The House of Krug is working with Rogue in St Andrews and The Finnieston in Glasgow to add some sparkle to the festive period.

Yesterday, the 5pm Dining blog was invited along to Rogue to discover more about Krug and how well their Champagne pairs with food, especially fish.

And yes, dear reader, it was a tough gig but can you think of a better way to escape the Brexit farrago for an afternoon?

Each year, Krug selects a single ingredient and challenges their chef ambassadors to experiment, play around with it and devise a dish that shows the ingredient in its best light.

In previous years, the single ingredients chosen have been potatoes and fungi. This year, it is fish and a dozen of the world's best chefs have each created a dish that highlights all that is best the ingredient.

The project is called Krug x Fish.

Andrew Fairlie of Restaurant Andrew Fairlie at Gleneagles is the only UK chef among the Krug ambassadors and he devised a dish of seaweed broth with poached red mullet.

As well as the fish, the principal ingredients used include konbu, shitake, bonito and tomato.

According to Chef Fairlie, the fullness of flavours and aromas in Krug Grand Cuvée matches perfectly with the perceived simplicity of the poached fish and brings out the umami present in the broth.'

More than an aperitif

You can see for yourself how Krug Grand Cuvée pairs with fish at either Rogue or The Finnieston.

In the run-up to Christmas, each venue is serving a glass of Krug Grand Cuvée along with a taster dish of seared West Coast mackerel with puffed wild rice, smoked mussel tempura and sea purslane.

At Rogue, it is £35 for a glass of Krug and the taster dish while The Finnieston charges £30 for this luxurious treat.

One of the aims of the Krug x Fish project is demonstrate that Champagne can be much more than an aperitif and can accompany every stage of a meal.

It certainly worked well with the taster dish adding a fresh zing to the smoked mussel and the oiliness of the mackerel.

If it complemented the fish by acting as a refreshing counterpoint to the smoky, oily flavours then it paired perfectly with a dessert of passion fruit parfait by matching its rich creaminess.

More than a 140 different wines are blended to make each bottle of Krug Grande Cuvée and, arguably, it is this complex diversity that makes the Champagne so versatile when it comes to matching it with food.

Book via 5pm

Both Rogue and The Finnieston are well known for their excellent steaks and, counter intuitively, the Krug also paired well with the red meat.

If you want to put any of this to the test then Rogue and The Finnieston can be booked via 5pm.

And indulging in a glass of Krug is a sure fire way of making your festivities feel very special.

Our Krug lunch was hosted by Oli Smith of Moët Hennessy. Intriguingly, Oli served the Krug in wine glasses rather than Champagne flutes.

'Flutes strangle the wine,' he explained. 'It's like drinking from a test tube whereas open glassware with an aperture that curves in slightly concentrates the aroma.'

We'll drink to that.