The winter holidays are here and people are planning their Christmas dinner menus. Whether you’re hosting a dinner yourself or will be a guest at someone else’s table, it’s useful to learn more about the best red and white wine pairings for seasonal food so you’re prepared and have an idea of which sparkling and table wines you want to serve with your meal, or bring as a gift for your host.
If you are cooking a turkey, Pinot Noir is an excellent pairing choice for a red wine. For a white wine, a full-bodied California Chardonnay, a Riesling or a Pinot Gris from Alsace will work well with turkey and other poultry, like chicken or guinea fowl.
Christmas dinner is a little different than Thanksgiving in that there’s more than just turkey on the menu. For roast beef, filets or rib roasts you’re best off with a full-bodied red wine like a Cabernet Sauvignon, a Bordeaux blend, or a Syrah. For ham, try pairing it with a Chenin Blanc or a Red Zinfandel.
There’s also no time like the holidays for opening up a bottle of bubbly. Champagne and other sparkling wines work well with hors-d’oeuvre like shrimp cocktail, smoked salmon and paté. For passed appetizers, you can also serve a white wine, like a Sauvignon Blanc, which will pair well with different canapés, salads and cheeses.
Looking for more wine food pairing inspiration? Think about the spices and herbs in what you’re serving. You might have some sweet and rich sauces or standout side dishes you want to feature that necessitate choosing a particular wine to bring out the flavors in your meal. Take a look at our suggestions below and keep in mind while some people like to splurge on their holiday wine selection, there’s a good holiday wine pairing option for every budget!
Sparkling wine for a holiday gathering
The good thing about sparkling wine is it goes with everything. You can pair it with charcuterie boards, seafood spreads or even heartier winter soups. A California Sparkling Rosé is an excellent crisp and dry wine to pair with salmon. If you want to spend a little extra, try a classic Vintage Brut or Rosé Champagne from France, or a Vintage Sparkling Wine from Oregon. Vintage means it’s a wine from a specific year that’s usually aged longer on its lees, so it has more depth of flavor and complexity. You could also pick up a sparkling wine from England – learn more in this article.
For a more budget-friendly option, a bottle of Prosecco from Italy is a great choice. Note, Prosecco can be a touch on the sweet side and more straightforward with its fruit flavors. If you want a wine that’s more dry and austere but won’t break the bank, go with a bottle of Cava from Spain.
Christmas dinner wine pairing suggestions
Every family tends to follow their own traditions at Christmas. You’ll find a lot of roast meat and poultry, and rich and warming sauces on the menu with different side-dishes from brussel sprouts to peas and buttery potatoes, pastry, cranberry sauce and the like. One thing’s for sure, festive meals tend to be abundant and full of diverse flavors, which means you can have fun picking out wines you wouldn’t necessarily be pairing with your average weekday dinner!
Best wine pairings for turkey
Turkey is a gamey meat with stronger flavors than chicken. You can pair it with a Pinot Noir from Oregon or a Russian River Pinot Noir from California. If you really want to splurge, pick up a red wine from Burgundy. It will be 100% Pinot Noir but will just say Burgundy on the label (they use the region not the grape to name most wines from France). If you’d like a wine in a lower price range that will still be a special treat for Christmas, go with a Crus Beaujolais. Each Cru Beaujolais is from a different village and has a slightly unique flavor profile. Morgon is known for its cherry notes and Fleurie has floral undertones.
For a white wine to pair with your turkey, try a medium-dry Riesling from Alsace or Germany. Note that some white German wines are sweet so you want to take care to choose a bottle that says Trocken, Halb-Trocken or “GG” on the label (which means the wine is dry). Another wine food pairing idea for turkey is an upper-end Pinot Grigio from the northern Italian regions of Friuli or Alto Adige. These wines are fuller in body and more complex in character than an average Pinot Grigio.
Beef wine pairings
If you’re going with beef this holiday season, you’re probably serving a filet or a bone-in or boneless rib roast. You might have a Duxelles or horseradish sauce to accompany the roast. Either way, you’re going to want a red wine with some body to it. This is where you can bring out your favorite Napa or Sonoma Cabernet. Cabernet is a full-bodied red that has a lot of tannins and structure to it. The tannins help to break down the fat in the red meat which is why Cabernet is such a good wine for pairing with steaks. If you want to splurge on an expensive red from France, try a Bordeaux Chateau which will be a blend of predominantly Cabernet or Merlot (if you want Cabernet, look for a left-bank wine).
Also from France, a Vintage Premier or Grand Crus Burgundy is a nice choice for pairing with beef for Christmas dinner. Another holiday favorite is Syrah. Syrah has a lot of fruit and spice to it which makes it an excellent wine for pairing with most dishes that make up a typical holiday meal. Wines from the Northern Rhone region in France are 100% Syrah. Stop in at your local wine shop and ask for a St. Joseph, a Cote Rotie, or a Hermitage. You could also pick up a Syrah Cabernet blend from Australia (note Syrah is called Shiraz Down Under).
For a high end holiday wine from Italy, try a Brunello, a Super Tuscan which is often made with non-indigenous grape varietals, including Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot) or a Barolo. Barolo is a lighter-style red but still has the tannins and structure you need to pair with a heavier Christmas meal. Learn more about Italian reds in this article.
Which wines go with ham?
