Christmas with the Browns

16 December 2022

The holidays look different for all families, but for us, Christmas is a highlight and Christmas Day always starts with everyone bringing a bottle of wine, something interesting to share. Presents are early, so the kids have something to entertain themselves while the adults enjoy one another’s company. Then we eat prawns and oysters for most of the afternoon before moving on to the cooked dishes, which are served cold to take the pressure off. Lunch usually runs into dinner, which turns into dancing into the midnight hours.

Top Christmas wines? We’ll start with a sparkling on arrival, either ours, the All Saints Estate Excentrique, a French icon, or sometimes a Sparkling Shiraz, for something different and Christmassy, to celebrate everyone’s health and attendance! Then onto Riesling, crisp and fresh for summer, like the All Saints Estate or one of our ‘outside’ favourites, the Grosset Polish Hill Riesling. Rosé is a must as it is a good wine for drinking across all cuisines, including seafood and turkey. And then we round things out with a dessert wine, so a good Muscat or Muscadelle or something citrusy like the Brown Brothers Patricia Late Harvest Botrytis Riesling.

The week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve is always about quality time with family and friends. Hopefully, we will be on a beach somewhere. Angela loves re-visiting Lorne; the three of us have been staying there since we were kids and have many happy summer holiday memories here.

Come New Year’s Eve; you’ll find Eliza at her home in Wahgunyah sending off 2021 with a magnum of All Saints Family Cellar Shiraz. 2021 had silver linings, including the opportunity to take in nature and all its beauty. When you slow down, you appreciate the small things. Not forgetting it’s been a tough year for everyone, but on NYE, we will try and forget the tricky bits.

We hope that 2022 will bring everyone new travel adventures, both in Australia and overseas. A huge thank you for your support this year and wishing you a healthy and prosperous 2022.

With thanks (and happy holidays!) Eliza, Nick and Angela.