One doesn't see a lot about Christmas wine pairings; a quick Google search found years-old posts, the usual commercial sites (“Buy our wine for Christmas!”), and even a listing for food tanker trucks.
I haven’t done an annual post, either. I found a couple in the blog’s early years, but nothing in 2011 or 2010. The only thing I can think of is that I figured people didn’t associate Christmas with wine, since it’s not a food holiday like Thanksgiving. What was I thinking?
Shouldn’t every holiday be a wine occasion? My suggestions after the jump; just remember the blog’s holiday wine guidelines: "Don't buy wine you think someone should like; buy them wine they will like."
• Red wine: Prime rib and Yorkshire pudding? Then Robert Hall cabernet sauvignon ($18, sample), fresh and full of dark fruit, with a bit of spice, as well as acid and tannins in balance. Randall Grahm’s Bonny Doon Contra ($13, purchased) is a multii-blend full of red fruit, but in a friendly, “Let's sit around and have a chat” way, and not the “Look at me, I'm a full-bodied, big-deal wine and you'd better pay attention to me because I'm going to get a good score” way.
• White wine: Roast turkey or poached salmon with Hollandaise sauce? Then Sauzet Bourgogne Blanc ($25, purchased), French chardonnay with style and elegance that's one of The Big Guy’s favorites. It’s high-end white Burgundy at half the price, since the grapes aren’t quite good enough for the high-end wine. The Tenuta Guado al Tasso Vermentino ($20, sample) goes in a different direction -- white pepper and citrus peel fruit, but still rich and complex.
• Sparkling wine: The New Year’s bubbly post will run a week from today. Until then, the Pol Roger White Foil ($47, sample) isn’t especially pricey for Champagne and is always dependable. Less expensive, and well worth mentioning again, are the various $15 to $20 Gloria Ferrer sparklers, which have been noted here and here.
More about Christmas wine:
• Expensive wine 45: Terlato Vineyards Syrah Block #9 2007
• Wine of the week: Alois Lageder Pinot Bianco 2010
• Wine of the week: Cristalino Brut NV
• Wine of the week: J Pinot Gris 2011
Photo courtesy Roluss of Boleslawiec, Poland, via stock.xchng using a Creative Commons license
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