Uncork confidence this season. Discover the best light-bodied reds, crisp whites, and sparkling Wines for the Holidays to match any traditional feast.

Choosing wines for the holidays? All right then. Let’s talk about it. I mean, Christmas is close enough to start thinking about which wines to buy, and if you’re reading this article from the U.S., Thanksgiving is right around the corner. So, if you’re wondering how to pair wine with the varied food served for the festivities, read on.

But before I begin, it’s important to say this: Get whatever wine you want to drink. Do you have a special bottle, properly stored, that you’ve been saving for a special occasion? I can’t think of many better than a meal steeped in tradition with your family and/or friends. Likewise, if you (and your friends/family) like a particular inexpensive white, go for that! Who cares about pairing? You’re eating good food with company you hopefully enjoy. You should drink what you enjoy best! I’ve written in the past why I think wine pairs better with mood than with food.

And one last thing. I don’t want to repeat myself too much through the article, but you really can’t go wrong with sparkling wine: it’s festive, fun, and versatile with food.

With that out of the way, let’s start talking about some wines for the holidays!

Wines for the Holidays If You’re Having Turkey

Thanksgiving is turkey day. But these few paragraphs are not only for the November holiday. If you’re reading me from Latin America, you know turkey is what many families eat for Christmas, but also New Year’s Eve. Oh yeah, in my mind, New Years Eve is part of the holidays.

Pinot Noir is the a great wine pairing for turkey because it won’t overpower the somewhat subtle flavors of the meat. It has soft tannins, comparatively low alcohol content, and complex aromas. Pinot Noir is kind of a cheat code, though. It just pairs well with food, so this might be your perfect holiday wine.

Thanksgiving, of course, is not only turkey. You have to look at the whole table.

Holiday Wine for Diverse Side Dishes

This is the real challenge. Sure, you have a couple of slices of roasted turkey on your plate, but we all know the best part of the meal is… well… everything else. From baked stuffing to sweet potatoes to green bean casserole, there’s great variety. A single holiday wine will hardly pair well with every single side. This is why, to keep it simple, go for bubbly or Pinot.

But we’re not here for simple, are we? Well then, let’s break it down by recommended holiday wine. Let’s navigate together all the different styles of wine I recommend for the festivities.

White Wines for The Holidays

White wine’s lighter body and generally higher acidity are great for a lot of holiday side dishes. Let’s see how a few of them would be great choices.

Off-Dry Riesling

Let me begin with my favorite white holiday wine. Off-dry means that the wine has noticeable residual sugar, but not enough to be considered a sweet wine, which is great, because a lot of favorite holiday side dishes have some sweetness to them. I’m thinking glazed carrots, cranberry sauce, corn and cornbread, raisins (if you use them) in your stuffing, sweet potatoes or yams, and even honeyed butter for your dinner rolls.

Off-dry Riesling is not dessert wine, it’s just sweet enough to match well with sweetish food. One of the rules of pairing wine with food is that your wine should either match or surpass the sweetness of your dish. Since your plate will undoubtedly also include savory components, off-dry Riesling offers the perfect balance.

Sauvignon Blanc

I can’t say enough good things about Sauvignon Blancs, particularly those coastal ones from Chile. They’re quite expressive on the nose, and their particular bell pepper-y, jalapeño-y aromas will match well with a lot of the veggies on your table. Kale and green beans? No problem with Sauv Blanc!

Also, this white’s acidity is great to cut the fat of some of your heartier sides, like those Brussels sprouts cooked in bacon fat that I (and I hope you!) enjoy so much. When you get down to it, a lot of holiday dishes are fatty, so acidity plays a key role.

Chardonnay

Right, but which style are we talking about? Well, all of them work, but for different reasons. Crisp, unoaked Chablis style is fresh and should work similarly to Sauvignon Blanc. Oaked Chardonnays, on the other hand, are great with with all the bread served, but also buttery mashed potatoes and mac n’ cheese. In other words, sides including dairy.

A Chardonnay with a little oak is my white holiday wine recommendation for baked stuffing. It’s got bread, nuts, and it’s rich enough to match the wine’s body.

