Wine & Christmas
Favorite Christmas Dishes and Wine
With the holidays approaching, we’re busy preparing for Christmas dinner and other festive meals. If you’re still looking for inspiration for your Christmas dinner, we’ve selected some popular dishes for you. Alongside these dishes, we’ve chosen some beautiful wines that pair perfectly. This way, you can be sure that you’ll have the ultimate Christmas wine on the table this year.
Choosing the Right Christmas
You can enjoy wine without food and food without wine, but a good combination of wine and food can create the ultimate taste sensation. Therefore, when choosing the right Christmas wine, it’s important to know which dishes you’ll be serving. Based on the flavor profile of the dish, you can choose a wine with a matching profile. There are no hard rules when choosing the perfect Christmas wine, but there are certain guidelines to follow. We’ve paired some of our favorite Christmas dishes with wines using these guidelines.
Starter
Shrimp Cocktail
A commonly seen starter on Dutch tables is the shrimp cocktail. It’s easy to make, and when served in a tall glass, it gives the impression of being served in a restaurant.
Dish flavor profile: Fresh, light, and slightly creamy due to the sauce.
Wine flavor profile: Also fresh, light, and can be a little creamy. A Pinot Blanc, for example, or even a Chardonnay works well. However, an oaked Chardonnay might be too heavy.
Carpaccio
A simple yet beloved starter is carpaccio. Thinly sliced raw tenderloin, roasted pine nuts, Parmesan cheese, and a dressing of your choice, and you have a starter that will be loved by most.
Dish flavor profile: Fresh, with some ripe tones from the meat, pine nuts, and cheese.
Wine flavor profile: Fresh, but it can have a bit more body. A full-bodied white wine is suitable, but a smooth, not too heavy red wine can work as well.
Main Course
Roast
A beautiful, large roast is always a festive sight when it’s on the plate. It’s easy to prepare in the oven and can be complemented with, for example, a red wine sauce.
Dish flavor profile: Powerful, ripe tones: meat, pepper, wine sauce.
Wine flavor profile: Also powerful, with some spiciness.
Turkey
The turkey has its origins in America but made its way to Europe, where it has become an essential part of Christmas dinners in the Netherlands. The turkey is often stuffed with various ingredients like bread, vegetables, and herbs.
Dish flavor profile: Rich, with many flavors but still not too heavy.
Wine flavor profile: Also rich but with a bit of smoothness.
Salmon
Fish, especially salmon, often appears on plates during Christmas. You can either choose to cook the salmon skin-on or wrap it in a crispy pastry.
Dish flavor profile: Slightly fatty, typical flavor.
Wine flavor profile: Also slightly fatty. White is not necessarily required, but it’s the most common pairing. Chardonnay pairs well with salmon.
Dessert
Trifle
Trifle is a typical English dessert served in a glass or bowl. The idea of the dessert is to layer cake, fruit, and custard or cream.
Dish flavor profile: Sweet, fresh, and creamy.
Wine flavor profile: Also fresh and sweet. A true dessert wine may be too sweet. Our Moscato with a little fizz is sweet but also fresh, and it has a low alcohol percentage. This can be a nice touch at the end of a meal.
Tiramisu
Tiramisu is a delicious sweet ending to a Christmas dinner. It’s a favorite dessert made of ladyfingers, mascarpone, and chocolate.
Dish flavor profile: Sweet, creamy, with bitter notes.
Wine flavor profile: Sweet and fresh.
