Savor the Season: A Guide to Holiday Wine Pairings

As the Holiday Season approaches…..

Every year, as Thanksgiving and Christmas approach, I am the recipient of requests for wine recommendations for the holidays. It’s a job I take seriously, as Thanksgiving is one of my favorite days of the year, for several reasons, chief among them being the food. Whether its my dad’s (Rest his soul) flavored Spanish Rice and roasted Turkey, my mothers Spanish rice with coconut desert, my classic ensalada-mist with 25 year old Pedro Xemenez balsamic dressing, or grilling lamb chops or a rib eye, what to drink with my feast is always on my mind. It’s not a small matter.

And then there’s Christmas (and New Year’s Eve and Day). Plenty of opportunities to try something new and to open and savor some of your tried-and-true favorites. It’s a wonderful time of the year.

My view on pairing wines with Thanksgiving and Christmas festivities is simple, and is aligned with what I often say: Drink what you find pleasurable. It really is that easy. You open a bottle of, say, Endless Crush Rosé of Pinot Noir, from Inman Family Wines — which is one of my recommendations this year — and snack on some cheese straws while drinking it. Perfect. The salty/spicy flavor profile of the delicious Southern staple which marries well with the Rosé’s remarkable acidity, and all is well for you and your guests.

Now, you could as aptly open a bottle of EDIVO “EROS” Ultra-Premium Sparkling wine (another of my holiday selections this year) with those cheese straws, and I daresay your pleasure would in no way be diminished. Lively, Soft bubbles, low in alcohol, a great way to begin a day of celebration.

What I’m saying is this: Yes, there are a number of “rules” that most people are told they should (or must) follow when pairing wines with food, and some of them do have merit. There are wines that clash on the palate with salmon. I would not pair salmon with a boldly tannic California Cabernet Sauvignon. Neither would I drink an Auslese with a grilled rib eye or pasta with Bolognese sauce.

I could lay out a few more of these strictures, but you get the picture, and here is the main thing: Once you actually “taste” why a wine should not be paired with a particular dish or type of food you can proceed to write your own set of rules. When that’s done, a certain sense of freedom opens and you are on your way to wine-pairing liberation. You will most likely not want to eat salmon and drink a Cabernet Sauvignon at the same time, but you will have the confidence to know which pairing rules apply to you.

So, on to some of my 2023 Holiday Wine Selections. As with previous years, this is a highly subjective and personal roster of wines, bottles that appeal to my palate and sensibilities. I am an eclectic consumer of wines — yes, a mono-varietal red wine is my true love, my passion, but you will find me drinking Albariño (I am crazy about this beautiful white from northern Spain) as often as Chenin Blanc; one day I crave Syrah, the next Cabernet Franc or a Barolo or Müller-Thurgau — and hope my approach appeals to you. (Of course, I would love to — and could easily — include many more bottles on this list, but space does not permit me that luxury.)

At the least, I urge you to never, ever paint yourself into a corner when it comes to what you drink. I’ve met too many people who profess to like Chardonnay only, or who tell me they drink wines only if they garnered “at least” 96 points from this or that critic. Such individuals are generally lackluster conversationalists whose culinary predilections mirror their wine dogmas. Trust your pallet, trust your heart, trust your love of wines, trust the warmth of the holiday season.