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So you want to try a range of new wines this Christmas? The best way to do this is by applying old recipes!
No matter how modern we get, fine wine is old. Moreover, the actual game is what you pair your wine with. You may have choices like ham, turkey, and goose. Sometimes people prefer prime rib too.
This article will guide you when you’re your wine with the best meals to create a versatile white and diverse red combination in the best sense. There are many beer styles every savvy beer drinker should know about.
7 Best Wines To Present With Your Dinner On Christmas
What to drink with Christmas dinner is the ultimate problem for wine lovers, regardless of whether you're sticking to tradition with a three-course turkey meal, preparing a seafood feast, or making vegetables the star of the show.
To make choosing your Christmas bottles a little easier, we look at various festive cuisines and recommend wines to pair with each course in our guide.\
1. Red Wine
Why red wine?
It is a composition of black grapes, and the bright hue is generated with these on a range of light ruby to a deeper oxblood.
The process of obtaining wine is called fermentation done on the grape skin. Hence, this imparts the tannins and how they produce the dry feeling in your mouth. The excellent taste of wine bold red wine is mainly generated with the help of fermented grapes.
Examples
- Red wines with a lighter body and tastes of red fruit that are stronger in acidity and have fewer tannins and less alcohol (like pinot noir and Gamay)
- Medium-bodied reds with a combination of red and black fruit flavors, moderate alcohol content, and tannins (such as grenache, Côtes du Rhône, and merlot)
- Full-bodied reds with more excellent alcohol content, firm tannins, and notes of black fruit and spices (like cabernet sauvignon, malbec, and syrah)
Food Pairings
Pairing typically, you can pair red wine in terms of your preference. You can try out multiple things, but if you are a beginner, we suggest you follow a few guidelines.
If you use a bold, full-bodied wine, we suggest you consume it with red meat or a slow-cooked dish. On the other hand, the lighter hue pairs best with dishes like pasta and pizza.
2. White Wine
The white wine is obtained from different grapes. However, these could be both black and white grapes.
There is a minor difference between red and white wine. We understand that imagining black grapes turning into white wine could be confusing. However, the process focuses on the grape skin, which is pale in color for both black and white grapes. Hence you can get the crisp to buttery range in this wine.
Examples
- White wine with a light body that is crisp, acidic, and can taste herbaceous or citrusy (such as pinot grigio, Albarino, sauvignon blanc, and vinho Verde).
- Full-bodied white wine, such as Chardonnay, viognier, and sémillon, is creamier, bolder in flavor, and typically aged in oak.
Food Pairings
White wine can technically be paired with anything, just like red wine, but it goes particularly well with seafood and fish, poultry, salty snacks, and spicy foods.
3. Rosé Wine
The Rosé wine is a stage more than the typical red wine. The addition to this wine is grape juice. The grape skin from the process is removed after a short time. With this approach, you achieve a blush color rather than a bright red or blood red. The exact flavor of the Rosé depends on the varietal rather than the grapes.
Examples
- Rosés in Provence are often very light pink and have a fruity, zingy taste.
- Rosado is a Spanish rosé type that is often darker pink and has a light, fresh taste.
- Rosato is an Italian rosé that can be either light and delicate or bold depending on the region it's produced in.
Food Pairings
Depending on its style, rosé may go with a variety of dishes. Light, crisp rosés go well with cheese, shellfish, and salty or spicy foods, while juicier rosés may hold their own with heavier foods.
4. Orange Wine
Even though you might assume the color of this wine considering the name, the reality is a bit different.
This orange wine is in a color range of deep gold to light straw color. Moreover, they are not at all related to citrus fruit. Marissa Ross, a wine writer, illustrates that you can consider this close to white wine.
However, she believes it has more touch of a rose or red wine added. This wine also has tannins and carries a crisp taste. Such wines are drinks that suit your summer party.
Examples
- Orange wine can taste sour, tannic, and dry with flavors of honey, crushed apple, sourdough bread, and even wood varnish. Like rosé, orange wine can vary based on the grapes used in its production and the location from where it is produced.
Food Pairings
Skin-contact whites complement heartier fowl, hog, or even beef meals since they are nuttier, stronger, and more tannic, but they also go well with lighter cuisine.
5. Sparkling Wine
Any wine that is a composition of carbonation can be Sparkling wine. The primary definition is a wine that has bubbles. These bubbles are a natural result of fermentation.
Examples
- C
- ava, a sparkling white wine from Spain
- Prosecco, a sparkling white wine from Italy; Lambrusco, a sparkling red wine
Food Pairings
Cheese, shellfish, fresh fruit, and salad go well with both hot and fatty foods, as well as bubbly foods since the bubbles cleanse your mouth.
6. Dessert Wine
At this point, the line between dessert and fortified wines starts to blur. What does this mean? These wines are often lumped together. The main reason is the sweet side that they both carry. Dessert wines, as the name suggests, are best served after consuming meals.
Examples
- Noble rot, a fungus that concentrates the sugars in grapes, causes white grapes used to make the French sweet wine Sauternes to rot.
- Tokaji is a sweet wine from grapes infected with noble rot in Hungary.
Food Pairings
The name of these sweet wines refers to how well they go with other sweet dishes.
7. Fortified Wine
You can refer to any wine as a Fortified wine if you see an addition of distilled spirit. What is that? The distilled spirit refers to high alcohol and sugar addiction. They can also be considered Premium vodka flavors.
Examples
- Madeira is a Portuguese fortified wine produced by the oxidation process.
- Vermouth is the best wine flavored with botanicals (such as bark, flowers, herbs, roots, and spices) and used as an aperitif or cocktail ingredient. Marsala is a recommended wine produced in the Italian city of Marsala, Sicily.
Food Pairings
Although fortified wines are sweet, they are frequently served with chocolate, cheese, nuts, and other dessert dishes, even though they are not required to be matched with food.
The Bottom Line
Even if you are new to hosting events with wines, you will love to pair them up. When it comes to wines, it is always an experiment.
There is a wide range of wines that you can choose from for such experiments. Never hesitate to test your creativity.
One of the common wine mistakes you should absolutely avoid is using dessert wine for the main course. To help you feel more at ease the next time you're in the wine aisle, we'll provide you with a brief overview of the vast varieties of wines in this post!