Your Guide to the Best Wines for Christmas

napa xmas

During this festive season, make your Christmas Dinner an unforgettable experience with the best food and wine pairing ideas. Christmas dinners often include a range of different meats and vegetables, which can make it tricky to know exactly which wines will work with the meal. With this best wines for Christmas guide, you will create the best food and fine wine pairing experience for you and all your guests.

Turkey

Stuffed-turkey is an excellent addition to most Christmas dinners, but often proves to be tricky to pair with wine. The great thing about turkey dishes, however, is that they pair with a range of different red and white wines – making it the perfect dish for red and white wine lovers.

Red Wines

When it comes to choosing a red wine for the turkey, be sure to choose a lighter red wine that is low in tannin. Considering turkey isn’t red meat, any full-bodied wines will overwhelm the dish and its flavors. So, opt for varieties which are subtle enough to accompany the dish perfectly but not overwhelm it.

White Wines

Turkey dishes, especially when stuffed, are known to be extremely rich and juicy. When choosing a white wine to pair with a meal, try wines that have higher levels of acidity to cut through that richness and cleanse your palate after each bite. What you don’t want is heavily wooded or buttery white wines that will add creaminess and richness and overwhelm the dish. So, try these crisp whites:

Sparkling Wine

Sparkling wine, especially when dry, has a great affinity with stuffed turkey. Much like with the acidity in white wine, the refreshing bubbly-feeling tends to cleanse your palate and cut through the richness of the meal. When buying sparkling wine, ensure you opt for wines that have the word ‘Brut’ on the bottle, and pick one of these fantastic styles:

Roasted Beef

Many Christmas dinners also include the addition of juicy roasted beef. This beef, which is often accompanied with some gravy, requires a wine with more weight and body than what turkey does. So, if roast beef is on your menu, try these wines:

Bordeaux-style blends

Bordeaux-style blends, which are either Merlot-based or Cabernet Sauvignon-based, are generally full-bodied, heavy red wines that are ideal wines to match with beef.  The tannin in the wine is a perfect match with this high protein-dish.

Malbec

Malbec is another variety that works exquisitely with many beef-dishes. This variety, which often displays dark fruit flavors, is a full-bodied variety that you have to try with your roast beef this year.

Shiraz

The smoky, full-bodied styles of Shiraz, would be another great accompaniment to these roast beef dishes. With the traditional pepper, smoke and clove notes that the wines often display, it works well with the smoky flavors of the beef.

Rioja or Tempranillo

The Spanish Rioja wines, which are often robust styles of red wine, are produced with the native Tempranillo variety. These wines are usually intense with flavor and oaked for several years. The result is a robust red wine that over-delivers in flavor and body. This makes it the perfect wine for any red meat.

Smoked Ham

Gammon, or smoked ham, is another traditional Christmas dish that will find itself on many dinner tables this year. It is incredibly flavorsome and is able to pair well with a variety of different white and red wines. It does, however, require lighter, fruitier styles of wine that will match the lightness of the meat. So, if you’re serving up ham this year, be sure to try these wines along with it.

Grenache

Grenache is a variety most famous for being the focal variety in the Rhone Valley blends. This variety, which can either be medium or full-bodied, tends to offer a lot of fruity notes and relatively high acidity. This combination of acidity and fruitiness is what makes it perfect for a gammon pairing.

GSM Blends

Grenache-based blends, which are often blended with Syrah or Mourvedre (or both) offer similar characteristics to single-variety Grenache. These blends, however, tend to have slightly more spiciness and body – which is best for those who prefer slightly bolder wines.

Chenin Blanc

For white wine enthusiasts, gammon is a dish that works well here too. Chenin Blanc is a fantastic option since it offers fruity notes along with relatively high acidity. A South African or Loire Valley Chenin Blanc is an excellent choice – and even works well when produced in a semi-sweet style.

Riesling

Riesling, with its high acidity, works in the same way that Chenin Blanc does. Here, this variety would also work well as an off-dry style, where there is a perfect balance between sugar and acidity. Some of the best examples of both dry and sweet Riesling can be found in Germany or Alsace.

Christmas is stressful enough. You don’t have to further complicate the dinner by trying to figure out which wine to pair with these dishes. The above guide to the best wines for christmas will help you out.

 Fortunately, all these best wines for christmas can be found in one place and can `be delivered straight to your door. As a quality wine retailer in Kenya, TWB Cellar Limited is passionate about offering a variety of booze in Kenya. Other than selling these wines mentioned above, The TWB Cellar Limited also offers spirits online in Kenya. You have access to a range of beers, brandy, whiskey, gin, and fine wine.   

TWB Cellar Limited sells alcohol online in Kenya, and delivers it all across the nation. So be sure to have your best Kenyan wine and enjoy your well-deserved, festive season.