{"id":4378,"date":"2018-12-07T15:00:48","date_gmt":"2018-12-07T23:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.winemonthclub.com\/blog\/?p=4378"},"modified":"2021-07-07T14:02:43","modified_gmt":"2021-07-07T21:02:43","slug":"the-best-wines-to-serve-with-holiday-meals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.winemonthclub.com\/blog\/the-best-wines-to-serve-with-holiday-meals\/","title":{"rendered":"The Best Wines to Serve & Pair with Holiday Meals"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Pexels<\/a>It seems that everyone wants to sell us something, almost everything in fact, before the holidays. And similarly, there is no shortage of pundits to advise us on what we should buy; this is especially true of wine. Unsolicited or not, I am repeatedly asked by friends, acquaintances, and even total strangers what wine I recommend they serve and pair with their holiday dinner.<\/p>\n

My answer to the inevitable holiday wine pairing question is this:<\/p>\n

What are you serving and what do you like?<\/em> <\/strong><\/p>\n

I can\u2019t, nor should I, tell you what you like, but I may be able to offer some suggestions based upon decades of experience as to what wine and food pairings<\/a> tend to please most people\u2019s palates, so below is a stab at answering the question.<\/p>\n

Poultry<\/h2>\n

With poultry, whether turkey, chicken or duck, light reds and full-bodied white wines make good companions. Pinot Noir, red burgundy, and Beaujolais Villages work especially well with poultry. Pinot Noirs from California\u2019s Russian River, Santa Lucia Highlands, and Santa Rita Hills appellations as well as Oregon\u2019s Willamette Valley tend to get the highest marks. Some tried and true Pinot producers to consider are Benovia, Walt, Bethel Heights, and Bergstr\u00f6m, among others. As for Beaujolais fans, they will want to consider Janodet\u2019s excellent Beaujolais Villages or a cru Beaujolais from one of the appellation\u2019s 10 cru villages. California Zinfandel also merits two thumbs up. Similarly, Chardonnay lovers have a wide array of producers and wine styles from which to choose. Excellently crafted oak-aged Chardonnays from Benovia, Chappellet, and Morgan are readily available and garner considerable acclaim from critics and consumers alike. For more mineral and terroir-driven Chardonnays, consider serving a Pouilly-Fuiss\u00e9 from the likes of Domaine Gilles Noblet or other premium M\u00e2con producers.<\/p>\n

Seafood<\/h2>\n

If seafood is on the menu, Pouilly-Fuiss\u00e9, M\u00e2con-Fuiss\u00e9 and M\u00e2con Villages Chardonnays are again top crowd pleasers, but I would not overlook the delicious Gavis from La Giustiniana Lugarara or Stefano Massone, as they provide equally compelling companionship to fish and shellfish with more body and character than Pinot Grigio.<\/p>\n

Meat & Vegetables<\/h2>\n

If meat and hearty vegetarian dishes grace your holiday table, the world of wine is at your fingertips. Big reds such as Bordeaux, Cabernet Sauvignon, Ch\u00e2teauneuf-du-Pape, Malbec, Meritage offerings, Ribera del Duero, Rioja, and Super Tuscans all shine with beef, lamb, and other red meats. There is no shortage of eligible candidates from among that list, though several producers stand out for quality and consistency: Chappellet, Domaine du Vieux Lazaret, Domaine Grand Tinel, Round Pond, Luca, Tikal, Dominio Basconcillos, Valenciso, and Urlari, to name just a few.<\/p>\n

Cheese, Pasta, Pork & More<\/h2>\n

With cheese, pasta, pork, and tomato-based dishes, consider a delicious C\u00f4tes-du-Rh\u00f4ne from Chamford or Guigal, a Ventoux from Domaine de Vieux Lazaret, or a rich Petite Sirah from D. Pfaff, Carmen, or Peltier, but as you like it because the holidays and life itself are too short to drink wine you don\u2019t like or someone else\u2019s palate.<\/p>\n

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and the safest of Holidays,
\nDon<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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Unsolicited or not, I am repeatedly asked by friends, acquaintances, and even total strangers what wine I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":""},"categories":[9,11],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Best Wines to Serve & Pair with Holiday Meals | Wine Blog from The International Wine of the Month Club<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Unsolicited or not, I am repeatedly asked by friends, acquaintances, and even total strangers what wine I recommend they serve with their holiday dinner.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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