Vat Free Champagne from Virgin Wines
Bollinger Special Cuvee NV
Style : Champagne
Some might claim that the Special Cuvee is the quintessential expression of the Bollinger style. Some might claim this to be pretentious guff. Either way, what you get here is one hell of a mouthful of wonderful full-bodied champers with a beautiful balance of rich fruit, yeasty creaminess and nutty maturity.
Rating : 5 Price : £27.99 £23.09 x 1 bottle


Lanson Black Label Brut NV
Style : Champagne
If you don't know the wines you'll surely remember the couple doing the naughties under the pier in the TV ads. Well, something obviously got things going and it was no doubt the lovely rich lemony flavours of this fab fizz. Whether it's a birthday celebration or just the end of a long hard day, this is the thing to spoil yourself with.
Rating : 4 Price : £18.99 £15.67 x 1 bottle


Perrier Jouet Brut NV
Style : Champagne
If full bodied, big, fat, cheesy vintage Champagne is not really your tipple, then savour the delights of this graceful drop. Not only will you enjoy a lovely lemony character with hints of hazelnuts and a soft effervescence on the tongue, you'll also pay a lot less for the pleasure. A delight from start to finish.
Rating : 4 Price : £20.99 £17.32 x 1 bottle


Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Yellow Label Brut NV
Style : Soft and Juicy Reds
'The Widow', as Veuve Clicquot is affectionately known, is one of the best known and most enjoyed Champagnes. Full-bodied and richly flavoured, it is one of the best food Champagnes - perfect for Christmas dinner.
Rating : 4 Price : £23.99 £19.79 x 1 bottle


Laurent Perrier Brut NV
Style : Champagne
Another classic Champagne, perhaps more famous as the city boys choice for celebrating huge bonuses and major takeovers than anything else, but none the worse for that. Why not grab a few bottles and make believe that for you, a lottery win would just be a nice bit of extra pocket money.
Rating : 4 Price : £22.99 £18.97 x 1 bottle


Champagne Taittinger Brut Reserve NV
Style : Champagne
Taittinger is one of the older Champagne houses and more unusually has a higher proportion of Chardonnay in its non-vintage. This gives a fizz that is lighter, fruitier and more elegant than many. The favourite of our Merchandising director and Wine Zone editor, no less.
Rating : 5 Price : £24.99 £20.62 x 1 bottle


Christmas specials from Virgin Wines

Christmas Survival Kit - £64.99

It's Christmas - which means it's time to stock up, lock up and turn into a couch potato. Well, this case should see you through those crucial crimbo days thanks to a gathering of heart warming reds and turkey loving whites.


2001 Wines of the Year - £89.99

Looking for an extra special gift this Christmas, or simply looking for some great wines to complement your Christmas feast - well look no further. We guarantee our 2001 Wines of the Year case will bedazzle even the hardest to please recipient.


Christmas Reds Case - £69.99

When it comes to wine, many of us fancy keeping it all red, rather than all white at Christmas time - so we've put this collection of top ranked reds together to keep you all warm and snuggly during the chilly yuletide season and ensure your nose and cheeks glow a similar bright and breezy colour to that of good old Rudolph's.


Six of the best - £64.99

Fed up of opening a bottle, falling in love with it, then being forced to either share the rest of it around the dinner table, or pine away while you wait for the next delivery. Well, we've taken six of our best bottles - three reds and three whites - and doubled them up, so that if you fancy a little more of the same you've got one waiting in reserve.


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If you want to discover some new and exciting wines, the Wine Wizard is for you. Take a couple of minutes to tell the Wizard about the wines you love and the wines you loathe, and it will create your own personal list of wines that you will love - or your money back. This should be fun, and isn't a test - if you don't know the answer to any of the questions just carry on.


Dave Broom's Hangover Cures for the Modern Drinker: 1-3

The main rule is to remember that this is a cocktail, not a soup, and is therefore more than the sum of its parts. That means giving it some bite from Tabasco, savouriness from Worcestershire sauce and a citric lift from lime (not lemon) juice. Then you can play about with other ingredients. Everyone has their own 'secret' ingredient - manzanilla sherry (to lift the flavour), white pepper, or wetting the rim with lime juice and turning it in some celery salt.
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There are times when a hangover hurts so much that it can't be cured by a few Bloody Marys. This is the hangover that doesn't ache, but has sucked your body dry. You are a shell without any control over your limbs or vision. You feel no pain, probably because technically you're still drunk.

At times like this you need the Underberg treatment. You may have seen Underberg, tiny bottles wrapped in brown paper that contain a potent German bitter. Forget Fernet-Branca, that's for lightweights, while Jagermeister is for clubbers who like to think they are dangerous. Underberg is the last resort of the suffering.
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The answer is back to the pub and a drink that won't sear its way down your oesophagus, but which still has bite. A drink that shows you to be in control of your hangover and ready to emerge the other side and start this new day afresh. This is the time for a Horse's Neck. The ginger ale is great for any residual heartburn and will up the blood sugars. The bitters have a tremendous settling effect on the stomach, while Bourbon is that hair of the dog that you need (and it's sweet enough not to make you splutter in pain).
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Dave Broom's Hangover Cures for the Modern Drinker: 4-6

It's a drink that even looks appealing, having a sort of sunrise glow, while the juice is thick and soothing as it slips down, giving a welcome hit of vitamin C. This is a Campari with just the right amount of a bitter kick to wake you up for the day. Braver drinkers can add Champagne and sweet (ie red) vermouth to the Campari to make a Fizzing Americano. It works equally well, but really depends on how much you like bubbles as a potential hangover cure.
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Sours are wonderful drinks that are absurdly easy to make, consisting of lemon and/or lime juice, sugar (ideally sugar syrup, but caster is fine) and a spirit, any spirit. The proportions of each really depend on your personal taste: try one part sugar to two parts sour to three of strong, then adjust sweet and sour to taste, though remember these are SOUR, not sweet. Though perfect on a hot summer afternoon, there's something deliciously evil about that zap of lemon tartness searing across your palate first thing in the morning, clearing your mind. A garnish of orange will give you some Vitamin C and help cut the drink if it's too acidic.
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The sour's greatest quality is the way it delivers a lip-smacking bolt of pure citric flavour and a belt of alcohol which instantly banishes the taste of hamster's-cage floor from your mouth. The lemon wakes you up, the sugar gives you a boost, and the alcohol - well, we know what that does already. The key is to use fresh lemon juice. Try using equal amounts of lemon and spirit (50ml each), but feel free to scale back on the citrus if it's too mouth-puckering (maybe 50ml spirit to 25ml juice). Do NOT, however, increase the amount of sugar: this is called a sour for good reason!
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