IT’S THE most magical and nostalgic time of the year and one of the real joys of Christmas Day is the fanfare of food and wine.

To awaken the senses, celebrate the day with a Buck’s Fizz. For a Spanish cava, the natural choice with freshly squeezed orange juice, try Extra Special Vintage Cava 2009 (£9.98, Asda).

A vintage sparkler, it’s fruity with a whisper of pineapple, a clean finish, and equally delicious on its own with eggs benedict.

In tune with the Queen’s Speech and to polish up your palate for next year’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations, why not try serving an English fizz with nibbles and hors d’oeuvres?

English wines have enjoyed a record year in sales, and Surrey-based Denbies has a real cracker with its Taste the Difference English Sparkling Brut 2007 (£19.99, Sainsbury’s).

A classic champagne blend of chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier, it’s elegant with fine beads of bubbles, a citrus creaminess and biscuity notes on the fresh finish.

For the main event and to complement smoked salmon and brown bread, a sauvignon blanc such as Extra Special Pouilly Fume 2010, France (£9, Asda) really comes into its own.

Very fresh with attractive gooseberry fruit and good acidity, it balances the saltiness of the fish and gets better with every sip.

There’s no right or wrong tipple to accompany a dish of bronzed turkey and all the trimmings No specific grape can complement the myriad of seasoning and tastes, but a chardonnay is a champion choice.

Full bodied with plenty of flavour, try Mercurey Pierre Olivier Chardonnay 2005, France (£13.45, www.fromvineyardsdirect.com), one of the best recent vintages from the Cote Challonaise region in Burgundy. Sophisticated and drinking beautifully, the pure fruit in this honeyed white manages to stand up to all the tasty trimmings.

For a notch up the scale, try Torres Milmanda 2008 (£30, www.vintagemarque.com). A straw yellow chardonnay from one of the Torres family’s finest single vineyards, it’s rich and intense with a medley of tropical fruit flavours and apricot notes on the lengthy finish. It’s a real Spanish gem if you’re fine dining a deux.

For purists, Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without a seasonal selection of reds. Reds that won’t be overwhelmed by the food include those from Chateauneuf-du-Pape in the southern Rhone.

Grenache dominant, they’re weighty with good concentration and depth of flavour.

Flagship producer Caves d’Ogier has a good entry level wine for “the day of tucking in” that offers discerning drinkers incredible value. Try Ogier AOC Lirac Reserve Red 2010, France (£8.99, Co-op).

Velvety smooth with brambly fruit, gentle tannins and Christmas cake spice on the silky finish, it’s a real crowd pleaser.