Wine at the Christmas Table

As we all know, Christmas has dawned on us and, it is a beautiful season filled with love, joy and compassion. Everyone is busy with setting up the lights, the crib and the grand Christmas tree.  Gifts must be thought, found, and packed. We can almost smell that roast chicken coming out from the oven. Let’s admit, Christmas is the best.

But the one thing that troubles us is the wine. We all know the thumb rule, red meat – red wine, white meat – white wine. But, is that it? What’s our best option to pair with a slice of Plum cake with rum sauce drizzled over it? Or a succulent thigh of Roast Chicken spiced with rosemary and garlic?

 We, at Enoteca by Madhuloka, are dedicated to making your Christmas merrier. In this blog, we will be discussing popular Christmas dishes and suitable pairings. Disclaimer: Food and wine pairing is extremely subjective to the different palate and hence there is no hard and fast rule regarding the same.

Cream of Mushroom Soup and Chicken Liver Pate

The woody-earthy flavour and the thick creamy mouthfeel of the dish can be paired with wines with medium+ acidic white wine or medium acidic medium- tannin red wine. Our suggestions are a Pinot Noir, A Pouilly Fume, a Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc or even a Chablis.

Meatballs in Spaghetti and Shepherd’s Pie

The acidity contributed by the rich tomato sauce, spiciness and aromas developed from the dry herbs can be met with a fruity, medium acidic red wine. Our suggestions are a Chianti, a Tempranillo, or a South African Merlot.

Roast Turkey or Chicken

Though they are considered white meat, their crispy skin basted with marination of HP sauce, mustard and dry herbs gives it a strong yet balanced taste of sweet, sour and salty elements. It can be met with a white wine of pronounced aromas with enough body and acidity or a red wine of spicy nature. Our suggestions are a fresh Chilean Gewurztraminer, a Rhone Valley Viognier or an Australian Shiraz.

Braised Spare Ribs

This sticky preparation of pork ribs cooked in a sweetish gravy of breath-taking blend of flavours contributed by various ingredients ranging from cinnamon and aniseed to honey and apple cider vinegar is baked from above to result in one of the most well-balanced flavour profile we are dealing with today. This can be paired with an oaked Zinfandel or Merlot from the US.

Grilled Lamb Chops

Smokey and charred piece of red meat well cooked on the coal opens the flavour profile segment to oaked, full-bodied, inky thick coloured Malbecs from Argentina. The complexities of the dish go well with the round texture of refined tannins and mild acidity infused by the flavour of vanilla from the oak. Other Suggestions are an aged Bordeaux Red or an Oaked Cabernet Sauvignon from the US.

Pudding Cake

This vanilla flavoured, not so sweet cake, extremely rich in nuts and dry fruits can be paired with any sweet wine with enough acidity to cut across the buttery texture. The sweet rum sauce can make the pairing a challenge in our city. Fortunately, the Sula Late harvest Chenin Blanc has enough acidity and aromas to be paired with the plum cake.  

This blog post was written for the inhabitants of Bangalore and the suggestions if you notice are of different varietals keeping in mind their availability and popularity among Indian palates.  

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