Wine Pairing Guide for Holiday Meals

Wine and food have been a staple of holiday meals long before the days of turducken, Thanksgiving football, and Christmas presents from Santa Claus. Like beer pairings with various holiday food options, drinking the right wine with the right type of food plays a huge part in highlighting the best flavors of both items. Unlike beer, wine options are as plentiful as customers in a shopping mall on Black Friday, and the choices aren’t just red and white, so to speak. Knowing which wines pair the best with various dishes will go a long way in convincing your family and friends that you’ve mastered that wine making kit, so start your research right here as we break down some of the optimal food/wine pairings to serve over holiday meals.

Wine Pairings By Dish

Turkey Perhaps the most popular winter holiday bird is turkey, which pairs nicely with a couple reds and whites that are very easy to create in your wine making kit. In the red wine category, the staple of a turkey dinner is the robust pinot noir, which balances the flavor of turkey perfectly without being too overpowering. Sauvignon blancs are also good partners with turkey, as the sweet, herbal flavors of certain sauvignon blancs provide a diverse compliment to the turkey, gravy, and mashed potatoes combination. If you prefer a dry, sweet wine, rieslings and gewürztraminers can also be easily concocted in your wine making kit and served with turkey. Ham Ham is typically light, salty, and kind of sweet, so go with similar red and white wines to those you would pair with turkey. Pinot noir wine making supplies are readily abundant, and the pinot noir offsets the saltiness of the ham with a light to medium-bodied fruitiness. Zinfandels are also a possibility, as the higher alcohol and fruit flavors provide a similar compliment as a pinot noir. A gewürztraminer adds something spicy and sweet to the ham, and can also double as a flavorful glaze for the ham. Oak-less chardonnays also creates a great pairing with ham, as the ham’s smoky flavor balances well with the subtly mild flavors of the chardonnay. Ham is a versatile food, and as such any of these wines should pair up well. Lamb Lamb is a very rich, red meat, and naturally should be paired with robust red wines made from fresh wine making supplies. The perfect red wine compliment is the shiraz/syrah, a full-bodied wine that can have the aroma of everything from blackberries to pepper to espresso. Another possibility for your wine making kit is a cabernet sauvignon, with high acidity and powerful flavors. Other red wines such as merlot, pinot noir, and zinfandel work well with the spices and sauces drizzled over a lamb roast, and all three can be made in your wine making kit. Seafood If you like to showcase your seafood cooking skills over the holidays, why not do the same with white wines in your wine making kit? Any seafood you could make is almost guaranteed to pair well with the light, smooth pinot grigio wine, which also combines well with cheese and crackers and lighter appetizers. The almost tropical flavors in most pinot grigios are a terrific compliment to the salty, oceanic flavors found in seafood. Whatever you happen to be cooking this holiday season, wine and food pairings can make a great meal even better. If the house is already cleaned and decorated for the holidays, any wine you can create in your wine making kit with the correct wine making supplies just adds to the positive impressions from your family and friends.