The Twelve Wines of Christmas
A dozen wines to accompany your holiday feast
By Mireille Sauvé for Flavours Magazine – December 2004

Christmas comes along but once a year and with it comes a trail of expectations as long as Santa’s wish list. The pressure is on for all holiday celebrators to get the best present, to take the best photos, and to host the best dinner of any Christmas past. If you are one of the lucky ones who have been invited to a holiday dinner, you may think that you don’t have much to worry about. After all, someone else is cleaning the house, cooking the turkey, polishing the silverware – all you need to do is show up … right?

Be it a ham, a turkey, or a suckling pig that you have been invited to feast upon to celebrate the season, one thing is for sure – no holiday meal is complete without an accompanying wine in each diner’s glass. It only seems right then, that you should bring wine to dinner so off to the liquor store you go, jingle bells all the way. Upon arrival to the store, you are welcomed by not one, not two, but nearly a thousand bottles to choose from, all sporting different labels in different languages with different reasons that each wine is the best wine for you. Ah, yes, there’s that Christmas pressure again.

One thing to bear in mind when choosing wines to bring to any occasion – be it Christmas, Birthday or Halloween – is that the wine you bring need not necessarily accompany the food being served, but rather it should accompany the mood of the evening, and the people with whom you are sharing it. Here are some things to consider when making your selection:

Who are you having dinner with? If your dining companions are regular wine drinkers, you may want to splurge for that special bottle to make your wine stand out. If not, you might want to focus more on pairing the wine to the food, offering all diners a taste sensation unlike any other that they have experienced.

Are you after quality or quantity? If your friends generally like to limit themselves to one or two glasses of wine with dinner then it’s probably best to bring one very special bottle rather than two wines that are just ‘good’. On the other hand, if they tend to be more indulgent on special occasions, you may want to consider bringing a magnum (1.5 litre bottle) instead of the standard 750 ml bottle to add to that party atmosphere.

What are you having for dinner? While food is not the only element to consider when choosing a wine for dinner, it certainly is an important one. Are you having the traditional turkey dinner or is this a vegetarian event? Or is the host completely eccentric and bringing out the barbecue for the occasion? If you know what foods you will be eating, you can tailor your wine picks accordingly. Pair full bodied whites or lighter reds with game birds, lighter crisper whites with seafoods, rich full bodied reds with barbecued steaks, and so on.

Which wine will you choose to bring to your Christmas celebration? Nobody said it was going to be an easy choice, so I’ve done what I could to make the decision a little less stressful. I’ve gathered up a ‘mixed case’ of wine selections that I would be inclined to bring with me to various types of Christmas dinners, and here they are with some tasting notes by yours truly…

French Champagne
These are excellent celebration wines. Historically, these sparkling wines have been ‘the’ wines to bring to any special occasion. Crisp flavours pair with lively acidity to make Champagne a perfect match with fruity desserts or as an opening sipper to start off the evening in style.

Chilean Sauvignon Blanc
Typically light and dry, Chilean Sauvignons often offer great value for the price. These wines would be a pleasant accompaniment to appetizers or pre-dinner snacks.

British Columbian Chardonnay
There are some excellent examples of fuller-bodied chardonnays in BC. These wines tend to exhibit buttery and spicy notes which pair wonderfully with Christmas classics like yams and brussel sprouts – and you’ll be supporting the Canadian economy while you drink.

Australian or Californian Viognier
Dry and crisp, Viogniers like those from Australia and California are great wines to serve from the moment that guests arrive right through to the end of the main course. The tropical fruit flavours that this varietal exhibits ensure the crowd-pleaser status of these wines.

French Chablis
These wines, produced in Burgundy’s renowned Chablis area, proclaim the ultimate special dinner with their prestige alone. Classic Chablis’ feature citrus flavours and mineral characteristics, making them beautiful wines to drink with food. If you happen to be having lobster for your Christmas dinner then these are the perfect wines to bring, however they will also pair wonderfully with turkey or fish.

Spanish or French Rosé
I’m not talking about White Zinfandel folks – I’m talking about dry rosés to go with your holiday meals. Look for Rioja Rosé from Spain or Tavel from France as fine examples of these, featuring hints of raspberry and terrific structure. Dry rosés are an ideal match with turkey or other game birds.

French Beaujolais
Nothing goes better with cranberry sauce than these fresh and lively red wines made from the Gamay grape. Red cherry and plum components make Beaujolais’ lovely little wines to drink with turkey. Tip: Beaujolais wines are even tastier when served slightly chilled.

British Columbian Merlot
In recent years, BC has made some fine examples of well-structured red wines from the Okanagan Valley. Complexity, full body and ripe berry fruit are but a few of the elements to expect from these impressive wines. Forget about the turkey and serve these wines with the cheese.

Italian Valpolicella
‘Staple’ wines from Italy’s Veneto region, these wines tend to exhibit fresh berry and earthy flavours, making them ideal complements to a classic Canadian turkey dinner. Look for a designation of “Superiore” on the label which indicates that the wine in the bottle is more refined than your average Valpolicella.

Australian Shiraz
Not that it has anything to do with a Christmas dinner perse, but these wines epitomize the reason that we all love Aussie reds – rich chocolate flavours layer with stewed plummy fruit in these luscious red wines. Drink these at the end of your meal if you can possibly hold off that long – Aussie Shirazes are especially tasty if there is chocolate nearby.

Oregon Pinot Noir
These lighter style red wines tend to be made in a very ‘New World’ style, displaying freshness with ripe cherry flavours with smooth finishes. The perfect match with turkey and stuffing, these wines are sure to impress.

Niagara Icewine
These sweet wines delight the palate like tropical fruit salad drizzled with clover honey. A classic Canadian creation, icewine is a remarkable way to finish off a meal. Look for Riesling Icewine if you can find it, as it offers livelier acidity and therefore is a more balanced wine than some other examples. Drink with savoury desserts or all by itself as the perfect end to a perfect meal.

Lots of choices to ponder above and I hope that this helps with your task. But I wonder how it can ever be possible to choose just one perfect wine to bring to a celebration of this grandeur. If you’re having trouble narrowing it down, I do have just one final suggestion: Bring two – one for dinner and one as a gift to the host. It is, after all, the season of giving…

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