Sales of fine wines such as Chateau Latour and Chateau Margaux could continue to stay strong in the build-up to Christmas - bucking the overall trend in alcohol sales.

According to the latest research from Mintel, alcohol sales are set to plummet in this festive period, with the economic situation compounded by the 2.5 per cent VAT rise on January 1st.

"The VAT increase and above inflation excise duty increase planned for 2011 will also raise the cost of most alcohol drinks by as much as eight per cent, which will be a hard pill for consumers to swallow," said Jonny Forsyth, senior drinks analyst at Mintel.

However, wine sales should do a lot better than those of other alcoholic drinks, the firm suggests, with 65 per cent of people putting it at the top of their festive drinks list.

People looking to give wine as a gift may wish to complement it with a book on Europe's finest vintages, Wine Spectator suggested last week.

The publication states that tomes such as Grandi Vini: An Opinionated Tour of Italy's 89 Finest Wines can make the perfect gift for wine enthusiasts.

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