Wine

Cathal McBride on wine: Put some sparkle into the festive season with these ports and bubbles

Ringing in the New Year calls for adventurous wine choices and the time to purchase them is now

Crémant de Limoux is considered the origin of the oldest sparkling wine and yet it is overshadowed by its more northerly neighbours in Champagne. Picture: Getty Images

With a host of tantalising wines to pair perfectly with your Christmas dinner dealt with last week, my attention now turns to the evenings before and after the special day. With your New Year’s Eve celebrations in mind, I want to recommend some exciting dessert wines, ports and bubbles to put a sparkle into the festive season.

It may seem early to talk about New Year’s but my reason for mentioning it becomes especially true ...