What Wine Goes with Christmas Dinner? Turkey, Ham, Beef and Everything Else
Look at what lands on the table on 25 December:
- Turkey, pale and lean
- Ham, salty and sweet from its glaze
- Stuffing full of sage and onion
- Cranberry sauce, sharp and fruity
- Roast potatoes, sprouts, gravy, and a bread sauce someone's granny insists on
That's six or seven flavours on one fork. No single wine is "correct" for all of it. A few styles get along with nearly everything, though, and they share three traits:
- Fresh acidity, so the wine cuts through gravy and roast fat
- Soft tannin, so lean turkey doesn't turn the wine bitter
- Red-berry fruit, which echoes the cranberry sauce rather than fighting it
Pick a wine with those three and you've cracked the hard part. The rest of this guide covers each part of the meal, from the first glass at the kitchen island to the last of the cheese.
Every bottle here comes from a family we know by name. We tasted each one with the person who made it before it came to Ireland. That's how we buy everything, and it's why we can tell you who's behind each glass.
Turkey and ham: red or white?
Both work. The best answer for most Irish tables is a light red, because it handles turkey and ham in the same glass.
Heavy reds are the usual mistake. Big tannins clash with lean turkey and turn bitter against cranberry. Go lighter than you think.
Gamay from Beaujolais: our first pick
Terres Dorées 'Le Ronsay' Beaujolais, €21.25
- Juicy red berries and violet, soft tannin, fresh acidity
- Cranberry sauce makes it taste even fruitier
- Serve it slightly cool, around 14°C: 20 minutes in the fridge does it
Jean-Paul Brun makes it at Domaine des Terres Dorées in the south of Beaujolais. He farmed organically from the 1980s, long before anyone asked for it, and ferments with the wild yeasts from his own vineyard. The result tastes of Beaujolais itself: bright fruit and a little earth, nothing confected.
Pinot Noir: a little more depth
- Paddy Borthwick 'Paper Road' Pinot Noir, €23.25. From Wairarapa, at the bottom of New Zealand's North Island. Red cherry, a savoury spice, silky texture. Brilliant with the stuffing.
- Domaine David Duband Bourgogne Pinot Noir, €32.30. David Duband farms in the Côte de Nuits in Burgundy. Light, pure, with fine tannins. Pour it when the turkey is the star and you want the wine to step back.
If the table wants white
- Antech Chardonnay, €16.95. The Antech family have made wine in Limoux, in the south of France, for generations. Ripe and round enough for turkey and bread sauce, fresh enough for the gravy.
- Bender 'I Love Mosel' Riesling, €23.25. Andreas Bender makes this one for the locals. Its ripe fruit and bright acidity love a clove-studded, sticky glazed ham.
The short version: one bottle of Beaujolais and one of Chardonnay covers almost every Irish Christmas dinner.
Spiced beef, rib of beef and Wellington
Beef can take the structure that turkey can't. Here's where the bigger reds earn their place.
Spiced beef
Cork's spiced beef, cooked for Christmas and sliced cold on Stephen's Day, is all clove, allspice and pepper. It wants a red with dark fruit and its own spice.
Ollier-Taillefer 'Les Collines' Faugères, €19.50
- Blackberry, black pepper, wild herbs
- From vines on the schist slopes around the village of Fos in the Languedoc
The Ollier family's vineyards sit in wooded hills that are proper game country. They share the land with wild boar, which have a taste for ripe grapes. The wine has the same wild, herby edge, and it's terrific with anything spiced.
Roast rib of beef
A rib on the bone, pink in the middle, wants Cabernet Sauvignon's grip.
- Château Peyredon Lagravette Haut-Médoc, €28.25. A Cru Bourgeois from Bordeaux's Left Bank, Cabernet-led. Cassis, cedar, firm tannin that the meat softens.
- Château Haut Rian 'Sélection Parcellaire' Bordeaux, €19.50. Made by Pauline Lapierre at Château Haut Rian, the estate her father started. Dark fruit, gentle oak, balance. We've bought from this family for over 30 years, and the friendship has passed from one generation to the next on both sides.
Beef Wellington
Mushroom, pastry and fillet need a softer, rounder red.
