Holiday Wine Guide 🍷
Special Guest Collab w/BowtiedWineGuy
Welcome back for a triple-dose of Food & Beverage alfa for you this festive week. 🙌
You’ve already received a 5-course feast, in two parts, with a complete schedule and order to cook all the recipes so there’s no questions about timing and help you avoid any unexpected hiccups.
There seems to be no more fitting encore than a wine guide for your festivities.
As a huge wine nerd, I’m happy to bring in BowtiedWineGuy to take the reins and give you some sensible thoughts on wine pairing.
A lot of people get hung up on pairings and obsess over minute details. In many cases there are archaic “rules” that just don’t make sense and are better if broken😂 but we’ll save that for another day.
WineGuy is gonna walk through a traditional holiday feast progression with suggestions. Below each, I’ll throw in my 2 cents so you’ll have two perspectives to play off of.
I’ve been excited to collab with WineGuy, give him a follow on Twitter. I’m leaving comments open as this is a free post. Feel free to drop any questions and we’ll help where possible.
Without further ado, here’s WineGuy ⬇️
Holiday Wine Guide
One of the first orders of business for holiday prep is the food menu. For those of us eating and drinking to be merry, the drink menu is not far behind. And while cocktails and beer can be enjoyable, one thing is certain – no drink pairs better with food than wine.
It’s an age-old classic.
The Italians even have a term – l’abbinamento, meaning “the match” – which almost always refers to the match between wine and food. Many wines are even made to be had with food.
It can be hard enough to choose a bottle of wine in the store. There can be over 100 to choose from! So what do you do? Stay tuned. We’re here to help you bring it all together this year with our Holiday Wine Guide. We’ll break it down by different food options so you can be sure to cover all your bases.
Bubbles to Start
The classic move to start any celebration is to toast with bubbles. Champagne is an obvious choice here, but while generally high-quality, it tends to be more expensive. For those looking for another option, try a brut or extra brut Prosecco. “Brut” means dry, which is what you’ll want to start the celebration. The dryness will pair well with many appetizer dishes such as cheeses (brie, romano, goat, and asiago to name a few), cured meats, nuts, and shellfish. Prosecco is also a better choice than champagne if making drinks such as mimosas.
Recommendation: La Marco Luminore – the touch of sweetness in this will pair excellently with the typical salty appetizers
Octopod Pick: Llopart Brut Reserva Rosé- this is a stunner and one of the best value bubbles on the market IMO. This Spanish sparkling is a blend from a family making wine since the 1300’s. Tight bubble structure, fruit forward-cherry notes, clean finish.
Continuing with Appetizers
Stay with white for the appetizers. You also want to have your whites before your reds (reds will tend to overwhelm whites). Considering the diversity of most holiday appetizer spreads, go with a Sauvignon Blanc. It’s versatile and pairs with many different appetizer dishes, including almost any salad. And for anyone doing the traditional Italian seven fishes (or offering any seafood), Sauvignon Blanc pairs excellently with most fish dishes. It’s light and crisp, and its acidity cuts quite nicely through the fat of the fish. Look for a Sancerre or New Zealand.
Recommendation: Domaine de la Villaudiere Sancerre 2019 – nice and dry, with a high minerality that will pair with many dishes.
Main Courses
Ham
We’re going to stay white for the ham. Though Sauvignon Blanc goes well with ham, we’re going to change it up and go with a Riesling. Holiday hams tend to be cured, which adds some saltiness, but they maintain a hint of sweetness. The bright, acidic Riesling works well against the ham, and the fruity notes of the wine will add to the experience, especially if the ham is made with pineapple. Ideally, you’ll go with a slightly off-dry Riesling, which is done quite well in Germany. Look for “halbtrocken” or “kabinett” on the label, which will indicate the off-dryness.
Recommendation: Sybille Kuntz Kabinett Trocken 2019 (or 2015, which was another good vintage) – the touch of sweetness, with the notes of honey will bring out the most in the ham.
Octopod Note: I’m glad WineGuy picked a riesling. I’ll go out on a limb and say that German Rieslings are the most food friendly, and underrated wines on the planet. The flexibility between dry, all the way to residual sugar, all have a support of mouthwatering acidity that is perfect for rich or spicy foods. Some of my most memorable wine pairings with Indian curries, Thai food and even BBQ brisket were all with German Rieslings.
Octopod Recommendation: If you want a red option that plays well with ham, look no farther than Beaujolais. Cru Beaujolais (not the nouveau stuff). One of my favorite producers currently is Mee Godard. This Korean winemaker studied in Burgundy before venturing off on her own. She brings the delicate grace of Burgundy and expresses it through the gamay grape in Beaujolais. Domaine Mee Godard Morgon Corcelette. Notes of black currant, blackberry with a hint of tobacco pairs well with ham.
