More than any other time of year, Christmas is the season for lovers of red wine to indulge their passion for the crimson nectar. From hot mugs of spicy mulled wine and warm mince pies to a good bottle alongside the traditional turkey dinner with all the trimmings, Christmas is awash with opportunties to enjoy a glass or two.
Whilst there are endless glasses of red wine served at the many Christmas parties that take place throughout the festive season, Christmas dinner itself is the occasion when you will need to put some real thought into the red wine that you serve. With so much effort going into preparing the traditional Christmas meal, nobody wants to undo all of that hard work by serving up a glass of cheap plonk that does not do justice to the food being served.
Whilst there’s certainly no room for wine snobbery over the festive season, it does make sense to consider which wines will effectively complement the meal. Turkey is traditionally well accompanied by Pinot Noir wines, which are famously versatile, as well as Tempranillos from the Rioja region of Spain – considered by many red wine lovers to be among the world’s best ‘food wines’. Other good options for pairing with turkey include French Beajolais Nouveau and Californian Zinfandels. All these wines are versatile and not so bold and bolshy that they will overpower the flavours of your perfectly prepared Christmas dinner.
The cost of preparing Christmas dinner can be staggeringly high, so although you obviously don’t want to serve cheap rubbish, don’t feel you need to go all out and buy the most expensive red wines on the shelves at Christmas. With so much rich food and intoxicating alcohol on offer, it makes sense to serve some easy drinking, cost-friendly wines than some super-expensive bottles whose subtleties may well be wasted among all the sensory overload. Many supermarkets and wine merchants offer excellent deals over Christmas, so look out for good price cuts and offers on bulk buys.
Of course, Christmas is all about enjoyment and indulgence, so don’t ignore your own personal tastes or those of your guests. If you’re a fan of bold-flavoured wines with plenty of tannin, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, why not open a bottle before dinner and serve as a pre-dinner drink with a few Christmasy nibbles such as mixed nuts (or, if you’re lucky enough to have an open fire, roast chestnuts).
Alternatively, one nice way to get the gathered hordes in the festive spirit is to serve cups of spicy mulled wine before everybody sits down to eat. With the whole family gathered together and the smell of warming mulled wine in the air, everybody will be feeling plenty of Christmas cheer. It’s easy to keep the kids cheerful too – mugs of hot blackcurrant juice mixed with mulled wine spices will give that warming effect without any unwanted intoxicating ones! While many stores sell bottles of ready made mulled wine, it’s perfectly simple to make your own – you’ll just need a bottle of red (a good chance to use up less than spectacular bottles), orange and lemon slices, spices such as cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg and sugar to taste. To make things even simpler, there are plenty of stores selling mulled wine spices ‘teabag’ style, which can simply be added to the pan of wine as it heats (be careful not to let it boil or you’ll lose the alcohol!)
There’s no need to serve just one wine with your Christmas dinner, either. If you’re having a starter such as soup, open a light, zingy bottle such as a Zinfandel (yes, it has its critics, but these are good easy drinking wines); and follow this up with possibly a Tempranillo for the main course.
When it comes to dessert, those rich Christmas flavours will stand up well to flavoursome wines such as a Cabernet Sauvignon, a Shiraz or a Merlot. Bear in mind that Christmas pudding and mince pies are very often steeped in brandy, so your taste buds may be a little confused by all the conflicting alcohol flavours. Accordingly, this may not be the best time to appreciate that 20-year-old vintage red wine that has been gathering dust in the cellar waiting for a special occasion. Instead, cast aside your wine snobbery for the moment, crack open a bottle of whatever red wine happens to be a popular choice and simply enjoy – it is Christmas, after all!
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cheers!