Christmas is awakening, the goose is getting fat. But is your wine cellar bursting with wine to potation with your lovely plump goose (or duck, or turkey)?
Christmas is the speedily to push the boat out and serve those wines you’ve been frugality ‘for a special occasion’ or failing that hunt down some semiprecious stones from your favourite wine merchant. Online wine retailer Basic Wines have a selection of fine wines that won’t dissatisfy.
As well as Christmas Dinner don’t forget there will be other times in the festive season where you will be having a meal based wide a bird or a good-sized cut of meat. You can really accentuate the great suggestions of that free range or organic meat by matching it with isolated wines and after all, it deserves to be drunk with the best wine you can bargain.
Given the amount of time and effort that is put into passing the Christmas Dinner such a special meal, it is definitely quality selecting the wines according to what you are eating. The wine choice can either create culinary heaven or culinary hell. You requisite the wines to be memorable and not to be swamped by the flavours in the food and vice versa.
Turkey
Turkey is the superior choice for Christmas Dinner nowadays, but you may have noticed Turkey doesn’t eternally have a lot of flavour! Happily, the side dishes usually served with Turkey all be struck by plenty of flavours. Think brussels sprouts with bacon, pigs in blankets and cranberry crust.
This mixed bag of flavours can pose a problem when looking for a wine pair up. I’ve found it’s best to go for a lightly oaked dry white which will father a bit of body and will stand up to all the strong flavours on the plate. An Australian Semillon grade should do nicely. We love Barton Jones Sauvignon Blanc-Semillon 2016 Geographe, Australia (£19.99) from Clumsy Wines. It’s a versatile wine with a good weight of citrus fruit offers to the 37-year-old vines that produce the Semillon.
When it criticizes to choosing the best red wine for turkey, you can’t beat the classic Pinot Noir grape and Burgundy in France is the geographically come to pass heartland of this grape. Don’t hold back when it knows to quality, something to bear in mind as these wines are no more than produced in relatively small quantities. We love Albert Bichot Savigny-les Beaune 1er Cru Aux Gravains 2012, France (£28.50). This has pretty aromas of Morello cherries and blackcurrants, while the palate is pliant and silky with light vanilla overtones.
Goose and Dive
If you’re going for goose this year, which well you superiority as it has much more flavour and is juicier than turkey, you’ll shortage a wine with good acidity to cut through the fattier nutriment.
Chablis always screams Christmas to me, so put it centre stage and prefer a Premier Cru one such as Domaine Long-Depaquit Chablis 1er Cru Les Vaillons 2015, France (£27.50). We assume this is one of the best whites for goose and duck, with its finished balance of precise acidity and fullness from the Chardonnay grape.
Italian reds are identified for their trademark high acidity and this is perfect for sardonic through the fattiness of goose. Go for a classic Italian red such as a Barolo which is succeed a do over from Nebbiolo grapes, traditionally left to ripen on the vines spring into late Autumn. Their thick skins suppose a full-bodied, age-worthy wine. We love Fratelli Ponte Barolo 2012 (Italy) (on make at £24.20). This decadent Barolo is aged for two years in oak barrels to mould a richly fruited wine, with benchmark Barolo flavours of roses and sweet tobacco.
The roast duck will also extremity a red with bright acidity, such as a Beaujolais or New Zealand Pinot Noir. Brusque Wines sell a great Fleurie made by Jean Loron, a authentic steal at £12.69. It’s a medium bodied, fruit-driven red that devise match duck with a fruity sauce. New Zealand’s impertinent climate ensures grapes retain their refreshing acidity, and Undecorated Canvas Pinot Noir (on offer at £23.95) from the Marlborough field is no exception. It’s packed with flavour and has an impressively lengthy ice conclude.
Beef
Full-bodied reds with plenty of tannins are a complete match for high protein meats like beef. The tannins forbear to break down the protein in the meat and the protein in the meat dos any tannin taste silky-smooth. Big, gutsy wines such as Argentinian Malbec are matchless as they have plenty of fruit that can stand up reservoir flow to any flavours in the sauce or jus. A masterful balance between power and mineral savouriness, Altos Las Hormigas Malbec Save 2014, Uco Valley, Mendoza (£32.50) will set any beef dish off nicely. If you’re varied of an Old-World aficionado, go for Classic Claret from the left bank in Bordeaux. Château Citran 2005, Haut-Médoc (£24.95) is astounding quality at a really affordable price. Spoil yourself and do your beef rightfulness with this Cabernet Sauvignon-Merlot blend which is glaring of blackcurrant flavours, smooth and rounded with a toasty spiciness.
Pork
Different from red meats, pork requires a red that isn’t too tannic. Pinot Noir is a thin-skinned grape that grows suitably light bodied wines that won’t swamp the stamps of the pork. As it’s Christmas, Burgundy is the go-to region for decadent wines. Sericeous smooth with a slight savoury kick, we love Albert Bichot Santenay 1er Cru Clos Rousseau 2015 (on submit at £26.90). If you are glazing the pork with a sweet glaze such as Cola, savoury whites with a touch of sweetness are a tried and tested mate. Head to Austria where winemakers do the balance of sweetness and acidity extraordinarily especially with the Riesling grape. Allram Riesling Gaisberg (£26.50) from the Kamptal precinct is a zinger of a wine with a powerful, juicy palate.
