It’s nearly 5pm, Melbourne time, Christmas Eve. Now that the site is working with only a few glitches (thankfully we’ve only discovered a small number of details that need attention in the New Year), I’m finally casting my thoughts in the direction of Christmas luncheon. For those of you subscribing from outside Australian shores, the traditional English Christmas still holds sway over a large percentage of thinking and drinking Australians. Roast turkey, stuffing and ham, potatoes, vegetables, gravy – the entire broadside – followed by Christmas pudding smothered in custard, ice-cream and cream. Of course there are indigenous alternatives, such as the climatically sensitive seafood salad, or perhaps even the barbecue of kangaroo and emu. Who said we don’t have the world’s most edible coat of arms? But sticking with focused resolution to the traditional Pommie fare as my family does (while a naturalised Australian my mother was indeed born a Pom), the drinks selection is perhaps one of the easiest of the year. There will be Champagne for starters, then serious Australian sparkling red with the turkey et al. Then more serious red as an interlude. I’ve set my mind on a magnum of Howard Park 1992 Cabernet Sauvignon, one of the greatest Australian reds ever made, and I’ll toast its maker, John Wade, with it. Once it’s empty, along with a couple of other older Hunter shirazes I’ve been holding, dessert will look after itself. Washed down with some Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise, some Horrocks Cordon Cut and an old bottle of Joe Grilli’s late harvest riesling. Whatever you do on Christmas day, may it be happy and safe.
