Five Great Wines for Holiday Meals

Wine Collector

As you plan your holiday festivites, you may be looking for five great wines for holiday meals. The perfect food and wine pairing can elevate a meal to another level, and the right wine can make a holiday gathering even more special. No matter what the holiday, try one of these wines to make your season even brighter and more enjoyable.

Holiday Worthy Wines

The holidays are festive, warm and filled with good things to eat. Because of the season, holiday wines can be heartier wines that stand up to traditional flavors like turkey, currants, cranberries, prime rib and other holiday delicacies. While it can seem daunting to choose the perfect bottle, there are some wines that go naturally well with holiday foods. These holiday worthy wines include medium and full bodied reds with lots of spice and festive, bubbly sparkling wines. Some wine types to consider trying over the holidays include:

Reds

Red wines range from light bodied with fruit flavors to bold, spicy wines. They usually pair well with heartier fare like beef, lamb, game meats, smoked meats and dark meat poultry or grilled poultry. Try these with holiday meals:

Rhone wines like Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Hermitage and Côte-Rôtie
Bordeaux and Bordeaux-style wines
Beaujolais Nouveau
Burgundy
Pinot Noir
Priorat
Barolo
Barbaresco

Whites

White wines run the gamut from dry to sweet and from bright and crisp to smooth and oaky. Some whites to try for the holidays include:

Champagne and champagne-style wines such as Cava and Prosecco
Muscato d'Asti
Oaked Chardonnay
German Riesling
Pinot Grigio

Five Great Wines for Holiday Meals

Each of these five great wines for holiday meals has something in common. They are all delicious wines with flavors that pair well with holiday foods and cost $50 or less per bottle. If you're looking for a sure bet, then try one of these delicious holiday wines with your next holiday meal. Ready to spend more than $50? Try the splurge selection. Watching your budget? Then consider the affordable alternative.

1. Best Apéritif Wine - Lenoble NV Blanc de Blancs

What wine works great for appetizers? No matter what the holiday, Champagne makes a great apéritif wine. Its flavors pair well with most foods, and it lends a festive atmosphere to almost any occasion. Lenoble non-vintage Blanc de blanc Champagne is reasonably priced (about $35 a bottle), consistently delicious, well rated by wine reviewers and makes the perfect wine for your appetizer course. Blanc de blanc Champagne is made with Chardonnay grapes, as opposed to the traditional Pinot Noir/Chardonnay blend of regular Champagne. This is a true high quality French Champagne made with the méthode champenoise. Lenoble is a well respected winemaker in France, and their Champagnes are recognized worldwide as being of high quality.

Splurge - Salon Vintage Blanc de blancs - ($250+ per bottle)
Affordable alternative - Cristalino NV Brut Cava ($8 per bottle)

2. Best Wine with Turkey - Argyle Reserve Pinot Noir

The Reserve Pinot Noir from Oregon's Argyle Winery is a consistently good, relatively affordable (around $40 a bottle) Pinot Noir. With flavors of rose petals, mushrooms, cherries and smoke, this wine is a light and silky wine that stands up well to the flavors of a turkey dinner. While most vintages of this wine are good, the 2005 and 2007 vintages are particular standouts. This wine also pairs well with lamb and salmon.

Splurge - Beaux Freres Pinot Noir, Beaux Freres Vineyard ($70 per bottle)
Affordable alternative - Belle Pente Pinot Noir Willamette Valley ($18 per bottle)

3. Best Wine with Beef - Two Hands Angel's Share Shiraz

This Australian Shiraz is spicy, bold and loaded with ripe fruit flavors that burst on the palate. It is a reasonably priced wine, at about $35 a bottle, and the 2008 version was chosen as one of Wine Spectator's top 100 wines of the year. Because of the consistent growing conditions in Australia's McLaren Vale, the wine is remarkably consistent from vintage to vintage.

Splurge - Penfolds Grange Hermitage ($200+ per bottle)
Affordable alternative - D'Arenberg Shiraz/Viognier - The Laughing Magpie ($9 per bottle)

4. Best White Wine - Donnhoff Estate Riesling

This crisp, acidic and yet smoky white from Germany is a great all-around player. With the acidity to cut through heavy, creamy foods but with enough fruit and spice to stand up to bold flavors, if you prefer white wines to red wines, then you're in for a treat. At about $25 per bottle, the 2009 is a particularly good value with flavors that wowed wine critics.

Splurge - Cakebread Cellars Chardonnay ($60 to $80 per bottle)
Affordable Alternative - Sokol Blosser Evolution - ($15 per bottle)

5. Best Dessert Wine - Yalumba Museum Reserve 50 Year Old NV Tawny

This Aussie port-style wine is made using the traditional Port making techniques that were perfected in Portugal. At around $50 per 375 mL bottle, it is a little bit of a splurge, but a little goes a long way with dessert wines. The flavors of spices and toffee pair especially well with holiday desserts like pumpkin pie or chocolate flavored desserts, and the wine has a creamy, smooth richness that also makes it a dessert in and of itself.

Splurge - Château d'Yquem Premier Cru Sauternes ($120+ for 375 mL bottle)
Affordable Alternative - Yalumba Museum Reserve NV Muscat ($15 for a 375 mL bottle)

These are just a few of many wonderful wines that you can serve with your next holiday meal. Give one of these wines a try. If you'd like to branch out and try your own but don't know where to start, take a trip to your local wine shop for recommendations for wines that will make your holiday meal sparkle.