What Should I Drink With Christmas Dinner?

Christmas Dinner is usually most people’s biggest meal of the year, with a lot of flavours jostling for position, and if you’re hosting, lots of different tastes at the table. Food might be the main focus, but don’t let the drinks get lost under all those different dishes!

Everyone has different opinions and the perfect wine for all simply doesn’t exist, so alongside Christmas dinner, it’s best to seek out crowd-pleasers that will let the food shine. We know every Christmas dinner is different, so we’ll highlight particularly delicious pairings in bold so you can find the ideal wine for you. Let the feast commence.

WHITE WINE

Riesling

We’ve got a few food pairing guides now, and there is a good reason why we pretty much always return to Riesling. It can deal with so many flavours and textures and is a fantastic all-rounder. Bringing sharp acidity, it’s perfect for cutting through the fatty goodness of goose, duck, ham and roasties – pretty much anything with a bit of grease. Dry Riesling bring a touch of residual sugar and be less alcohol intensive, and therefore food-friendly with sweet glazes or honeyed meats.

Size: 750ml
ABV: 12.5%
Find here: £13

Chardonnay

Whites need to big and bold, particularly with the crispy skin of turkey, but also something to relieve the richness on the table, so we’re looking at lightly oaked Chardonnay. Make sure it still has fruity flavours, and it will be a versatile pairing for salty ham and gammon too, as well as the increasingly popular vegetarian or vegan nut roast, that needs its richness offset.

Size: 750ml
ABV: 9.8%
Find here: £8.99

SPARKLING WINE

Champagne

Bubbles are always great with heavy feasts like the Christmas dinner, and sparkling wine is of course, a food-friendly option. Rich, salty flavours will likely be present, so avoid sweet or rosé champagnes, and instead look to brut. Particularly after the meal, the gentle fizz and fragrant fruitiness is beautifully soothing. It also helps that is screams celebration. Also, if you’re on of the few people embracing seafood on the big day, then the saline mineral character of bubbly is a famous pairing. Of course, there’s no need to splash out (although there are great value Champagnes like this one), and affordable alternatives like Crémant and Cava would work just as well.

Size: 750ml
ABV: 12%
Find here: £48.50

RED WINE

Merlot

A serial crowd-pleaser, find a merlot in the smooth and velvety style, because some others can be heavily oaked. Chilean merlot is a great source of value in this area. Particularly with turkey, it’s more about sauce and stuffing than the meat, and as cranberry sauce is nailed on, we want bright, fruity wines to match. And if the turkey has ended up a bit dry, then the juicy feel doesn’t hurt either. Chilean bottles in particular bring that vibrance, as well as acidity to cut through any fats and refresh the palate. It’s a good option for Christmas ham too.

Size: 750ml
ABV: 14%
Find here: £11.60

Barolo

If you’re serving goose or even duck and red is a must, then an Italian number like Barolo could be the answer. The foods are very indulgent and fatty, so you need something like a well-structured Barolo to slice through. If you’ve scrapped the turkey and gone for any darker, more savoury meats like the above or beef, then big, punchy Barolo is the answer.

Size: 750ml
ABV: 14.5%
Find here: £24.99 (less with Mix Six)

Pinot Noir

Light-bodied and brimming with soft red fruits, Pinot Noir will sing with those cranberry sauce helpings alongside the turkey. Central Otago New Zealand Pinot tends to fit the bright and fruity profile we’re looking for, and they’re also some of the richest and structured, so work particularly well with any sweet glazes (usually ham), or spices. Make sure you don’t go for something too tannic, because it will seem harsh without the fat to soften the tannins. The great thing about leftover Christmas day Pinot is that it’s perfect for the Boxing Day leftovers, ideally light for cold meats.

Size: 750ml
ABV: 13.5%
Find here: £19.99

This is just a guide for the big meal itself, but we know as well as you do that Christmas grazing is an all day and all night affair. What should you drink with Christmas pudding or mince pies? Or perhaps you’re after some wine and cheese pairings in the evening? We’ve got recommended bottles for every occasion on the site, as well as tonnes of handy gift guides and recipes.

Galvin at Windows: The New Autumnal Barolo & Truffle Menu

After the sun-kissed panoramic views of summer, the 28th floor of the London Hilton on Park Lane ushers in autumn in style, with Head Chef Marc Hardiman and the team at Galvin at Windows putting on a spectacular five-course Barolo & Truffle tasting menu.

This autumnal dining escapade features a lineup of opulent dishes, each paired with thoughtfully selected Pio Cesare wines. The Italian Vineyard, celebrating 140 years master winemaking, offers wines that perfectly complement Chef Hardiman's innovative culinary creations. From the rich and deeply flavoured Barolo Ornato 2016 to the Barolo Mosconi 2018, each sip takes the dining experience to sky high heights… beyond even the 28th floor!

