Tips For Holiday Wine and Food Pairings

I enjoy a good glass of wine once in a while, but I’m not a wine critic by any standard. I do know what types of wine I enjoy with certain types of food, but as far as official wine pairings I have no clue.

If you’re not sure what wine to serve with your Thanksgiving turkey, or whether you need to serve a white or a red wine with your ham, you’re not alone. So today I have a few holiday wine pairing tips from the pros to help you pick out a wine to go with your holiday dinner that your guests will enjoy.

Follow these wine food pairing tips from The California Wine Club, and your guests will think you’re a wine pro.

Pairing the right wine with Turkey isn’t easy! The flavors in the leaner, white meat vary drastically from the richer flavors in the dark meat. Throw stuffing into the mix and you have a whole new set of challenges (a cranberry stuffing will pair with a wine in a completely different way, than a sausage stuffing).

If you’re not in charge of the turkey, but are required to bring the wine, go with these fail-safe “lighter-styled” choices:

• Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc or a dry Riesling for whites.
• Pinot Noir, Sangiovese or a Beaujolais for reds.

For a classic Christmas roast beef, try a fully-bodied red like a Cabernet, Bordeaux or Barolo.

For Ham or Roasted Pork, try a dry Rose, Pinot Noir or white like an unoaked Chardonnay or dry Gewürztraminer.

Some other general Food & Wine pairing tips:

• Pair hearty, heavier foods, with heavier wines and lighter fare with lighter wines.Salty foods need wines higher in acid (that “crisp” Sauvignon Blanc, would be better than a “creamy” or “oaky” Chardonnay.
• Sweet foods (like dessert) need a wine that is slighter sweeter…if the wine is as sweet as the food, the wine will lost its taste.
• Match flavors in food, to flavors in wine (accentuate the smokiness of BBQ ribs with a smoky Shiraz, pair the spicy pepperoni Pizza with a spicy Zinfandel).

Image The California Wine Club