 2013 Cheltenham Festival I tried to include Vino Griego (successfully backed at 25-1 to win at their January meeting)  in my group for this year’s Cheltenham Festival Racecourse Radio piece, however I was given a yellow card for this one as Vino Griego didn’t quite match up to Champagne Fever, John’s Spirit and The Liquidator! (hugely impressive on his last run). Despite my reprimand, I’m a big fan of Vino Griego and I’ll be backing him for his next run, which will hopefully be the Argento Chase. In vino terms, Oldenburg Vineyards Chenin Blanc 2012,  Stellenbosch, South Africa, £16.99 – £17.95, Berry Brothers & Rudd, www.sawinesonline.co.uk is a classy, premium, subtlety-oaked and complex white which is ideal with fish dishes in a creamy sauce. Alternatively if you are having the full roast turkey with all the trimmings then mark your card with Château Cissac 2009 Haut-Médoc Cru Bourgeois, Bordeaux, France, £17.95. Stockists: Tanners www.tanners-wines.co.uk, The Sampler. 2009 is one of the great well-bred Bordeaux vintages with winners at all grades and this intensely fruity, well structured red will most definitely bring some Christmas cheer.

As a punter I’m always on the look out for a bit of value and with Yuletide it is no different with Torres Vina Sol 2012, Catalunya, Spain, £6.69, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, down to £5 in Asda and Casillero del Diablo Cabernet Sauvignon 2011,  Viña  Concha y Toro, Valle Central, Chile £7.99-£5.99, Sainsbury’s, a couple of runners I would definitely back. These are perfect wines to enjoy whilst taking in the King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day and the Coral Welsh Grand National at Chepstow on 28th December.

We invariably don’t spend enough time on the cheese course or the wines to match, however make it different this year. Hugel Gewurztraminer Vendange Tardive 2007, Alsace, France, £33.00, The Wine Society, vintagemarque.com is a brilliant, top class, off dry wine with complex flavours of citrus, honey and pear, with a truly memorable finish. This is a great match with blue cheese and worth every penny of your pre-Christmas winnings. Alternatively, your tipple might be port, so check out Sandeman’s Late-Bottled Vintage Port 2008, £15.99, Waitrose, which is definitely well-handicapped.

Cheers!