Dan Murphy’s Alphington Wine Merchant Richard Doumani is an expert in food and wine pairing. It’s a skill he picked up during his career as a sommelier in some of Australia’s top restaurants, including Gordon Ramsay’s Maze and those at TarraWarra and Medhurst wineries in the Yarra Valley.

Creating fun and intriguing experiences for people is a passion that’s led Richard to host hundreds of wine dinners and events in at least 10 countries, including in Sweden where he co-hosted a series of TV shows that explored wine and seafood pairings with the Discovery Channel’s celebrity chef Jonas Helgesson.

To date, Richard’s most cutting- edge combination was at a pop-up dinner he hosted at Stockholm’s Punk Royale restaurant – Fine de Claire oysters warmed and topped with curried granita and served with, in his words, “a killer-diller Sancerre”.

Nobody is better placed to offer advice on pairing and hosting this Christmas.

Clover Hill Vintage Brut, Tasmania: This award-winning, cool-climate Tasmanian sparkling rivals the best examples from France. Fresh and crisp with hints of buttery toast, this sparkling goes best with oysters dressed in lemon or a classic mignonette.

A by Arras Premium Cuvee, Tasmania: A superb bottle from Australia’s top sparkling winemaker, Ed Carr. This of salinity, which makes it the perfect partner to oysters. Lean and refreshing, it’d also work well with smoked salmon blinis.