There’s plenty to worry about when it comes to getting Christmas dinner right but my advice is to not spend too much time worrying about the perfect wine match for turkey. The family and the presents are the focus of the day so take a tip from Santa, who wears red and white and put a few bottles of each colour on the table and let your family chose what they’d like to drink. Christmas dinner is a bit like catering for a wedding so the aim should be to serve some wines with broad appeal that don’t clash with the food.
Sparkling Wines
There’s nothing better to start the meal with, or indeed the day when opening presents, than Champagne. Aldi's Janisson Grand Cru at €26.99 is this season's delicious bargain buy or Tesco 1er Cru at €29.99. More affordably try Cava (M & S 10 for 2 or Supervalu €10), Prosecco or Australian sparkling. For a lower alcohol alternately mix sparkling wine with orange juice for a bucks fizz.
White Wine
The white wine with the broadest appeal is probably chardonnay. It’s not too aromatic or sharp so unlikely to offend fussy drinkers, but pick one with little or no oak. An example of that would be Chablis and Macon. M & S has a good Chablis and the price has been cut from €15 to €10. Again Aldi have come up trumps with a good Chablis 1er Cru at just €10.99 and a Macon Villages at €6.99. They'll be fine with smoked salmon or prawns and the turkey. If you like something a little fruitier I'd go for an albarino froom Spain. Supervalu have a good one for €10 and curiously Dunnes have a good one from from Southern France by Laurent Miquel for about €11.
Red Wines
People often think turkey is like a big chicken so assume white is the best choice but I'll be drinking red myself. Turkey has more dark meat and then there's the chestnut stuffing, ham and all the rest of the trimmings. Go for a fruity not to tannic red. To avoid tannin, that means shunning, in particular, cabernet and hence most young Bordeaux, carmenère or nebbiolo.
There are though a really wide range of fruity mid weight reds to choose from including pinot noir and hence Burgundy, gamay, the Beaujolais grape, which includes Fleurie, tempranillo from Rioja or Ribera del Duero, syrah/shiraz, grenache including southern Rhone or Languedoc blends like wines Minervois and Corbieres. Italophiles could go for dolcetto, nero d’avola, Valpolicella Ripasso or primativo.
Sweet Wines
Lots of dessert wines could wash down the Christmas pudding, even a sweet sherry but my tip is finish the meal as you started it by serving fizz, only this time an Asti Spumante. Aldi have a decent one at a bargain price as do Tesco. Its grapy but fresh sweetness is the perfect foil to the heavy pud and so is its low 7-8% alcohol at the end of a heavy meal.
Port/Sherry
Sadly many only drink port this one week of the year, but please do buy a bottle. LBVs or late bottled vintage is a good and affordable style, better than basic ruby and cheaper than vintage. Aldi have the excellent Maynard's LBV at €12.99. Another style, aged tawny can be sublime too so look out one, in particular the wonderful Warre's Optima 10 year old in many independents.
Sherry isn't just for grannies. Try and get an aged dry oloroso or amontillado or palo cortado. O'Briens have a selection of sublime half bottles from about €15-25. Expensive but a real treat or a great present.M & S have some good half bottles too.
Wines Tasted On The Show Today.
Fleurie, Dunnes, €12.70.
Fleurie is one of the ten so called 'cru' or best villages in Beaujolais. It has really attractive berry fruit and is low on tannin. Even white wine drinkers will enjoy this as it's akin to a very dark rosé.
Tasmanian Pinot Noir 2011, M & S, €16.99
Burgundy's red grape makes the perfect Xmas red with intense berry and cherry fruit, low tannins, a touch of oak and refrshing acidity. It needs a coolish climate so much of Australia is too hot but out in Tasmania, they have really cracked it. Someone at M & S really likes this variety as they have three good Chilean versions from the cool, in every sense, regions of Bio Bio, Leyda and Casablanca that would also do the job.
Martin is on twitter at @winerepublic
