By Suzi Atkins Last Updated: 1:44PM GMT 19 Dec 2008  Happily, I’ve come up with some very useful bottles all round. Last-minute Christmas, and all that. You see, these particular recipes call for one delicious light white, another much richer one, and an easy-drinking, juicy red. And if you’ve left all the festive wine to the last minute, then this is exactly the trio that will see you through the feasting in general.  Decent soave is the perfect partner for the grown-ups at Diana’s family lunch. Fresh, pure, but with a riper almond hint, it’s spot-on with the roast squash pasta and the radicchio/watercress salad. Indeed, stock up on good-quality soave for other creamy pasta sauces, white fish and cold white meat dishes over the next few days. A generalisation? A little, perhaps, but we’re in a rush here.  You’ll need a richer white for the New Year’s Eve dinner menu of goat’s cheese soufflés and salmon in pastry. This is one of those moments when bright, powerful New World chardonnay really shines. Buy it too as a Christmas mainstay, either for the turkey or for a hearty vegetarian alternative, or to go with luxurious seafood such as crab or lobster.  Now, a light-to-medium-bodied red with plenty of plump berry flavour but a soft, mellow texture. Pinot noir will match the potato and egg of New Year’s Day brunch, without imposing heavy, dense tannins. It will also partner the salmon from New Year’s Eve, your turkey, and any soft, mild cheeses about the place. Versatile, that’s how a wine should be at Christmas.  Cantina di Monteforte Soave Classico 2006, Italy (Waitrose, £6.99) Superior soave, very dry but with rounded apple and citrus. A good all-purpose wine for lighter Christmas courses (and Diana’s pasta)  Barossa Valley Estate E Minor Chardonnay 2006, Australia (wine rack, £9.49/£6.33 three for two deal) Majors on ripe, fresh pineapple and mango rather than heavy oak. A dazzling partner for rich salmon dishes and roast poultry.  Tesco Finest Yarra Valley Pinot Noir 2006, Australia (£13.49) A star of the Tesco Finest range, this has irresistibly juicy, ripe fruit, all cherry and strawberry, and a soft, gorgeously smooth finish  What to do with the dregs  'Use up good leftover Christmas wines in cooking, as you would leftover food. Reds go into stews, casseroles, meat pies and meaty pasta sauces, of course; splash dry whites, rosés and sparklers into liquid or parcels for poaching or baking fish; and use sweet golden wines to stew fruit’
Three wines will see you through Christmas (how many bottles of each is up to    you).