What Festive Treats Will You Be Drinking on Christmas Day?
We’re well into the Festive Season at this stage. The parties have started, the turkey and hams ordered and perhaps your thoughts are beginning to turn to what wines to have on Christmas Day.
The Green Acres wine team were discussing what they planned to drink with their Christmas dinner. There were some surprises there. Admittedly there were also overlaps of the ‘classic’ food pairings, but it was an interesting exercise, and we had a bit of a laugh.
Then it was suggested that we should combine our choices and arrive at a top 10 list of treats. So, without further ado, I’m going to outline them for you below. All the wines are available in our wine warehouse.
Recommended Festive Treats
Once you’ve chosen your meat, sauces, and trimmings, you’ll want to make sure you choose a wine that will enhance the experience. As such you’ll pair the food textures and flavours you’ve gone for with a wine that complements it all perfectly. So here are what the team came up with:
Sparkling Wine Treats
What is Christmas without sparkle? The holidays are the perfect excuse to crack out some bubbles. With the astronomical growth of Prosecco, Crémant and other sparklers in recent years, we’re sure you can find a fizz to suit all tastebuds.
Our first pick is a sparkling wine from the Champagne region in northern France. Made in the traditional method it is dry, unoaked and has a cork closure.
Brut Intense MAG17 NV
A.R. Lenoble
Champagne
France €55
White Wine Treats
White wines are often overlooked on Christmas Day, but they make for a delightful pairing with many a dish. Here are 4 whites that are recommended by our team:
Terre Noire, Chenin Blanc 2020
Ken Forrester
Swartland,
South Africa €29
Gruner Veltliner “Ried Loiserberg” 2021
Weingut Brundlmayer,
Kamptal,
Austria €35
Abeille De Fieuzal 2018
Chateau Fieuzal
Pessac Leognan
France €42.50
Saint Peray "Les Figuiers" 2019
Bernard Gripa
Rhone Valley
France €48
Red Wine Treats
It can be tricky to select the right red wines for your holiday feast: you need to consider not only the flavours on your menu but also the taste preferences of your guests. Here are the recommendations from the Green Acres wine team.
Riecine Chianti Classico 2020
Tuscany,
Italy €36
Vitola Rioja Reserva 2016
Miguel Merino,
Rioja Alta,
Spain €36
Chateau De Rouanne 2019
Vinsorbes, Rhone Valley
France €29
Chateau Barrail du Blanc
St Emilion
Bordeaux, France €34
Dessert Wine Treats
Simple sweets and treats are a great complement to a Christmas feast, but nothing beats a generous glass of dessert wine. These are deeply fortified beverages with bold flavours of berries and plums along with earthy aromas. The caramelised and sticky dessert wine from Bodegas Toro Albala was everyone’s favourite.
Don P.X. Vino Dulce De Pasas 2018
Bodegas Toro Albala,
Montilla-Moriles,
Spain €22.50
As a bonus for you, an after-dinner drink was also discussed. I expected that some of the eh, younger, members of the team would opt for Christmas cocktails. But no, there was another unanimous decision about this.
A Pineau des Charentes blends grape juice from the region with Cognac brandy, a spirit made from grapes. This drink has an alcohol content of around 17 per cent, making it just a little boozier than wine. There is a strong vanilla-fruit flavour that is sweet, but it is in a natural, juicy way.
Pineau Des Charentes
Chateau d'Orignac,
S.W.France €35
Merry Christmas
Like we've said before in many blogs, and Christmas time is no different, the best wine to go with Seasonal food is the wine you like! And if you like any of the wines described above, you can purchase them online here: wine warehouse.
On behalf of the wine team and all at Green Acres, I would like to wish you all the best wishes for this festive season and a wonderful New Year.
James O’Connor
Images by Moondance from Pixabay