Raising a glass of Christmas cheer: ideas for wines, beers, and non-alcoholic drinks
Nicole Michalou Picture:
My primary advice on drinks for Christmas Dinner is to relax.
Matching wine with food is an inexact science and sometimes your favourite wine is the very best choice for Christmas Dinner. The last thing you want is to open something expensive and unfamiliar and feel guilted into drinking it anyway despite the fact that you would have preferred a nice bottle of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc.
However, for those of you interested in what I think works best at Christmas, and what wines beers and non-alcoholic drinks I think will match the festive fare, then please read on. I have given a mix of fine wine and entry-level wines along with some general thoughts. More recommendations will follow in the coming weeks in my regular wine column.
Party wine needs to be inexpensive, easy drinking, and a bit of a crowd-pleaser. Portugal always delivers on this front, their whites are criminally underrated and their reds fruity and juicy.
For non-drinkers I recommend Richmount Elderflower Cordial (€8) or similar, with soda water and a slice of lemon. Removing alcohol from wine makes it thinner and less flavourful so I recommend making Spanish Tinta de Verano using Lidl or Aldi non-alcoholic red wine.
Tinta de Verano is simply half and half non-alcoholic red wine mixed with Fanta or Club Lemon - add a slice of orange for garnish. In Spain this is served in Tapas bars and as a party drink.
Similarly, for beer drinkers, I recommend a Radler. Mix half and half Club Lemon with inexpensive non-alcoholic lager of your choice. Remember also that branded Radlers from the likes of Früh and Einsiedler are just 2% ABV.
If you want to treat your beer-drinking designated drivers the best Irish zero-alcohol beer I tasted this year was the Wicklow Wolf Moonlight and I also like the Mikkeller ‘Drink in the Sun’ Wheat Beer.
This is crisp and lively with lime and apple aromas, yellow apple and lime flavours and a hint of spritz to keep the palate fresh and the conversation flowing.
This is ripe and fruit-driven with a pleasing limpid berry fruit quality, and a touch of clove and spice. Reduced from €12 this month this also comes in a 3-litre bag in box so you can show off your decanters.
Smoked Salmon and seafood in general works brilliantly with Champagne, but also with Riesling. I recommend an inexpensive but tasty one below from Lidl, but if you want to spend a little more I also recommend the Leyda Coastal Vineyards Riesling, €17.95, from O’Briens, or the Fritz Haag Mosel Riesling, €21.95, from various independents.
For a non-alcoholic match try the lightly tropical-tasting Lyres Classico Fizz, €14 from Brown Thomas or Leitz EinZweiZero! Riesling (€13-14); independents: Matsons, JJ O’Driscolls; Molloys, Ardkeen etc.
This will work for your pre-dinner toast but also match seafood starters such as smoked salmon, crab, lobster or prawns (including Prawn Cocktail). Ruinart was the first Rosé Champagne and remains a classic - raspberry and strawberry aromas with background brioche and spice hints, creamy mouth-feel with persistent tiny bubbles and lingering citrus and red apple skin notes.
Pear, lime and lemon aromas with a touch of dried citrus, ripe sweet apple flavours balanced by crisp acidity and a lime curd note on the finish.
Choosing wine for the main course is always going to be a compromise but the turkey is the easy part as the relatively bland flavour will pair well with everything from Albariño to Pinot Noir to Grenache blends to Zinfandel (the usual Thanksgiving choice in the USA)
Red Bordeaux is considered a little dry for Christmas Dinner but on occasion, I have broken this rule purely because I wanted to drink that bottle of (say) 1990 Langoa Barton; and I have never regretted it. My wine writing colleague Raymond Blake (author of ‘Breakfast in Burgundy’) recommends fruity textured Châteauneuf-du-Pape; both red and white, and this is a rather genius suggestion; especially if both are from the same producer - O’Briens have Domaine des Sénéchaux Châteauneuf in both red and white versions (€44 each) and Whelehans have Château Beauchêne at €33 each.
My Non-Alcoholic choice is Leitz EinZwieZero! Rosé (€13, Independents) which I think I actually prefer to the Riesling mentioned above thanks to its pomegranate and light cherry aromas and pleasing roundness on the palate.
This is my bargain choice for the Turkey - a bio-dynamic Rioja that is packed with bright cherry fruits and a delightful suppleness and approachable complexity.
Light amber in colour with a honeyed hop influenced aroma, and a rich malty and fruity flavour that finishes crisp This is best drunk at cellar temperature (c. 8 degrees).
For Christmas pudding I believe fortified sweet wine such as Port, Madeira or proper Dulce Sherry will work best as lighter dessert wines such as Sauternes will not be able to cope. In addition a glass of fortified wine will last for a few weeks and works just as well Roses or Terry’s Chocolate Orange.
Imperial Stout or Export Stout is my recommendation for Christmas Pudding and there are lots to choose from including the rich complex ICBI 2022 beer of the year Lough Gill Imperial Oatmeal Stout (13%) or if you prefer something a little more refreshing at 7.2%, I recommend the dark malt and chocolate-inflected Lineman Astral Grains Export Stout. Both are available in good independents such as Bradleys, Matsons and McHughs. If they are out of stock ask the knowledgeable staff for alternatives.
A luxurious rich sweet sherry that seems to have been designed specifically for Christmas Pudding. Aged for 30 years - 8 as an Oloroso and then a further 22 after the addition of 25% sweet Pedro Ximinez made from dried grapes. Complex raisin and dried fig flavours, chocolate and spice notes on the mid-palate and even some acidity for balance. Serve cool.