Christmas for scrooges: Award winning food and wine on a budget

Being a miser at Christmas doesn’t mean you have to forfeit the good stuff, in fact with so many major retailers contending for your business, there’s a great range of food and wine available at a wallet friendly price.

So to help you and your inner scrooge financially survive Christmas, we’ve rounded up the tastiest top five items for you and your posse.

And the winners are...

1. Aldi wines

Looking for topnotch champers and mouthwatering wines that will hit the spot this Christmas? Just take a glance at Aldi’s award winning wine list, which include wines that impressed the connoisseurs at the Sydney International Wine Competition this year like a Cabernet Sauvignon at just $6.99 and a Sparkling Chardonnay priced at $7.99. Ebenezer Scrooge would be proud!

2. Thatchers Cider (available at Dan Murphy's)

If you prefer cider over wine, then Thatchers Cider should do the trick. Distributed in Australia by Coopers and available for purchase at Dan Murphy's, Thatchers Cider claimed gold in three categories in the Australian Cider Awards - Best in Show, Best Cider and Best International Cider/Perry. With a competitive price for a premium cider at just $49.99 per case of 12 ($5.90 per bottle) from Dan Murphy's online , your taste buds and wallet will thank you.

3. Coles Salmon

It’s common knowledge that Aussies love seafood on their Christmas table but that doesn’t mean you have to pay an arm and a leg for quality. For instance the Coles Tasmanian “Mild”, “Hot” and “Honey” glazed smoked salmon products all won bronze at the 2014 Royal Sydney Fine Food Awards.

4. Bertocchi Brothers ham (available at Coles)

Christmas is the time of year when carols are sung, drunk Uncle Bob pulls out the one liners and of course a time for putting some pork on your fork. While last year IGA took out the crown as the best nationally available ham for its Naturally Smoked Bone-In Leg Ham, this year the Bertocchi Brothers Triple Smoked Leg Ham impressed the judges at the Australian Ham Week.

5. Woolworths ice cream

Any parent will know that little Christmas elves will want their sugar hit from Santa (AKA you). So purchase some sugary goodness both you and your children will enjoy like the Woolworths Gold Christmas Fruit Mince Pie Ice Cream , the bronze winner in the Royal Melbourne Fine Food Awards 2014.