Holiday dinners are always a tremendous spread. Thanksgiving and Christmas or event meals typically include one or more proteins, various vegetables, pasta, and rice, all seasoned with different herbs and spices. You could refer to this as a holiday potluck meal.
How many wines should be on the table?
Whether you are the Chef of the day or just a guest, how many bottles of wine should you have on the table, or how many bottles should you bring to dinner? Yet the crucial question is, what types of wine should be served? I recommend a white and red wine, a Rosé, and at least 2 or 3 sparkling wines plus a sweet wine.
It is essential to be a crowd-pleaser. Now you must consider if the guests are wine-sophisticated or occasional wine drinkers. Your best bet is to stick with wines that cost between $15 to 40 dollars. You will find some fantastic wines in this price range that will satisfy both styles of guests. One bottle per person should be sufficient. Nothing is worse than running out of wine in the middle of dinner! It is always better to bring a few additional bottles to be safe. What you don’t open can be enjoyed on another day!
Wines served with low Alcohol
Usually, holiday dinners go on for several hours. It is time to catch up with family and friends, watch football, eat, drink all day! Low-alcohol wines like Riesling, sparkling wines, Moscato d’Asti, or French Gamay pair perfectly with the holiday dinner. Wines below the 11% mark are considered low-alcohol wines and tend to offer greater balance and pair better with foods. Drinking low-alcohol wine can often prevent afternoon napping and feeling groggy after overeating. As most of us do! Why not… eat drink and be merry.
Styles of wines to drink
Which wine varietals pair well with your holiday dinner? This is a great opportunity to explore wines you might not usually choose, such as Beaujolais, Gamay, or French Chenin Blanc from the Loire Valley. Holiday dinners often feature a variety of flavors, so finding the right wine can enhance the overall experience. A helpful guideline is to select wines that have a similar weight and fat content to the dishes being served. Lighter dishes pair well with medium-bodied wines, while heavier dishes with more fat content are best complemented by full-bodied wines.
Serving seafood
Serving seafood during the holidays can be a fun change. A great alternative for dinner could be lobster, grilled fish, chowder, bisques, or my personal favorite, seafood gumbo.
White, Burgundy Chardonnay (medium body), Sparkling wines, Riesling or off-dry Riesling, and a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc do work well with seafood. With gumbo, Vouvray, Gewurztraminer, Beaujolais, Chenin Blanc from Loire Valley, and if your gumbo is extra spicy, Chenin Blanc with a touch of sweetness from South Africa is a perfect pair.
Chicken, Sausage, Shrimp Gumbo
- 2 cups of chopped onion
- 2 cups chopped Celery
- 1 cup chopped Bell Pepper
- 1 cup or less chopped Okra
- 3 cloves minced garlic
- 1/2 cup All Purpose Flour, for Roux
- 2 cans Chicken Broth
- 2 or 3 Bay leaves
- 1 tbsp Gumbo File
- teasp Thyme
- 2 tblsp Worcestershire
- 2 tblsp hot sauce
- salt & pepper
- 1/4 cup Bacon (optional)
- 3 -5 pds of Chicken, Smoked Sausage both chopped
- Shrimp
Sauté chicken thighs or breasts over medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes. Then, add sausage and bacon, continuing to sauté for an additional 5 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a bowl.
Next, add all your chopped vegetables (save the garlic for later) to the pan, using the grease from the chicken and sausage. Sauté the vegetables in the pan until they are tender, then place them in the bowl with the proteins.
To create the roux, combine 2 to 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil with the remaining grease in the pan over medium heat. Gradually whisk in 1/2 cup of flour, stirring constantly to prevent lumps. Season with salt, pepper, thyme, 1 tablespoon of gumbo file, and 1 teaspoon of minced garlic. Continue stirring until the roux turns brown.
Once the roux is ready, slowly add the chicken broth while stirring until well combined. Add the protein mixture, sautéed vegetables, 1 cup of water, bay leaves, minced garlic, gumbo file, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and additional salt and pepper to taste. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and let it simmer for 1 to 2 hours. Stir occasionally.
About 10 minutes before serving, add the shrimp and okra. If you prefer spicier gumbo, feel free to add 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper. Don’t forget the rice! Enjoy your meal!
Let’s talk Turkey
When you’re considering how to prepare your turkey, think about spice and the fat content. The preparation method of your turkey can influence your wine choice. White Burgundy (Chardonnay) is a good match for roasted turkey, there is little oak to dominate the turkey’s flavor. If you’re going to deep-fry your turkey, an off-dry Riesling has the acidity to cut through the crispness of the fried meat. A smoked turkey will work well with a Cabernet Fran from Loire Valley. The wine will complement the smoke, fruit, and herbal flavors. I am a big fan of Gamay wine. It’s a light-bodied red wine similar in taste to Pinot Noir. It has elevated acidity and little to no tannin structure and offers flowery aromas and tart flavors of red fruits like cherry, raspberry, cranberry, and red currant that pair well with ham, turkey and roast.
Must have Pie
Apple Pie- Sauternes, Pumpkin Pie-Chardonnay, Pecan Pie- Oloroso Sherry, Key Lime Pie- Sparkling Brut Rose, Lemon Meringue Pie- Champagne and always a sweet Moscato!
Sparkling Wines for the holidays
Always have at least two or more sparkling wines, such as Prosecco, Champagne or Cava, or an Asti on the table. Sparkling wines pair well with a variety of foods due to their refreshing acidity and absence of oak. Here are some of the reasonably priced sparkling wines to serve for the holidays: Mumm Napa Brut Rose, California, Moet & Chandon Imperial Brut, France, La Marca Prosecco, Italy, Nino Franco Rustico Prosecco Superior, Italy, Poema Cava Brut Rose, Caves Rodger Goulart Organic Cava Brut Reserva, from Spain.
Sweet wine – Adding a sweet wine to your holiday collection is a good idea. Even though guest generally say they like a dryer wines, a few might prefer something on the sweeter side. If serving dessert wines with dessert, choose a wine that is sweeter than your dessert because a sweeter dessert will cause your wine to taste flat! A Madeira, Port, or Rosa Regale. If you prefer a white wine, try Moscato or a sweet Riesling. When you are looking for something different to pour for dessert, I could recommend an Icewine.
Icewine is a type of dessert wine produced from grapes that have been frozen while still on the vine. The sugars and other dissolved solids do not freeze, but the water does, allowing for a more concentrated grape juice to develop. The grapes’ must is then pressed from the frozen grapes, resulting in a smaller amount of more concentrated, very sweet juice. Canada and Germany are the biggest producers. Icewine is also made in European countries where frost can be guaranteed. It is a very unique dessert wine
Celebrate the holidays with family and friends by exploring wines that you don’t typically drink, such as a dry Riesling or a Beaujolais. One of my personal favorites is Graham Beck’s sparkling wine from South Africa; it always makes an appearance at my holiday gatherings. Cheers!
