IT is a fact that Christmas dinner is even more delicious when it's washed down with a glass of great wine.

But which wine? From which country? Standing in the middle of a jam-packed supermarket it is the last thing I want to worry about.

So this year I asked for help and found salvation with the Worcester Wine Club, specifically Rachel Hall, a founding member of the club and a walking, talking wine encylopedia.

Rachel, the wine adviser at Oddbins in the Cornmarket, Worcester, explained everything to me. From bucks fizz at breakfast to sauternes for dessert she guided me through Christmas day one glass at a time.

Bucks fizz is the traditional tipple to sip with breakfast but Rachel wants us to try something new, something such as Dr Loosen riesling white wine from Germany.

She says: "It's a great alternative to have in the morning. It's light, fruity and it's only 8.5 per cent."

Remember if you opt for bucks fizz use cheap fizz, such as a reasonably inexpensive cava rather than top-of-the-range champagne.

If you have guests coming, it is a good idea to offer snacks as they arrive. Brut Cava complements nibbles like olives and cashew nuts perfectly. Miss Hall suggests Segura Viudas Brut from Spain - it's fresh and crisp but the fizz is soft and smooth. It will whet the appetite and bide time before the main event - the traditional Christmas dinner.

For starters the majority of people plump for smoked salmon but increasingly more popular is asparagus.

"Asparagus goes well with sauvignon blanc," says Miss Hall. "With subtle foods you need subtle wine. The sauvignon blanc is light and fresh. If you want a stronger starter, such as a mushroom tartlet, you need a stronger wine, otherwise both will suffer.

Recommending the Dona Dominga Old Vine chard-onnay from Chile, she explained that choosing wine is all about matching flavours.

When it comes to turkey the rules aren't too different from chicken. "If you think about what kinds of sauces you would use with the meat, you can work out which wine to have. Dona Dominga Old Vines cabernet sauvignon is good because its fruity, like having cranberry or red currant sauce."

The Dona Dominga is a blend of chardonnay and semillon. It's extremely fresh and juicy with flavours of roasted coffee, even herbs.

Miss Hall says rioja also pairs well with turkey and recommends the Marques De Concordia rioja.

"It's soft, like raspberry juice with hints of pepper. Rioja is like extra seasoning for the turkey, so is shiraz from Australia which also has a peppery taste."

With duck and goose you can opt for heavier wine.

"Pinot noir is not too heavy," says Miss Hall, "It's not as dense as some red wines so it's good for goose."

She suggests the Dashwood pinot noir from New Zealand, ideal because of its cherry and plum flavours.

If you are having a vegetarian main meal, such as nut-roast, why not try a vegetarian wine.

Peter Lehmann produces one of very few truly meat-free wines. The Eden Valley shiraz is quite pricey, but very fruity and has not come into any contact with any meat by-products.

Meanwhile, Christmas pudding calls for something all together different.

"It has raisin and fig flavours," said Miss Hall. "Rather than oranges and lemons, and you need to choose a wine with that in mind."

She recommends the Dind-arello Maculan. The sweet Italian dessert wine is made from muscat grapes dried for three months to concentrate the flavour. The half-bottle size makes it the ideal way to end dinner.

Alternatively if you're opting for chocolate log why not try a sauternes.

The sweet white wine is not typically served as a table wine but is a perfect partner with rich foods such as chocolate. It can also be drunk by itself in place of a dessert.

Miss Hall is the wine adviser at Oddbins in the Cornmarket, Worcester.

All wines she recommends are available in store this Christmas. For more information pop in or call the store 01905 26228.

Best offers from the high street

Sainsbury's

Wolf Blass chardonnay - was £7.99 now £5.99 Napa Valley Vineyards cabernet sauvignon - was £11.99 now £7.99 Taste The Difference cava - was £9.99 now £5.99 Mumm champagne - was £22.99 now 18.99

Morrisons

Jean D'Eperon NV - was £10.99 now £9.89 Angoves Artist Series chardonnay 2005 - was £7.99 now £4.99 Chateau Caronne Ste Gemme 1998 - £9.99 Sichel sauternes 2003 - was £8.99 now £7.99

Waitrose

Fine Wines for Christmas case (12 bottles, five wines) - was £137.88 now £89 Cava La Rosca NV (case of 12 bottles) only £45.48, equivalent to £3.79 a bottle

Oddbins

There is currently 20 per cent off when you buy six bottles (more than 500 wines to chose from) and six for the price of five on all champagne and sparkling wines.

Majestic Wine Warehouses

Up to 50 per cent off a selection of champagne and 20 per cent off all Chilean and New Zealand wine.

HOW TO APPRECIATE WINE

Colour - Hold the glass to a well-lit white surface to see properly see the colour.

White wines go darker with age but colour can also indicate the climate of its country of origin. Colour of red wine depends on grape variety regardless of age.

Smell - in the glass does not only make you look a professional, it actually releases the aroma. Good wines tend to go hand in hand with pleasant smell.

Wines can be fruity, floral, spicy, vegetal, earthy or woody. The more you practise taking in aromas around you everyday, the more ability you will have to differentiate between wines.

Taste - When you take that first gulp, roll it around your mouth. What you will taste is not the only the flavour, but its structure, whether it is rough or smooth, its body, light or full, and it's balance, the combination of tastes such as sweetness, acidity or amount of tannin. For details about the wine club speak to Rachel at Oddbins.

(London Wine Academy website)