Wines for the festive season

Published : 2021-12-02 09:49:39
Categories : Wine

Wines for the festive season

The holiday season is upon us and with it, menu ideas for New Year's Eve. For these festive meals, the finest and tastiest dishes will dress up the tables, let's not forget to pair them with a beautiful selection of wines. The practice may seem risky since menus offer a very wide range of various dishes. From entrée to dessert, discover in this article our best wine suggestions for the festive season.

Before offering you our favorites to accompany your festive meals, take a look at our selection of Champagnes and Sauternes. Safe values ​​that are sure to delight your guests.

Our Champagnes selection

Our Sauternes selection



Entrées : which wines ?

On New Years Eve, entrées are often composed of a seafood, shellfish, smoked salmon or foie gras platter which is usually consumed with white wine. We provide you here with the best pairings for each of these traditional festive entrées.

For seafood, shellfish and oisters, we recommend a fruity and mineral white wine like a Riesling, Sauvignon, Muscadet or Entre-Deux-Mers. If you prefer serving shrimps, they go perfectly with a Chablis.

Smoked salmon and trout pair beautifully with a white Sancerre.

A sweet and fruity white wine, like a Sauternes or a Jurançon, will beautify foie gras.

If some of your guests are not particularly fond of sweet white wines, it is fully acceptable to offer them red wine, a Saint-Emilion for example.

What to pair with festive main dishes ?

We often find poultry, roast or lamb on our tables during the festive season. Which wine should you drink in order to sublimate these dishes ?

To accompany a white meat such as turkey, guinea fowl or stuffed capon, we recommend a fine and powerful fruity red wine like a Bourgogne wine which will bring out the taste of the meat.

To pair with duck, a breast for example, we recommend a powerful red wine to heighten the taste of the meat : a Blaye-Côtes-de-Bordeaux or a Côtes-de-Gascogne are perfect options.

Finally, a Pauillac is an excellent choice to drink with lamb which has a lot of character.

Cheese and dessert platter

It proves to be more difficult when it comes to cheese since you could almost choose a different wine for each sort of cheese. Here are the classics to skillfully pair with wine : brie and camembert will go nicely with a Bordeaux or Beaujolais, blue cheeses pair beautifully with a white Sauternes or Monbazillac, and gruyère, beaufort and comté are perfect to consume with Chardonnay.

For the final touch of sweetness, yule logs are delightful with a sweet white wine like a Jurançon. Chocolate lovers might opt for a Pineau des Charentes rosé for example.

Happy holidays and happy tasting !