Welcome to this new wine blog: over the coming weeks I hope to provide you with some interesting news from the wine world as well as some useful tips on what to drink when to drink it and why. Happy glugging!

What better way to start than to give a little advice on finding the perfect match for your turkey this Christmas? The key to all good wine and food pairing is to find a wine which mirrors the dish you are serving.

The intense flavour of a big, bold red wine would overpower the delicate flavour of turkey which, being a lean, white meat, is undeniably at its best with white, rather than red wines. So unless you've opted for roast beef on Christmas day I would strongly recommend that you resist the urge to crack open that carefully hoarded bottle of Bordeaux or Chteauneuf-du-Pape (save it for the cheeseboard) and have a think about some whites.

And the grape variety? Well for me the perfect match for Christmas poultry is undoubtedly a bottle (or two) of Chardonnay. Now before you turn away from this blog in horror, as the flavour of all those cheap and nasty bottles drunk in your student days seem to echo through the years to haunt your taste buds, let me attempt to rescue the tarnished reputation of this glorious grape.

Careless use of oak has a lot to do with Chardonnays current ignominy - lots of large scale wineries seeking to meet high demand in the 90s and early 2000s would simply chuck a load of wood chippings into a steel vat with the wine and leave the whole lot to stew and the result was predictably awful. However, Chardonnay properly aged in small oak barriques of French or American oak can create gorgeously supple wine with flavours as diverse as vanilla, pineapple and even banana. The oak ageing also gives the wine more body, making it feel creamy and luscious in the mouth, which means it will complement all manner of white meat dishes beautifully, and for the vegetarians amongst us I should point out that oaked Chard is simply exquisite with nut roasts.

The home of oaked Chardonnay is the Mconnais region of Burgundy and there are a range of styles and price points from around this region with the wines coming from the Pouilly-Fuissé appellation being amongst the most sought after. If you still feel that oaky chardonnays simply aren't for you then there is a wealth of unoaked varieties as well. Again Burgundy is where some of the greatest examples can be found, with those coming from around the town of Chablis being amongst the very best. These wines are wonderfully fresh and vibrant with crisp green apple flavours but still retaining enough body to complement turkey well. Another plus is that they can easily serve double duty as an aperitif leading into a Christmas lunch or dinner.

Unfortunately the price of good Burgundian white is becoming more of a factor these days - high demand coupled with low yielding harvests in the last three years has resulted in prices for top wines becoming a little eye watering. However, the prestige of Burgundian Chardonnay has spawned many imitators, it has become the most widely planted white variety in the world and South Africa, California, Australia, New Zealand, and Chile all produce some stunningly good Chardonnay.

If you want to stick with France then think about heading south. Regions like Languedoc-Roussillon have been gaining increasing attention in recent years for their wines and in particular for top quality Chardonnay. As with all wines however what it boils down to is personal taste. To be sure of getting something you'll really enjoy the key is to avoid the supermarket and head for a dedicated wine shop. Not only are you guaranteed a better selection of good quality wines, you'll also be able to chat to the staff who will happily steer you towards something which matches your tastes. If you're lucky they might even have some samples open!

And finally, if you feel that you absolutely must have red wine with your Christmas turkey make sure you keep it light. My choice would be a pinot noir, from Burgundy of course!