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.

The Wine Tipster had a stunning tasting at Hakkasan the other day in Hanway Street, W1 ahead of a food, wine and water matching sommelier tasting for S.Pellegrino the following week. The service, dishes and wines were of the highest standard, as one would expect from this highly respected group – there is the Mayfair Hakkasan, with other sites in the USA, Middle East and India.  The staff were helpful, courteous and great at explaining all the dishes from the Dim Sum and a la carte menus. I was looking to start with milder, less intense dishes and the Dim Sum Har gau Prawn Dumplings (pictured right) by the Dim Sum Scallop shumai with tobiko caviar were a great way to kick off. I was keen to have a vegetarian dish, with the recommended Dim Sum Three Style Mushroom cheung fun (pictured below) hitting the spot, followed by a delicate Fried home made pumpkin tofu from the a la carte menu. The popular Pippa Duck and the Stir-fry black pepper rib-eye beef with Merlot dishes from the al a carte menu were faultless and beautifully presented like all the courses. For dessert, I couldn’t make up my mind, so I went for the delicate Honey Roast Peach with almond financier, toasted almonds and vanilla ice cream beautifully matched with port and the recommended Hazelnut Jivara Bomb with dark chocolate sauce, which was nicely balanced and a real treat with Gonzalez Byass’ excellent Pedro Ximenez Noe Sherry.

Book yourself into Hakkasan for lunch or dinner and have an experience to remember.

Hakkasan, Hanway Street, W1, Tel: 0207 – 927 – 7000 or Hakkasan, Bruton Street, Mayfair, W1 Tel: 0207 – 907 -1888.   www. hakkasan.com

Thank you London 2012 for your brilliant organisation at Eton Dorney for the Canoe Sprinting on Wednesday. The morning competition was superb viewing, aided by seats near to the finishing line. However my memory of the Olympics 2012 will be sitting in the grandstand with loads of other punters from so many different countries and everyone standing for the national anthems. A fantastic experience.

In contrast to the smooth running of the Olympics I have been battling with my first petrol mower purchase.  For the first three rounds I failed to qualify and returned with the mower to the very helpful Jim Reeve from J.P. Garden Machinery, who patiently reminded me what I should be doing.

Problem now solved but in the meantime I have fitted in plenty of Olympic viewing whilst enjoying some Sancerre Rosé 2010, £16.50, Pascal Jolivet, Loire, France. Stockist: Soho Wine Supply, Slurp.co.uk. Staying in the Loire, the dry, appley, complex, 12.5% abv Chinon Blanc 2010, £10.99, Domaine de l’ Abbaye, Loire, France is a relatively unknown high quality white from this region known for Pouilly Fume and Muscadet. Stockist: Soho Wine Supply. Later today whilst cheering  Mo Farah during his 5,000 metres gold medal attempt The Wine Tipster will have a glass of delicious, dry sherry from  Bodegas Hidalgo, La Gitane Manzanilla, £8.89,  Sanlúcar de Barrameda , Spain as my baton. Stockist: Waitrose.   Come on Mo!

Sherry isn’t unfashionable, it is cool as an edgy, trendy metropolitan drink or as a stylish, rural I buy Boden aperitif. Either way, whether you are entertaining trendy mates or want something

to imbibe post mowing get down to Sainsbury’s for their Lustau Taste the Difference 12 -Year- Old Dry Oloroso Sherry , Jerez de la Frontera, Spain, abv 20%, £7.99 on offer down to £6.99 for a 50cl.

This delicious, dry, tangy, salty and complex sherry is best served at around 11-13 degrees and will, once opened, stay fresh for 3-4 weeks. If you are looking for some olives and meats to go with your oloroso then check out Brindisa.