They’ll be poured out in accompaniment of dishes like slow-cooked beef cheek ravioli with 5-year-aged Parmesan cream and white Alba truffle, as well as the Pheasant Farci au Gratin, finished with celeriac, blackberry and, yes you guessed it, more truffle. And if that's not enough to tantalize your palate, there's the Scottish Highlands venison Wellington with glazed chestnut, red cabbage ketchup, and sauce Périgueux, a symphony of flavours that promises to transport you to culinary heaven.

The Barolo & Truffle menu at Galvin at Windows is available for £299 per person, and with limited availability, you'll want to secure your reservation early. To sweeten the deal, the first 70 bookings will receive a complimentary glass of Louis Roederer champagne, adding an extra touch of elegance to your evening.

This special menu is available for just five weeks, from Friday, October 13th, to Saturday, November 18th, so mark your calendars because it's a limited-time opportunity to experience the ultimate in autumnal decadence.

For more information or to book, click here.
22 Park Ln, London W1K 1BE

Thursday Club with Talk Radio: Italian Nebbiolo

This week, it’s Nebbiolo Three Ways! Nebbiolo is the grape that hails from the rolling, foggy hills of Piedmont in Northwest Italy. It makes red wines that can look pale and delicate like Pinot Noir, but get them in your mouth and wow! The power! Classic tasting notes are tar and roses, violet, marzipan and subtle tobacco leaf. 

Today. I've chosen the two most famous red styles of this grape and one bonkers sparkling. Each of these would suit a cosy dinner, whether that's à deux, with friends or by yourself in front of Netflix with a pizza. 

Sparkling Nebbiolo Rosé

This is a first for me! Made with the grape that usually makes those beefy, red wines from Barolo and Barbaresco in Piedmont, this a beautifully packaged bottle. On the nose, it has that classic, Nebbiolo rose petal and violet notes and on the palate, subtle notes of creamy nutmeg and a savoury spice. Drink it alone or it would be amazing with Bresaola and cold cuts.

Aldi £12.99

Winemaster’s Lot Barbaresco D.O.C.G

Barbaresco wines tend to be a little softer in style with their tannins as the grapes ripen earlier here. Think more ripe blackberry notes with some red fruit and a touch of liquorice and umami truffle. 

Aldi £17.99

Ascheri Barolo D.O.C.G

Barolo is a famous wine producing area in Piedmont, Northern Italy and is made using the Nebbiolo grape, as above. This one is certainly decadent with rich ripe notes of plum, cocoa and tobacco. 

Tesco £23

Thursday Club with Talk Radio: Top Wines from Morrisons

It’s Thirsty Thursday and that means time for the Thursday Club with talkRADIO! This week, we continue the supermarket theme and taste three wines that impressed me from Morrisons. Two whites and red. Have you heard of any of these?

Morrisons ‘The Best’ Rioja Blanco

White Rioja is a totally different animal to red Rioja, even though it is made in the same region.  While the reds are based largely or entirely on the Tempranillo grape, white Rioja is all about white grapes, especially one called Viura, which has to make up at least 51% of the blend. Other local white grapes can be added too, such as  Malvasía de Rioja, Garnacha Blanca, Tempranillo Blanco, Maturana Blanca, Turruntés de Rioja, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Verdejo. The style of these can be light or heavy and there is often a bit of oak involved. They have age statements too like the reds, from Joven, which means young, up to Gran Reserva, which will be released after a minimum of 48 months. This one is fairly young and has a good balance of ripe fruit, oak and texture. 

Find it here for £7.75

Masseria Pietrosa Verdeca 

We’ve talked previously about how Italy has some really interesting and brilliant value grape varieties, so here’s another one for you: Verdeca. It’s fairly rare, comes largely from Puglia and Emiglia-Romana and tends to be aromatic with herbal notes and ripe, citrussy flavours with a mineral core. It’s often used in blends from smaller DOCS around Southern Italy, so it’s interesting to see it here as a varietal wine (With just one grape on the label). Masseria Pietrosa means old stone farmhouse and refers to the famous trulli houses in the area. 

Find it here for £7

Morrisons ‘The Best’ Barolo 2017

Barolo is the famous Italian wine hailing from Piedmont in the North and made with the Nebbiolo grape. It’s often a bit of a surprise as it often looks pale and delicate and has pretty, aromatic notes of rose petals and violet but then get it in your mouth and it’s hugely powerful and full-bodied. Think tar and roses, truffle and marzipan. Needs time open and an amazing meat stew. This one won a gold in the recent International Wine and Spirits Competition (IWSC). 

Find it here for £14