Wines for Christmas: which options for your festive dishes?

The end-of-year celebrations are the ideal opportunity to get together with family or friends around good meals. To enhance these festive dishes, it is essential to choose the wines that accompany them. Each dish deserves a perfect pairing to reveal all its richness. Here is a guide to selecting the wines that will make your Christmas meals sparkle.

Aperitifs and starters: light and sparkling wines

To start the festivities, there's nothing like a good champagne or crémant. These sparkling wines are perfect to whet the appetite and create a festive atmosphere. A classic brut champagne will ideally accompany foie gras toast, while a fruitier crémant will pair wonderfully with oysters or appetizers.

For more traditional starters like smoked salmon or a terrine, opt for a dry Alsatian white like Riesling or a Burgundy chardonnay.
These white wines will bring freshness and liveliness to your first bites.

If you serve foie gras with chutney or jam, choose something soft to balance the sweet and sour.

For the more daring you can accompany the foie gras with red wine but light and fruity. For example, Pinot Noir from Alsace with its soft tannins and delicate fruit complements a semi-cooked foie gras well.

Enhance the turkey with the right wine

Roasted turkey, a holiday classic. Often stuffed, is distinguished by mild and slightly caramelized flavors. To balance this profile, opt for a light and fruity red wine like a Pinot Noir or a raw Beaujolais, less tannic than a Bordeaux, it will pair harmoniously with turkey. Their freshness and notes of red fruits will enhance the delicate flesh of the turkey. Domaine Mont Chavy 2020, from the Morgon appellation, can be a good choice to accompany a turkey. With its fruity profile, elegant structure and soft tannins, this wine is versatile and particularly suitable with roast turkey.

A generous white such as a Chardonnay (white Burgundy, Mâcon), ideal if the stuffing contains dried fruits or creamy notes.

Some advice

• Avoid overly tannic reds like young Bordeaux, which risk overpowering the turkey.
• Favor freshness, whether white or red, the acidity will balance the sometimes dry texture of the meat.
• Serving temperature: serve the reds slightly chilled (14-16°C) for more lightness, and the whites at 10-12°C to reveal their aromas.

Which wine with smoked salmon?

Smoked salmon is a delicate dish that requires a precise and thoughtful choice of wine. Between its iodized notes, its creamy texture and its unique flavor, finding the right wine can seem complex.

Dry, fresh white wines are the perfect companion for smoked salmon. They provide acidity to lighten the fatty texture of the fish and highlight its smoky aromas. Pouilly-Fuissé 1er Cru Clos Reyssier, with its minerality and citrus notes, is a surefire classic. It highlights the finesse of the smoked salmon without masking its nuances. Dry Riesling, with its aromas of lemon, green apple and mineral notes, goes perfectly with the melting texture of smoked salmon.

Sparkling wines for a festive touch

The bubbles, with their freshness and liveliness, go particularly well with smoked salmon, bringing a festive lightness to the whole.
A brut Champagne, especially a blanc de vins made from Chardonnay, is a high-end choice to enhance smoked salmon. Its fine bubbles and notes of brioche and citrus perfectly balance the richness of the fish.

Which wine to choose to accompany a Yule log ?

The Yule log is the undisputed queen of holiday desserts. Whether iced, pastry, fruity or chocolate, it deserves a wine that will enhance its flavors and provide a memorable end to the meal. But with so many variations of logs, how do you choose the perfect wine?

Frozen logs, often made with sorbet or ice cream, go well with light, sparkling wines. For example, the slightly sparkling Asti moscato from Italy, with notes of peach and orange blossom, goes wonderfully with the icy textures. Its softness and freshness balance the sweet side of the sorbets.

The chocolate log is undoubtedly the most demanding in terms of pairings. Its rich and powerful flavors require intense wines to create a beautiful balance. Banyuls or Mas de lavail maury are sweet and natural wines, with their aromas of cocoa, black fruits and spices, are the perfect companions for chocolate desserts.

Some advice

• A wine that is too dry with a sweet log. The dryness of the wine can create an unpleasant contrast with the sweetness of the dessert.
• A wine that is too powerful with a light log. Choose light and subtle wines so as not to overwhelm the delicate flavors.
• A monotonous agreement. Look for a wine that complements or slightly contrasts with the flavors of the log to avoid the “dish-on-dish” effect.