I love the idea of letting the sunny flavours of the Mediterranean brighten up Christmas. As regular readers of these pages will know, I've been an impatient prisoner under the long Irish regime of turkey and claret, memorable though both occasionally may be. My own festive table has borne the fruits of intermittent gastro-rebellion these past few years. Now there's a chance to experiment on a much broader, more exciting front. Roll on the global Christmas. This week, flexibility is the key word. Just as the recipes can be used, together or individually, for various different types of Christmas meals, there's an element of pick and mix about the suggested wines. With the exception of the fish soup (which goes better with the Orvieto than the white Cotes du Rhone below), you don't need to be particularly rigid about what you choose.
If you decide to serve the grilled vegetables on their own as a first course, either of the white wines will partner them in style. Equally, either of the reds packs the right degree of punch to stand up to the robust, tapenade-stuffed lamb.
If the whites and reds I've picked are quite modest in price, that's so that you'll have an excuse to splurge on some good vin santo, the Tuscan dessert wine in which Italians like to dip their biscotti. Talk about instant pudding! If you still need to be convinced, think how little these tasty little biscuits cost to make. And it's Christmas, dammit - the season of permissable treats. Splash out!
Whites
Orvieto Classico Torricella, Luigi Bigi, 1997 (SuperValu Deansgrange and Raheny, McCabes Merrion, Findlaters Harcourt Street, Cheers-Silver Granite Palmerstown, Nolans Kilkee and some other outlets, £6.99-£7.50). This single-vineyard Orvieto is that rare thing, an Italian white wine with plenty of body and flavour - and look at the price. Delicious with a wide range of Mediterranean starters.
Perrin Reserve Cotes du Rhone 1996/7 (DeVine Wine Shop Castleknock, Cheers-Gibneys and Shiels Malahide, Bolands Glasnevin, Grapes of Mirth Rathmines, Noble Rot Navan, Old Stand Mullingar, Fahys Ballina, Galvins Cork and many other outlets, £7.99£8.49). The liberal dash of Viognier which gives this deliciously assertive white its slightly peachy character makes it a lessthan-perfect choice for the fish soup - but try it as an aperitif, or with the grilled vegetables if you're having them as a first course.
Reds
Col di Sasso SangioveseCabernet, Banfi, 1996 (Redmonds Ranelagh, Carvills Camden Street, Pettitts in the south-east, O'Donovans Cork, usually about £7.99). This smooth, tasty red comes across like a Chianti that's done time in Bordeaux. A fledgling SuperTuscan at a super price.
Chateau de Flaugergues, Coteaux du Languedoc La Mejanelle 1995 (Dunnes Stores, £9.45). I've admired this before, but tasted again just recently it comes across as a brilliant choice for this week's food. Packed with the robust flavours of the south, it's very well made - and the bottle's pretty handsome, too.
Dessert Wines
Vin santo can be coarse, raisiny, raw, fiery . . . but these two from fine old family-owned estates really show it off:
Vin Santo, Badia a Coltibuono, 1991 (Mitchells Kildare Street and Glasthule, McCabes Merrion, Findlaters Harcourt Street, Jus de Vine Portmarnock, Pielows Enniskerry, half bottle £13£14.) Relatively light, elegant and very attractive - sweet in the mouth but with a dry finish.
Vin Santo, Castello di Cacchiano, 1991 (McCabes Merrion, Redmonds Ranelagh, Grapes of Mirth Rathmines, half bottle usually about £19.95). A richer version with luscious hints of candied peel and apricots. Outstanding.