Whites are an even better wines for the holidays in the southern hemisphere, where it’s summer. However, we tend to favor turkey, ham, and other rich foods for Christmas meals. But if we ate lighter (and we should) white wines would be a better option.

Now, some of you probably want red wine instead. I get it. It’s an elegant meal and you want an elegant wine to go with it. We both know whites can be identically elegant, but there is that perception thing, isn’t there? So, let’s talk about reds.

Red Wines for the Holidays

Let’s focus on alternatives to turkey for this section. If you want a perfect food pairing for red holiday wines, your mains for the evening are probably ham, roast beef, or beef Wellington (which is what I cook for my family every Christmas).

I’ve already touted Pinot Noir as my preferred choice, so other light-bodied alternatives might be delightful. I’m thinking Gamay or even Rosé. And if you’re in Chile, País might be another good option, as it’s also a lighter-body red with soft tannins and relatively high acidity, especially if yours is from a colder wine region, like Itata in the south of the country.

But now let’s talk about a few good choices for red holiday wines:

Right Bank, Merlot-Based Bordeaux Blends

I know I could’ve just said Merlot, but I feel it makes a better holiday wine when blended, particularly with Cabernet Franc. I myself will be uncorking one of these, from Saint-Émilion, for our Christmas Eve dinner.

Merlot blends from Bordeaux are smooth, have medium tannins, and are utterly delicious. They might be a bit too strong for turkey, but great with roasts and hams. Oh, I don’t only mean roast meat. If you like roasted veggies, Merlot blends are a great pairing for them. All that caramelized goodness adds the needed richness to match the boldness level of the wine.

Syrah and Rhône Blends

The spice aromatics of Syrah make it the obvious choice for the season. It pairs well with beef and ham, and just about whatever version of stuffing is served at your table. Syrah’s medium body is the perfect weight for the meal, and its high acidity is perfect for the rich food you’ll probably be eating.

Syrah is also one of the varietals used in Rhône GSM (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre) blends, also a great alternative, whether you go to the source in the south of France, or get it from one of the many New World regions producing this blend, such as Paso Robles in California, for example. Like with Bordeaux, the blends tend to bring balance and roundness.

Oh, and if you can afford to splurge, even though it’s from a warmer climate and therefore has a heavier body, let me recommend the delicious Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

Chianti Classico

Another high-acidity wine with moderate tannins, Chianti Classico goes great with a lot of foods. It’s also one of my favorite wines. It’s made with at least 80% Sangiovese, but during my last visit most bottles I tried had less than 10% of other varietals or were all Sangiovese.

Chianti Classico pairs wonderfully with meats, particularly grilled, anything barbecued, pork, and aged cheeses. Sangiovese, incidentally, comes in different Tuscan flavors. South and slightly east of the Chianti wine region, you’ll find the towns of Montalcino and Montepulciano. In both, fantastic wines are made with Sangiovese. In the latter you’ll find the exquisite Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, and in the former winemakers produce the highly praised Brunello di Montalcino, which is more elegant, but also more expensive.

What About Fortified Wines for the Holidays?

I don’t typically recommend sweet, high-alcohol wines with food. However, the holidays are for indulging, aren’t they? And I can always get behind Port for your cheese boards and most desserts. Port—good Port—is fantastic to end a meal and to savor while you wait for the fireworks begin. Other sweet wines I recommend are Sauternes from Bordeaux and Amontillado Sherry, which would also pair well with roasted turkey.

The Last Drop

Like I mentioned earlier on in the introduction, Sparkling wine and Pinot Noir are the perfect wines for the holidays. They both tend to pair well with most foods. Sparkling, particularly Champagne, is the first wine that comes to mind during a celebration. And Pinot Noir is elegant, smooth, and sophisticated. You can’t go wrong with either.

I know it can be difficult to select wines for the holidays because there are just too many flavors on the table. I typically just grab something I know my family will enjoy, rather than something that pairs well with the meal. That said, I hope this guide proved useful and will help you select a great bottle.

Did I miss your favorite holiday wine? Do you have any additional advice for pairing food and wine in the holidays? Let me know down below!

---

Cover Image: Which holiday wine to pair with this feast? Photo by Nicole Michalou.