If you'd like to freestyle your Christmas turkey dinner wine pairing this year, go right ahead.
I'm declaring the festive feast of 2024 a Riesling match.
But, you can go for it with Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, a light red or even sparkling.
You see, the traditional yule turkey is made up of fairly neutral-tasting white meat and more robust dark meat and all the fixings range from fatty gravy, buttery vegetables and herbed potatoes to bready stuffing, other salty sides and tart-sweet cranberry sauce.
With such a smorgasbord of flavours and textures a diverse line up of wines can be paired with the holiday meal.
Riesling all the way
As I mentioned before, my family will be reaching for the Riesling this year.
A lush, dry or just off-dry Riesling with nice acidity complements all that Christmas dinner throws at you, cutting through fat and elevating flavours.
Three such Rieslings are the Wild Goose 2023 ($21) from Okanagan Falls, Township 7 Benchmark Series 2021 ($30) from the Naramata Bench and Blasted Church 2023 Small Blessings ($30) from Okanagan Falls.
Served well chilled and let the angels sing.
The sparkling option
I'm going to backtrack slightly here and introduce the Evolve 2020 Premiere Brut ($44) from Penticton.
I've always been an advocate of popping open a bottle of sparkling wine regardless of the occasion or non-occasion.
Christmas is most definitely a special occasion, so crack the Evolve Premiere Brut before dinner to toast the season, family and friends.
If you'd like to continue to drink the bubbly right through Christmas dinner that's totally OK.
Fun facts about the Evolve Premier Brut is that it's the first Champagne-method the winery has ever made and it will be a cornerstone when the brand opens its own 'sparkling house' on the Naramata Bench in the spring of 2025.
Sparkling also cuts through any fat in foods and elevates flavours.
Plus, you'll look boss sitting at the table sipping from an elegant flute.
Go Chard
Chardonnay is another favourite turkey pairing.
In fact, I pumped up Chard's tires pretty good in the Thanksgiving wine column.
Lightly oaked with a buttery profile of crisp apple and lemon cream, Chard also cuts through fat and amps up flavours.
Two such superior Chards from the Okanagan are the Coolshanagh 2019 ($30) from the Naramata Bench and the Nk'Mip Qwam Qwnt 2021 ($36) from Osoyoos.
Pinot Gris/Pinot Grigio
Let's go around the world for our Pinot Gris-Christmas dinner pairings.
Close to home, the CedarCreek Platinum 2023 ($42) from Kelowna is high-end Gris worthy of Christmas dinner.
Stretching to two other continents, the Santa Julia Plus 2023 Pinot Grigio ($20) from Argentina and the Mezzacorona 2023 Pinot Grigio ($18) from the grape varietal's birthplace of Italy are sensational international Christmas pairings.
Alright red
Red wine also has a place at the Christmas table.
But, make it a delicate red, like Pinot Noir or Gamay Noir, which is heavy enough to stand up to fat and salt, yet light enough not to overpower white-meat turkey.
Three prime examples from the Okanagan are the Wild Goose 2022 Pinot Noir ($30) from Okanagan Falls, the Blue Mountain 2022 Estate Cuvee Gamay Noir ($26) from Okanagan Falls and the Blasted Church 2022 Pinot Noir ($33) from Okanagan Falls.
Merry Christmas and happy wine-and-turkey pairing.
Steve MacNaull is a NowMedia Group reporter, Okanagan wine lover and Canadian Wine Scholar. Reach him at [email protected]. His wine column appears every Friday afternoon in this space.
