The wines that will match our festive moments


Christmas, a season full of sparkle, warmth and festive flavors. And what a better way than to accompany our festive table with fine Greek wines that elevate each dish and enhance the whole experience?


As families and friends gather around the table, filled with classic festive dishes, the right wine pairing can elevate the dining experience. After all, it is for such moments of well-being that we strive!


Let's unlock the details together:


1. Of course… Bubbles!

Sparkling wines are simply synonymous with celebration, and a good Champagne is the little luxury we deserve to allow ourselves. Choose a historic producer like Billecart-Salmon and let the wine speak to your senses.


Do you want to move with more locality? Greece has been producing wonderful sparkling wines in the recent years, such as Domaine Costa Lazaridi Blanc de Blanc or the Cretan classic Douloufakis Sparkling Brut.


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


Tip: For God’s sake, don’t serve dry sparkling wine with desserts like in old Greek movies. It is a fatal mistake, and the sugar in the dessert will eliminate the wine’s flavor. If you absolutely must do so, choose something slightly sweet like the semi-sweet rosé xinomavro from the Amyntaio cooperative.



2. Party wines

 

1. Are you expecting a lots of people for a New Year's party? Here you need large quantities, and therefore more affordable bottles, and preferably something easy going and with a lower alcohol content. Opt for light and full-bodied Moschofilero like the rosé Ktima Moropoulos or the natural Mater Natura from Vaimakis Family.


3. Turkey


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

 


There are two opinions here:


One says to pair the entire meal with a single wine, which ideally should have a rich body, not particularly high acidity since the meat is not very fatty (quite the opposite!) and notes of butter. Ideal candidates are all oak-aged Chardonnays such as the Muses Estate Chardonnay Fume or the Argentine El Enemigo if you want something with international air to your table.


If you insist on purely indigenous varieties, traditionally Vidiano of Crete will stand out wonderfully next to the poultry, such as the Nostos from Manousakis.


On the other hand there is the opinion of white wine for the meat, so all of the above do the job for us excellently, but also a relatively light red for the stuffing, like the new wonderful effort by PFC, with Seiradi Mandilaria.


4. Oven-roasted lamb


More of an Easter choice, but it has its fans. We’ve said it before here, but lambs tend to pair better with white wines, and classic choices like Santorini. Try it with the Vassaltis Winery label and take it off, but if you’re not too into white, pour something French-style, high in acidity and full-bodied like the Avantis Estate Syrah into the glass.


5. Stuffed pork


Here things are not so easy and obvious, since we have to take seriously the sweetness that the filling (usually with dried fruits like plums) and the caramelized crust of honey, pomegranate, etc. give to the dish. The choice in our glass should also have little sugar so that it does not "suffocate" from the meat, and beautiful choices would be semi-dry rosés such as Orivatis from the Akriotou micro-winery or the also slightly off-dry aromatic Gewurztraminer from the Pantos Winery.


6. Kourabiedes & Melomakarona


So what will you treat the holiday guest to? Obviously either kourabiedes or melomakarona (greek Christmas mini bite desserts). What is not at all obvious, however, is to bring out a sweet wine alongside them, since sweet on the one hand, sweet on the other, the whole thing is in turn excessively sweet and cloying. Here, the wonderful Greek spirits always provide the solution.


Put a very special and aromatic Sykos Makrionitis spirit alongside the Kourabiedes, and match the melomakarona with the aged Cretan Tsikoudia 35n with notes of nuts, dried fruits, honeycomb, and thank me later.


7. Extra Tip: The lonely people or… just the ones in love


It may not be possible to be with a big group of people during the holidays or perhaps you prefer to cuddle up with your partner in front of the fireplace.


In such a case, choose one of the world's top sweet wines of our homeland, such as Samos Anthemis from Samos or of course a Santorini Vinsanto like the one from Gavalas Winery.



Happy holidays to everyone!


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.