Wine

It seems that every wine writer is called upon at this time of the year to make recommendations for wine and food pairings for those special holiday dishes. With changing tastes and evolving wine styles, it’s good to revisit this issue annually.

Wines Recommended for Turkey

Roast turkey, of course, is found on most American Thanksgiving tables and always presents difficult wine pairing issues, thanks to its wide spectrum of flavors: white meat, dark meat, gravy, cranberry or other sauce.

The rule of thumb has always been to match the wine with the sauce, whatever the meat course may be. So if your guests are going to pour a rich gravy on top of their delicate slices of white breast meat, go for a wine that pairs well with the gravy.

Our choice here would be a light, dry red such as a Cru Beaujolais. Beaujolais Nouveau is often recommended as an all-round winner for the Thanksgiving table.

For those who prefer their white turkey meat unsauced, no red wine is recommended. Instead try an Oregon Pinot Gris or California Pinot Grigio. These are soft, dry, delicately complex wines with typical flavors of almond, peach and nectarine.

Chateau Ste. Michelle’s splendid Eroica Riesling would also be a winner. Dark meat with gravy or other sauce calls for a medium-bodied red, such as Pinot Noir, Grenache, or Sangiovese. A Barolo or Cru Beaujolais would be an excellent choice.

As for full-bodied reds such as Cabernet Sauvignon or red Bordeaux, maybe pass, unless you happen to have a well-aged bottle in your cellar.

Older red wines offer entirely different characteristics than their younger counterparts. An old Cabernet can be soft, delicate, and redolent of those flavors that come only with age (dried fruits, truffles, etc.).

Zinfandel is often recommended for American Thanksgiving due to its identification as a uniquely American wine. It might be just too big and fruity to pair well with anything on the Thanksgiving table except for cranberry sauce.

All-in-One Wines for Thanksgiving Dinner

Want to serve a single wine for your holiday dinner? Champagne is always appropriate throughout the Thanksgiving dinner, but won’t marry with any particular dish.

If you choose this option, try a rose’ sparkling wine such as Chateau Ste.-Michelle’s Blanc de Noirs from Washington State ($7) or a rose’ Cre’mant de Bourgogne ($10).

We’ve already mentioned Beaujolais Nouveau. But another excellent choice is Pietra Santa’s very delicious dry Rosato.

Wine for Prime Rib or Other Beef Roasts

Beef roasts are easy. Whether rare or well-roasted, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot pairs beautifully whether young or old.

The 2005 Ferrari-Carano Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is an affordable beauty with rich flavors of ripe blackberry, caramel, plum and chocolate. It’s also a bargain at $38 for a classy California Cabernet. A rich Aussie or Spanish Grenache would be lovely also.

Wine for Ham

Many people think ham provides a difficult wine pairing due to its saltiness. True, there’s no shoo-in pairing as there is with beef roasts.

And it seems odd to suggest color-oriented pairings (white with white, red with red, pink with pink?), but that’s what I’m going to do.

By all means, try a pink wine, even one with a touch of residual sweetness to complement the saltiness of the ham.

White Zin? Why not, if you are a fan of that wine. The best ones widely available are probably from Berenger and Sutter Home.

If you are a more disciplined wine drinker, then opt for the Pietra Santa Rosato mentioned above or a sparkling wine.

Wine for Duck and Goose

Roast goose is a traditional Christmas dinner, particularly for the English. Like duck, geese are all dark meat and richly flavored.

Sauced or not, they call for a complex medium-bodied red. An Oregon or Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir will provide the perfect complement.

A Cru Beaujolais would also work very well, as would a good Chianti or Spanish Rioja. These wines do not possess the overwhelming power of a fine Cabernet, Merlot, or Zinfandel and may be the best all-round red food wines in the world.

How to Decide between Red and White Wine

Whether you serve red or white wine at a holiday party should depend on the food you are serving. White wines are more delicate in flavor, so they should be served with mild food like seafood, chicken, turkey, and pork. Red wines are much bolder; they are suited for heartier dishes such as beef or pasta with tomato-based sauces.

Once you narrow it down to red or white, there are many varieties of each to choose from. If you prefer white wine, you can choose from the light-bodied Pinot Grigio to the fuller-bodied Chardonnay, with Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc between those two ends of that spectrum.

As for red wine, the fulless ranges from Pinot Noir to Shiraz, with Merlot, Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon being somewhere in the middle. It all depends on the flavor you are looking for, so please ask questions at your local wine shop. They are always happy to help you pick the right wine for the right occasion or for holiday gifts.

How to Serve Wine Properly

One of the keys to a perfect glass of wine is serving it at the correct temperature. It has been said that red wine should be served at room temperature, but that is based on a thermostat set at about 60 degrees. Since you most likely keep your house warmer than an average wine cave, your wine should be cooled off for a little while in an ice bucket until it reaches the proper temperature.

The perfect temperature for white wine is 50 degrees. Since most refrigerators are set between 40 and 45 degrees, you will need to set your bottle out until it warms up enough. Temperatures affect the taste of the wine, so it’s important to find the point at which your beverage tastes best.

How to Open a Bottle of Wine

When it’s time to uncork your wine, cut away the foil or wax overlay that both protects the cork from dirt and the mouth of the bottle from chipping. Invest in a quality corkscrew since some of the cheaper ones can bend or get stuck in your bottle. Follow the directions on your particular corkscrew.

As you pull the cork out keep the bottle steady and remove the cork smoothly. It’s fine if some small pieces of the cork remain in the bottle. You can always remove them from your glass with a spoon and the cork does not affect the wine’s flavor.

As you pour the wine into your guest’s glass, only fill it about a third of the way. Filling it to the top does not leave room to swirl the wine around, necessary to release the full flavor and aroma. Take the time to truly enjoy and savor your wine — and your guests.

How Much Wine to Buy for a Party

When you are planning your party, one of the most important decision is how much wine to purchase. Guests usually have two glasses of wine the first hour of the event and one glass for every hour after that. Make your wine purchasing decision based on how many people are present, how long the party will last, and an average wine bottle containing about 5 servings.

For a four-hour party with six people present, you can plan serving 12 glasses of wine the first hour and six glasses for each of the remaining three hours. 12+6+6+6=30 glasses. 30/5 = 6 bottles of wine. In this case, it’s recommended to purchase three bottles of red wine and three bottles of white. Typically, guests prefer white wine and red wine equally. Use this handy drink calculator to plan your party.

Plan ahead and then rest assured that your guests will have a great time at your holiday event. The most important part is just being together — plus wine!

Holiday Wines to Pair with Food