Opinion: Five wines to level up your holiday feast
With just over three weeks to go until many a dining room table will be laden with turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy and all the fixings, it’s not too soon to be thinking about what you’ll be drinking with your holiday feast.
There’s nothing wrong with going for the same-old, same-old when it comes to pairing wine with the big bird and trimmings. My default is usually white wine, typically dry Riesling or modestly (if at all) oaked Chardonnay; for reds I’ll generally opt for Pinot Noir or Gamay.
But the big holiday meal is also a great chance to veer off the beaten bath and try something new — with the exception of big tannic red wines, you really can’t go too far wrong in the process. Here are five wines — four white, one red — that you may not have tried but would do nicely with your festive feast.
The Evolve 2022 Spontaneity (Okanagan Valley, B.C. — $27.99, Liquor Marts and beyond) is pale straw in colour, a 70-25-5 blend of relatively lesser-known grapes Ortega and Ehrenfelser with Pinot Gris, British Columbia’s most widely planted white wine variety. Aromatically, there’s a veritable fruit salad of red apple and pear, along with peach, apricot and hints of spice. It’s light-bodied, dry and quite fresh, with fleshy pear and red apple flavours, peachy notes and hints of chalk and spice, all delivered with medium acidity that keeps things racy. This ultra-fresh white would also work well with sushi. 4/5
Most wines made in Portugal feature lesser-known and/or indigenous grape varieties, and the Flor D’Penalva 2021 Branco (Dão, Portugal — around $17, private wine stores) is no exception. A white blend of Malvasia Fina, Cerceal Branco and Borrado das Moscas grapes, it brings pear, chalky, herbal and melon notes aromatically, with some subtle honeycomb as well. It’s light-plus bodied but viscous, with loads of ripe tree fruit along with spice and honeyed notes and modest acidity. A lovely wine for the price that would also work with mussels and milder seafood dishes, look for it at Ellement Wine + Spirits. 4/5
The Finca Bacara 2019 Yeya (Spain — $20.99, Liquor Marts and beyond), meanwhile, is deep gold in colour, a Spanish blend of Chardonnay and Moscatel de Alejandria; there’s a lovely spice and saline notes along with baked apple, pear, flint and dried peach aromas, in part a result of the relatively older vintage. It’s dry, medium-plus bodied and quite viscous, with baked apple, honey and juicy pear flavours, while spice notes and an underlying chalky salinity add complexity and a long, satisfying finish. This mature white is drinking beautifully now; beyond pairing with the festive dinner, it would work wonders with cheese boards, olives and tapas. 4.5/5
Sticking with texture-driven white wines, the Ken Forrester 2021 Old Vine Reserve Chenin Blanc (Stellenbosch, South Africa — $23.99, Liquor Marts and beyond) is medium gold in colour, offering opulent peach, honey, apricot and spice aromas with a subtle woolly note (not unusual for this grape). It’s medium-plus bodied, dry and rich, with ripe pear, peach and red apple flavours coming with a honeyed note accentuated by this wine’s lovely viscosity and balanced by lemony acidity. A bit of time in oak hasn’t taken away from the freshness of the fruit, but has rounded things out texturally. Delicious, and a great place to start if you’re not familiar with this grape. Try with creamier cheeses or lower-spice Thai or curry. 4.5/5
For those looking for a red to go with turkey that brings a bit more weight than Pinot Noir or Gamay, the Cantina Zaccagnini 2020 Montepulciano d’Abruzzo (Abruzzo, Italy — $20.99, Liquor Marts and beyond) will do the trick. Made from the Montepulciano grape, this eastern Italian red is inky purple in appearance and offers ripe dark berry aromas as well as hints of plum and meaty spice. It’s dry, medium-bodied and quite juicy, with ripe blackberry, blueberry and plum flavours front and centre, secondary white pepper and spice notes that come with the thin, dusty tannins and a modest finish. Unlike the common rustic reds found in Italy, this wine (and grape variety in general) instead offers fresh, opulent fruit. Beyond the bird, this red would do well with charcuterie or pizza. 3.5/5
@bensigurdson
Ben Sigurdson
Literary editor, drinks writer
Ben Sigurdson edits the Free Press books section, and also writes about wine, beer and spirits.
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