Turkey
Pinot Noir goes great with most turkey dishes, but holiday turkeys tend to be richer, with stuffing, gravy and richer sides. So for this, we need a fuller wine. Try a Right Bank Bordeaux. The right bank is more Merlot-based, as opposed to the more Cab-based left bank. The softer tannins will keep it from overwhelming the turkey, but the medium to full body allows it to keep pace with the rest of the meal.
Recommendation: Chateau Fontplegade Grand Cru 2019 – blackberry and raspberry, with hints of black pepper and spices make for a nice complement to the meal. It has that holiday feel to it. Let it breathe at least 30-60min.
Octopod Recommendation: I’m going oppo here and choosing an off dry riesling that has a wallup of acid to cut through richness and also play well with the turkey. 2019 Hexamer "Porphyr" Riesling Feinherb. Aromatics of peach, apple and 5-spice pair perfectly with rich poultry. It’s off-dry and the gorgeous acidity backbone is a perfect example of what makes German Riesling so magical.
Prime Rib or Steak
When you think of a wine pairing with prime rib or steak, you probably think of Cabernet Sauvignon. You’d be right. The richer the meal, the bigger the wine needs to be, and Cab is one of the biggest of them all. This is a classic pairing. But remember, holiday spreads aren’t always that straightforward. There is a wider array of dishes, and you run the risk of the Cab overpowering some of them. With that in mind, I recommend going with a Malbec (Argentinian of course). It has more moderate tannins than a Cab, giving it more versatility. The Argentinian Malbec’s will have notes of dark plum, which should pair well with many of your holiday sides.
Recommendation: Luca Malbec Old Vine 2019 – fuller, richer Malbec makes it stand up to the prime rib or steak. The plum, tobacco, and oak should complement the sides nicely.
Octopod Recommendation: These days I really enjoy Rhone reds with steak but to paree off WineGuy I’m gonna throw out what I think is the best value Cabernet in Napa. Robert Craig Howell Mountain Cuvee 2019. When I first tried Howell Mt years ago, it was the first time I smelled violets in Cabernet. All of the their plots have distinct personality and this vintage screams supple, deep fruit, with rose petals.
Dessert
Remember, for dessert – your wine should always be sweeter than what you’re eating
Fruit Pie/Tarts
It can be a dessert all on its own, but ice wine makes for a nice pairing with any kind of fruity dessert. Ice wine is made when the grapes have frozen, and are then harvested and pressed. This gives the wine a high sugar content, making it great for dessert and pairing with the already sweet fruit. German ice wines are great, but I’m going to recommend one from the Finger Lakes in upstate NY, which is becoming one of the premier ice wine regions of the world.
Recommendation: Weis Riesling Ice Wine (Finger Lakes, NY)
Octopod Recommendation: A sublime option that works perfectly is Weingut Heidi Schrock Ruster Ausbruch ‘On the Wings of Dawn’ 2017. Think of the ripest, most sweet apricots with a hint of candied lemon. It’s heavenly.
Cheesecake (or Chocolate-Based Desserts)
I’m putting these two together because I’m recommending the same wine for both. That is Moscato d’Asti, which is a sweet sparkling wine. It’s sweet, but maintains a lightness that will cut through the cheesecake and most milk chocolate desserts. The bubbles and high acidity will bring some brightness to your palate at a time when we’re all starting to slow down.
Recommendation: Saracco Moscato d’Asti (Piedmont, Italy) – there are honey notes in this one, which go quite nicely with most cheesecakes
Gingerbread
This one is a bonus because it’s something many do not expect. The classical Christmas dessert goes quite well with Zinfandel. This one is funny because it’s the spice of the gingerbread that goes so nicely with the fruitiness of the Zinfandel. The wine is bold, and the spices of the gingerbread just manage to make their way through. It’s a surprising combo that is definitely worth a shot.
Recommendation: Midnight Cellars Zinfandel 2017 (Paso Robles, California) – if anyone knows a fruit bomb, it’s California. This is a bold wine, with notes of cherry and blackberry that give it the perfect amount of sweetness.
Octopod Recommendation: I’m going to cheat here 😂. Gingerbread screams Port, for me. A fortified wine. Specifically vintage port. To be sipped and savored, vintage port is a perfect holiday treat. You want at least a 20 y/o port. Dow 1997 Vintage Port or 1991 would be good vintages. If you have a friend with 1985, now’s a good time to bust it out.
This should be a great start to get you on the right track for holiday pairings… or pairings in general. 🙌 🍾 🥂
I want to thank BowtiedWineGuy for dropping in and talking wine with us. If this was helpful for you, drop a comment if you’d like to see more wine collabs. Make sure you’re following him on Twitter for daily tips and recs.
Drop comments or questions below and we’ll answer as available.