Pairing classic Christmas dishes with the right wines. A brief guide to the sea of flavors!


Christmas! The season of joy, laughter and good friends. But it is also a time when food and wine pairings take place.

As families and friends gather around the Christmas table, among classic holiday  dishes, the perfect wine pairing can elevate the whole experience.


After all, we are always seeking for such moments of well-being!


So let's unlock the details together:


1. Bubbles! What else?


Because sparkling wines are simply synonymous with celebration, and a good Champagne is a little piece of luxury we deserve to allow ourselves. Choose a legendary producer like Louis Roederer and let the wine "speak" to your senses.

Do you want to move in a more indigenous way? Greece has been producing wonderful sparkling wines lately, such as the Karanikas Estate Extra Brut Cuvée

Speciale or the newcomer Kyr-Yiannis Scaperdas Frères Estate.

If you want to know more about sparkling wines, see serving secrets and other tips, take a look at the tribute we have made for them.


Tip: For God's sake, don't serve dry fizz with desserts, like in the old Greek movies. It is a fatal mistake, and the sugar of the desert will cover and destroy the wine's

taste. If you absolutely must, choose something slightly sweet like Ktima Glinavos Paliokerisio.


2. Turkey


Okay. This is the ultimate holiday classic meal, and the secret is the stuffing.


There are two schools here:

One says to match the whole meal with a wine, which ideally should have a rich body, not particularly high acidity since the meat is not very fatty (quite the opposite!) and

notes. Ideal candidates are all oak aged Chardonnays such the Aivalis Winery or why not the tropical and explosive New Zealand Blank Canvas if you want a more

international air at your table.


If you still insist on purely native varieties, traditionally Vidiano of Crete will stand  wonderfully next to the poultry, such as the Lyrarakis Wines Vidiano Ippodromos.


The other school says white for the meat, so all of the above do the trick for us, but also a relatively light red for the stuffing, like Parian PFC's new reborn effort,

Mandilaria Seiradi.


3. Roasted Lamb


Maybe more of a Greek Easter thing, but it has it's fans. We've said it here before, lamb tends to pair better with white wines, and with classic choices like Santorini.

Try it with the Santo Wines Santorini Selection Cuvee and kick it up a notch, but if  you're not much of a white person, pour something French-style, with high acidity

and full-bodied like Domaine Costa Lazaridi Syrah.


4. Stuffed pork


Here things are not so easy and obvious, since we have to take seriously the  sweetness that gives to the dish, both the filling (usually with dried fruits such as plum)

and the caramelized crust of honey, pomegranate, etc. The choice in the glass  should also have some sugar levels, so as not to be "choked" by the meat, and semi-

dry rosés such as Oreivatis (Mountaineer) from Akriotou microwinery or the also slightly off-dry aromatic Gewurtztraminer Lenga from Evia would be good choices.


6. Kourampiedes & Melomakarona


So how will you treat the guests of the holidays? Obviously either kourampiedes or melomakarona. What is not at all obvious, however, is not to pair it with dessert

wines, as it will end up being excessively sweet and cloying. Here the solution is one: wonderful Greek spirits.


Next to Kourampiedes, put a fragrant and rose pedals flavored Tsililis Moscato Distillate, and match the honeyed Melomakarona with Lost Lake Gentle Beast with notes of

honey, cinnamon and a soft strawberry essence, and you'll thank me later.


Happy Holidays to all!


Cheers!


Stavros Moustakas Oktapodas DipWSET

About the Editor:

Stavros Moustakas-Oktapodas DipWSET has worked as a wine consultant for a large Greek import company and in addition, in strategic and communication positions for Greek wineries.

He holds the WSET Diploma, which he completed with honors, with two international scholarships (best overall performance and best performance in the blind taste exams for the academic years 2016 and 2017).

He has been a judge at the Thessaloniki International Wine Competition, the largest European competition Concours Mondial de Bruxelles, and he is Oinochoos magazine columnist.