Amanda Yallop.

As a sommelier for celebrated restaurant Quay, Amanda has a penchant for lighter, food-friendly wines. Here she creates a wine wishlist with Sydney’s summer weather top of mind.

I love the festive season. I’m usually in charge of wine for my family (lucky break) so I find it easy and exciting – kids aren’t the only ones who should have all the fun!

My go-to styles at this time of year include plenty of sparkling wine, Champagne, riesling, semillon, dry rosé, pinot noir, grenache and fortifieds. The selection I have on hand must be able to service different needs – they should be suitable to enjoy with family over a meal, take to a party and share with friends or sometimes fob off as a last-minute gift when necessary.

I also encourage everyone I know to use the party season as an opportunity to pull out special bottles they may have saved and to also be more playful in their drink selections. So many people go for bigger-style red wines, but Sydney summers can be a very unforgiving environment for these bottles; you’d be better off with a Hunter Valley semillon or a Tasmanian chardonnay. Use the weather, the company you’re in and the moment to guide you to the right choice. Many people love wine and you would expect it to be a safe choice to buy them a bottle as a gift, but keep in mind these same people are usually very finicky about what they do drink. I find a bottle of Champagne or an Australian fortified wine are always well received – non-fortified drinkers are quickly converted once they’ve sampled what Rutherglen has to offer. The golden rule is that wine is meant to be shared, so be sure to drink well and play safe this season.