Wine for Winter & Christmas

Christmas dinner is the centrepiece of the wine calendar for many families, and it demands more thought than most meals. The challenge is that a traditional roast — turkey, goose, or beef — comes with a spread of side dishes, sauces, and accompaniments that span sweet, savoury, acidic, and rich. No single wine covers everything, so the best approach is to have two or three on the table and let guests pour what suits them.

For turkey and goose, Burgundy is the classic pairing — a village-level Gevrey-Chambertin or Volnay has the acidity and elegance to cut through rich, fatty poultry without overwhelming the meat. If Burgundy feels too expensive (and at Christmas, it often is), a Pinot Noir from Oregon's Willamette Valley or New Zealand's Central Otago delivers similar structure at a friendlier price. For beef, reach for something with more tannin and depth: a Northern Rhône Syrah (Crozes-Hermitage or Saint-Joseph), a Barolo or Barbaresco, or a Ribera del Duero Tempranillo.

White wine earners its place at the Christmas table too. A rich, lightly oaked Chardonnay from the Côte de Beaune — Meursault or Saint-Véran — handles roast chicken and creamy gratins beautifully. Alsatian Gewürztraminer, with its lychee-and-spice aromatics and off-dry palate, is a surprisingly brilliant partner for the sweet-savoury elements of a Christmas spread: cranberry sauce, glazed carrots, chestnut stuffing.

Mulled wine is the unofficial drink of the winter season, served at Christmas markets from Strasbourg to Edinburgh. The base should be a fruity, full-bodied red — a Southern French Grenache, an inexpensive Merlot, or a Montepulciano d'Abruzzo — warmed gently with cinnamon, cloves, star anise, orange peel, and a spoonful of honey. The key is not to boil it (which destroys the alcohol and turns the spices bitter) and to use a wine you would happily drink on its own. Bad wine makes bad mulled wine.

For dessert and cheese, fortified wines shine. Tawny Port (10- or 20-year) with Stilton is perhaps the greatest cheese-and-wine pairing in existence. Pedro Ximénez sherry — dark, viscous, and intensely sweet — poured over vanilla ice cream is a showstopper. A late-harvest Riesling from Alsace or a Sauternes beside a wedge of Roquefort closes out a Christmas meal with genuine elegance.