THE 84th Academy Awards on Sunday is the ultimate A-list bash, and a brilliant excuse to step into a stellar cellar for some best dressed labels.
With a front-row seat, here are some celebratory wines to lay out for friends to applaud the critics’ choice.
Taittinger Brut Reserve NV (£35.99, Tesco) is the fizz of choice for special awards dinners.
It’s elegant and toasty with a fine mousse, and a lengthy enough finish to complement a long acceptance speech.
Try an English wine from a top drawer producer to celbrate Bafta Best British Film award winner, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.
Chapel Down’s latest release,
Chapel Down Chardonnay 2010 (£13.99, slurp.co.uk) is unoaked, a clean, fresh mouthful of green apples with apricot and lime flavours, and typifies the citrus-driven style of English wine.
Next up, try this gem from New Zealand’s own first lady of wine, Jane Hunter OBE.
Her
Hunter’s Gewurztraminer 2010, Marlborough (£12.99, laithwaites.co.uk) is an excellent introduction to this sweeter style of white wine.
Floral and blossomy with a blast of lychee, there’s a subtle fizz and it’s a delicious drop with Asian snacks and bites.
Veteran director Steven Spielberg will be hoping his equine epic War Horse wins by a mile. Try the aptly-named Show Stopper 2010, Durif, New South Wales (£8.99, laithwaites.co.uk). Rich, velvety and spicy with deep savoury fruit and high tannin, it’s gratifyingly intense.
Or if you prefer the minerality of a classy Chablis, try ES Chablis 2010 (£9.34, Asda). Deep apple fresh with a hint of oak, classic mineral shell and good acidity, it’s a top pairing with delicate seafood canapes.
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