Christmas 2016 - Mistletoe and Wine

odyssey06

Christmas time... mistletoe and wine... ah yes, Cliff, but what wine?

Anticipating the usual, annual "What wine to drink with Christmas dinner" thread... I thought I'd start a thread bringing together the usual suspects in terms of suggestions.

Turkey & Ham

• All of these have worked well for me... Pinot Noir, Merlot, Rioja, Cotes du Rhone.
• Châteauneuf-du-Pape is often suggested, I personally find that a bit too heavy.
• Not tried yet: A soft Italian like Barbera or Dolcetta, or Beaujolais\Fleurie (not Nouveau).
• Not typically suggested: Cabernet Sauvignon - either on its own or in a blend (eg Bordeaux, Aussie Shiraz), Chianti, Zinfandel\Primitivo, Barolo, Malbec, Amarone. These are usually reserved for red meats such as beef, lamb, venison.
• I haven't tried this with a white, but I think a dry Riesling or a Chablis could work for me.
• Rose on Christmas day just seems wrong!

Duck or Goose

• Reds: Pretty much the same as for Turkey & Ham? Chianti could come into play perhaps. Starting the list I expected more of a difference between these darker birds and turkey and ham.
• Whites: I've had Duck with Riesling before, and it worked well. I think any high acidity white would be good, probably the acidity more needed here than with the Turkey & Ham.

Spiced Beef

• I've never tried this, with or without wine, so I'm curious on what would pair well.

If you've had any Christmas drinks disasters (or glorious successes), this is the place to share.

And if you have any drinks that you reserve for the festive period or keep as a guilty pleasure, now is the time to make your case. Hugh Johnson, who has probably drunk more amazing wines than anyone alive, likes to open a bottle of Harvey's Bristol Cream, but only on Christmas Day. Go figure.

I'll be having a trial run for Christmas with a duck for Thanksgiving and a bottle of American pinot noir...

crkball6

Never understood why people get so flustered about wine on xmas day.

Drink what you enjoy drinking the rest of the year and it'll be grand.

XMAS dinner is probably the perfect example of a dinner where the wine shouldn't be one that demands too much attention. It should blend in like a cheap xmas cracker :pac:

dudara

I had a 2011 St Emilion Grand Cru with the turkey last year, which went beautifully. It was a 90% Merlot / 10% Cabarnet Franc blend.

Lots of Chablis and Pouilly Fume to go with the seafood and other light dishes.

A bottle of something nice and sticky for the cheese - I think we had a Sauternes.

irish_goat

I normally have a nice Rioja or a Westvleteren 12(that's a beer to you winos). :P

I also make mulled wine in the morning to take the chill off anyone who has done the Christmas Day swim in our household.

Mulled Wine
1 bottle of red (nothing too fancy)
1 orange peel
1 lime peel
1 stick of cinnamon
6 cloves
1 teaspoon all spice
1 bay leaf
200g of sugar (I use brown but any will do)

Bung all the spices and sugar into a pan, heat with a little wine and get it boiling for a few mins to make a nice syrup, then top up with the rest of the wine and serve once warm. Making the syrup first means you infuse all the flavours nicely and also means you don't boil off all the alcohol.

Same ingredients also work quite nicely for cider, or apple juice for the drivers.

dudara

I dislike mulled wine for some reason - any kind of hot wine drink at all.

However, I do lash Bailey's into my coffee and hot chocolates all throughout Christmas

irish_goat

Bailey's hot chocolate is delicious alright.

Fella in work is doing a run to Calais next week and has said he'll pick me up a a few nice bottles of wine too so I guess it'll be French wine this year.

dudara

If anyone is passing through Schiphol, they currently have 1 litre bottles of flavoured Bailey's (including salted caramel) for €14.50

anthony4335

Honestly Amarone goes with anything. I would suggest also trying a Valpolicella classico or a bardolino and if you are anywhere near an o'briens there is a lovely bardolino by Rizzardi called a Munus on offer at the moment.

odyssey06

anthony4335 wrote: »

Honestly Amarone goes with anything. I would suggest also trying a Valpolicella classico or a bardolino and if you are anywhere near an o'briens there is a lovely bardolino by Rizzardi called a Munus on offer at the moment.

OH is a big fan of those rich Italian reds... you'll probably like this one too:
https://www.obrienswine.ie/luna-argenta.html

anthony4335

Big fan of the Italian and Spanish Reds (fav is a Ramon Bilbao gran reserva ,cannot find it anywhere at the moment). That Luna is quite nice, another fav is the Masi TOAR seems to be hard to find also would go lovely with duck for christmas .

dudara

I find rich red wine with rich meats like duck to be too much for me. I'd opt for a nice lighter red like a Pinot Noir or a crisp Riesling to cut through the fattiness.

Having said that, it's all about personal taste, so drink what ever makes you merry and happy! I'm planning to go buy a case or two of wine this weekend in preparation for Christmas and I'm actually a little giddy at the thought!

anthony4335

Got several bottles in O'Briens last week, with the 20% back at the moment made sense .Meant to be for the christmas but wound up sampling the Luna and a Rizzardi Merlot (love this brand). Will be buying a bottle or 2 of Amarone for christmas day over the next few week, If anyone does know where to get a bottle or 2 or Ramon Bilbao gran reserva please let me know would love to ring in the new year with a bottle of that.

dudara

I'm thinking a few bottles of Fleurie/Pinot/Bordeaux for the turkey type meals, deeper reds like Barossa Valley Shiraz for nights by the fire, some Champagne & cava for whenever, Riesling & Chablis for white and some sticky wines & ports for the desserts & cheese.

Tindal wine merchants sell Ramon Bilbao so it might be worth contacting them and asking which off-licenses are selling it. Or alternatively buy directly from them

anthony4335

I have e-mailed them waiting on a reply, didn't realise you could buy direct from them. I haven't tried the Barossa Valley Shiraz yet, have a bottle bought and looking forward to trying it ,have however tried the GSM from the same region and really like it.