If your family serves up a honey-baked ham for their holiday dinner, you’ll be fine pairing it with red or white wines, as both go well with ham. To complement the flavors in the meat, a Riesling is our top recommendation. Australia makes some delicious Rieslings from the Clare and Eden Valleys. You may have to look hard to find them but these dry, citrusy and dynamic wines are worth the effort. We’d also recommend a dry or medium-dry Chenin Blanc from South Africa, or a Vouvray, which is a wine from the Loire Valley in France. California Red Zinfandel will have some spice to it alongside deep berry and bramble notes. If you are slow-roasting or smoking your pork, this is one of the best wine food pairing options for your meal.
Lobster for Christmas
So lobster is on the menu for Christmas dinner? Lucky you! Lobster tends to be prepared with a lot of butter and is in itself a rich food. That’s why you want to pair it with an oaked Chardonnay that can stand up to the boldness in the flavors. California produces plenty of good wines that will work here. For a fun addition to your Christmas dinner, why not pick up some oaked Chardonnay glasses for your holiday table. The shape of the glass is more round and bowl-like than a regular white wine glass and will help to funnel the flavors in the wine to your palette. PS. Champagne and sparkling wines will also make delicious pairings with lobster!
Holiday dinner side dish wine food pairings
- Dauphinoise Potatoes or Potatoes au Gratin. This is a typical holiday dish cooked with a lot of heavy cream, cheese and sometimes black-pepper. It would go with either an oaked or an unoaked Chardonnay. Wondering how you’ll know if your Chardonnay is unoaked? Try a Chablis from France as most Chablis is unoaked or only slightly oaked. This means it will be a clean wine that’s fruit driven and has good citrus notes.
- Brussel sprouts with pancetta. Brussel sprouts aren’t everyone’s favorite Christmas dish. They can be quite strong and you want a dry white wine like a Sauvignon Blanc to go with them. Try pairing a Pouilly-fumé from the Loire region. This wine is 100% Sauvignon Blanc and has some smokey notes to it.
- Yorkshire pudding. This eggy bread is typically smothered in gravy and served alongside beef at Christmas. A Chardonnay or a Pinot Gris from Alsace that’s a touch on the fruity side would make a good pairing with Yorkshire pudding.
- Sautéed asparagus and shallots. If you’re cooking up a vegetarian holiday meal, a bottle of Grüner Veltliner should be on your Christmas table. It’s a white wine from Austria that’s dry and citrusy with grassy notes. It will go with most greens, as well as squash and potato dishes.
- Sausage and chestnut stuffing. A New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc is going to have strong up front, tropical fruit and gooseberry flavors that will give you the punch you need to complement this dish.
- Mushrooms in a wine sauce. Whether you are serving beef, turkey or other poultry, this dish goes with most holiday dinner mains. Pair it with medium-bodied wines, including Pinot Noir or Syrah. They’ll have earthy tones that go particularly well with heartier food.
Wine for Hanukkah
If you celebrate Hanukkah or have been invited to a meal, you may be served a beef brisket. You’ll want to look for a Kosher wine but should it be white or red and which kind? We’d suggest a bottle of Red Zinfandel with berry notes and a rich texture. A white wine option is a semi-dry Kosher Riesling.
Thanksgiving wine
If it’s Thanksgiving wine food pairings you’re after, you are mostly looking for wines that will go with turkey. You may have a soup course to start, in which case a Chardonnay is a nice option. For a standout Thanksgiving red, Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Gigondas from the southern Rhône area are our top recommendations. These wines are predominantly a blend of Grenache, Mourvèdre, and Syrah. They have black-pepper and spice notes alongside their fruit and will complement all of the main Thanksgiving dishes. For more ideas on Thanksgiving wines, check out this article.
Sweet dessert wine pairings
Christmas and the holiday season in general is a time of indulgence and that means they’ll be plenty of syrupy and sweet cake and dessert options. While table wines don’t always pair well with dessert, you might shop around for some port, sherry or a late-harvest white wine to serve with your dessert course. A Vintage Port or a Tawny Port will go well with a chocolate or caramel-based dessert. For cheesecakes and rich puddings, a Sauterne from France or a Tokaji from Hungary will have sweet notes along with good acidity in the finish. You can also pick up a late-harvest Sémillon or Riesling from California. These wines make great pairings with candied-nut and dried-fruit desserts. For a special Christmas dessert wine pick, go with an Auslese or a Beerenauslese Riesling from Germany.
5 General wine food pairing tips for the holiday season
- Plan your meal out in advance. When you know what you’re cooking, it’s easier to see which wines you’ll need and how many bottles to pick up. You don’t have to serve the same wine with every course. In fact, it’s a great idea to bring some variety to your holiday wine selection to complement the festive atmosphere!
- Open up a sparkling wine for pairing with appetizers. If you have a lot of dishes, you want an easy-to-drink wine that will go with everything. Bubbly is the ideal choice. If you don’t want to do bubbles, a Sauvignon Blanc will work too.
- Pay attention to your stemware. A glass can change how you perceive the wine you’re drinking and in turn how well it pairs with what you’re eating. For holiday meals, you want a red and white wine glass on your table, ideally a glass that goes with the grape varietals in the wines you’re serving.
- Choose wines that pair with your main entrée. You may open up a few bottles to go with different Christmas or Thanksgiving side dishes or to serve to guests who only drink white, but make sure you have some reds on hand that will complement the meat you’re cooking.
- Decant your wine if necessary. Depending on the bottle, it might need to be decanted before your meal so it can “breathe” and fully open up. Different wines need different amounts of time so check with your local wine shop or Google how long to decant it for.
