Planning ahead: The best wines to pair with your Christmas dinner

I suspect many of you decide what you’re going to eat for Christmas and buy in wine without connecting the one with the other. From a food pairing point of view ,however, it would obviously be better to plan your drinking around the meals you’ve decided to make.

So what are the best wines to pair with Christmas dinner? Here’s a quick guide, pulling together the various Christmas posts on the website to help you choose what to buy

Which wine should I serve with the turkey

First of all the centrepiece of the traditional Christmas dinner. If you’re serving turkey what is the best wine to choose? Remember it’s more about the stuffing, sauces and sides than the bird itself - you want a wine as bright and fruity as the cranberry sauce you dollop on the plate! I’d go for a fruity red like a Central Otago pinot noir, a velvety merlot or a shiraz. You can find other suggestions here

Top wines to drink with turkey

What wine goes with Christmas ham?

There’s usually a glaze on Christmas ham which calls for a wine with a touch of sweetness - much the same type as you’d serve with turkey, actually which makes life easy if you’re serving them both at the same time. I also have a soft spot for Beaujolais, especially once the ham is cold or a rich jammy grenache

Six of the best wine pairings with Christmas ham

I’m having goose - what wine should I pair with that?

Ah, slightly different register here. Goose is a darker, more savoury meat then turkey but also quite fatty so you need a wine with the acidity to cut through. Personally I’d go for an Italian red like a barolo or chianti but a spätlese riesling from Germany or grand cru riesling from Alsace would also be delicious if the family don't insist on a red.

What wine to pair with goose

How do I kick the day off? Which wine should I serve before the Christmas meal?

Well champagne’s the obvious festive choice isn’t it or, a sparkling wine that's more local to you (an English sparkling wine in my case). Both are perfect if you’re having a few nibbles before the meal rather than a starter which is what we tend to do. You could also serve a good Chablis or Loire sauvignon blanc like Sancerre or Pouilly Fumé both of which go well with seafood like oysters or smoked salmon.

10 different drinks to pair with smoked salmon

Should I serve wine with the Christmas pudding?

Go for it! I prefer a richer dessert wine like muscat or moscatel rather than a light, lemony one like Sauternes. Moscatel de Valencia or passito di Pantelleria would both be delicious with all that dried fruit.

What’s the best wine to drink with Christmas pudding?

If you’re serving a French style buche de Noël or other chocolate yule log, you could could go for a sweet RED like a Maury or a recioto della Valpolicella

The best wine and liqueur pairings for a chocolate yule log

And does it have to be sherry with mince pies?

Of course it doesn’t *have* to but Santa might be disappointed if you forgot his glass. Cream sherry, of course! A sweet madeira is also great with mince pies as is mulled wine . . .

8 great drinks to match with mince pies

What about a pairing for Christmas cake?

Whisky! Honestly! Trust me. It’s so delicious particularly if it’s been aged in a sherry cask. Or a rich Irish whiskey like Midleton Rare. Or try an Aussie Rutherglen muscat.

What about the Christmas cheeseboard?

Cheese is a whole other subject! Port of course is traditional at Christmas, particularly with Stilton but there are other good options such as sherry (yes, again) and madeira. Or whatever red wine you’ve been enjoying with the main course ...

Dive into into one of these posts:

8 great drinks to match with stilton

How to create a great Christmas cheeseboard

Photograph ©Lightfield Studios at shutterstock.com

The best food pairings for Tokaji Aszu

Tokaj or Tokaji Aszu from Hungary is one of the most historic and delicious dessert wines which now has it’s own dedicated day on December 10th but if you’re looking for the ideal food pairing you can take it much further than the dessert course.

Like Sauternes the grapes are botrytised, in other words affected by a fungus that allows them to shrivel to a delicious sweetness (a process called noble rot). Look out for wines that have 5 or 6 puttonyos a historical measurement of sweetness that related to the number of hods or containers of botrytised berries that were added to the grape must.

It’s richer than Sauternes - less a question of honey and lemon and more tropical fruits and orange marmalade which makes it go particularly well with caramelised and dried fruits. (And, you’ll be pleased to hear, chocolate!)

What desserts go with Tokaji

Roast pineapple

As in this signature dessert of tipsy cake with spiced roast pineapple at Heston Blumenthal’s restaurant Dinner (which has recently re-opened in London)

Caramelised apple dishes such as tarte tatin and this wonderful sounding dish from a Hungarian restaurant called Barta Pince in Mád which accompanies a dessert called Őszi alma (’Autumn Apple’). It contains creme brulée, apple jelly, granola, marinated apples, coffee ganache and apple chips

Dark chocolate, especially with orange like this chocolate marmalade slump cake.

Christmas pudding

Not the easiest dish to match with a dessert wine but Tokaji aszu works really well particularly with lighter, fruitier styles of pud. You could drink it with panforte too.

What savoury dishes go with Tokaji?

Foie gras

The most popular pairing in Hungary where foie gras is as popular as it is in France. And it's true Tokaji goes incredibly well with it, particularly when it’s served hot. You can download a list of suggested servings from their website aszuday.com. And if you don’t eat foie gras it’s also very good with a goose or duck liver parfait.

Sichuan or Thai dishes that combine heat and sweetness such as this dish of smoked caramelised salmon from a wine dinner cooked by two Bordeaux-based Chinese chefs we reported on a while back. Or for a longer list check out he Tokaj website

Blue cheese, especially Stilton. An accidental discovery at London cheesemonger Paxton & Whitfield which I’ve repeated on many an occasion as a lighter (and equally delicious) alternative to port

Photo ©visionsi at fotolia.com

Best beers for Christmas

How many of you will be putting beer on the table at Christmas? Not that many, I suspect, but if you can bring yourself to break with tradition you could be in for a treat. Most supermarkets now carry a sufficiently wide range for you to be able to serve a different beer with each course, should you be so minded. And here’s how to do it:

• As an aperitif or with the smoked salmon I suggest a good quality pilsner or a fragrant cloudy witbier like Hoegaarden or a Bavarian weissbier

• With turkey I’d go for a blonde beer like Leffe, a strong Belgian ale such as Duvel or an American IPA such as Goose Island IPA

• With the pudding - or Christmas cake - you could try a stout or a porter such as Meantime’s (the strong, dark, bitter flavour of the beer will be a great contrast to the sweet, sticky dried fruits) and with the cheese, especially the Stilton, I recommend a vintage ale such as J.W.Lees Harvest ale or other barley wine

There are a number of seasonal beers around such as Young’s fruity, spicy Christmas Pudding Ale but I suggest you again drink those with the cheese or enjoy them on their own rather than pairing them with Christmas pudding, as the name perhaps suggests. The sweet, spicy pudding will knock out the same flavours in the beer leaving you with a dry thin-tasting drink.

For more seasonal beer drinking ideas, check out these posts: 

• Which beer to drink on New Year’s Eve?
• 5 great beer pairings for roast turkey

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