Château Haut-Segottes Saint-Émilion Grand Cru, €45
- Merlot-led, from the limestone plateau of Saint-Émilion
- Plum, truffle, soft tannin that matches the mushroom duxelles
- Open it an hour before dinner, or decant it while the Wellington rests
Starters and the first glass
Christmas Day starts at the kitchen island: someone's carving, someone's stirring the gravy, everyone's picking at the smoked salmon. Open something with bubbles. Acidity and fizz wake up the palate before a long meal.
Bubbles
- J. Charpentier Brut Réserve Champagne, €56. A family Champagne house in Villers-sous-Châtillon in the Marne valley, well away from the big names in Reims. Toast, red apple, a fine mousse.
- Antech 'Eugénie' Crémant de Limoux, €32.50. Made by Françoise Antech in Limoux, where monks at the abbey of Saint-Hilaire were making sparkling wine by 1531, before Champagne. Same method as Champagne, a little over half the price.
- Carles Andreu Cava Brut Reserva, €29. Traditional-method Cava with green apple and a crisp, dry finish. The crowd-pleaser for a full house.
Starters
| Starter | Pour | Why it works |
|---|---|---|
| Smoked salmon on brown bread | Séguinot-Bordet Chablis, €29.50 | Unoaked Chardonnay from limestone soils: lemony and saline, it cuts the oil in the fish |
| Prawn cocktail | Atlantik Albariño, €19.50 | Grown within sight of the Atlantic in Galicia; its salty freshness loves Marie Rose sauce |
| Oysters or seafood chowder | Domaines Landron 'La Louvetrie' Muscadet, €23.25 | Lemon, green apple and sea-breeze minerality; Muscadet and oysters is a classic for a reason |
Nut roast and a vegetarian Christmas
Match the wine to the earthy, savoury flavours: mushrooms, chestnuts, roast roots, sage. Southern French reds do this better than almost anything.
- Château La Baronne 'Les Chemins' Corbières, €24.25. The Lignères family make it from Carignan vines over 120 years old. Damson, plum, a little spice and cedar. Old vines like these give small crops of concentrated fruit, so the wine has depth without heaviness.
- Baronne 'Le Grenache Gris de Jean', €24. A white from the same family, made from the rare Grenache Gris. Textured and savoury, lovely with a squash or chestnut roast.
- Domaine Luc Lapeyre 'L'Amourier' Minervois, €19. Luc farms organically in the Pyrenean foothills. Rich, dark fruit for a mushroom Wellington.
Cooking for vegan guests? Ask us which wines are made without animal-derived fining agents. It varies bottle by bottle, and the makers know exactly what goes in.
How much to buy, and when to open it
A 75cl bottle pours five glasses of 150ml. Over a long Christmas dinner, plan on about half a bottle per adult who drinks, plus one bottle of bubbles for every six people at the start.
| Adults drinking | Bubbles | Still wine | Total bottles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 6 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| 8 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| 12 | 2 | 6 | 8 |
Buy one extra. Unopened, it keeps for Stephen's Day.
Serving temperatures
- Bubbles: 6–8°C. Into the fridge on Christmas Eve.
- Whites: 8–12°C. Out of the fridge 15 minutes before pouring.
- Light reds (Beaujolais, Pinot Noir): 13–15°C. A slightly cool pantry, or 20 minutes in the fridge.
- Fuller reds (Bordeaux, Faugères): 16–18°C. Not beside the range or the fire, as overheated red tastes flat and boozy.
Timing on the day
- Open fuller reds an hour before dinner. The extra air softens them.
- Stand any bottle with sediment upright from Christmas Eve.
- Leftover still wine keeps two or three days with the cork back in, in the fridge (reds too). Or pour it into the gravy.
Christmas dinner wine: quick answers
Is red or white better with turkey?
Light red, for most tables. Beaujolais or Pinot Noir has the soft tannin and red fruit to suit turkey, ham and cranberry together. Choose a round Chardonnay if your crowd prefers white.
What wine goes with glazed ham?
Something with ripe fruit and fresh acidity. Riesling suits the sweet glaze; Beaujolais handles the salt.
Can I serve one wine for the whole meal?
Yes. A good Beaujolais carries you from starter to cheese without a clash.
What wine goes with spiced beef?
A red with its own spice and dark fruit, such as Faugères or another Languedoc red.
What should I pour with the Christmas pudding?
Something sweeter than the pudding. Our guide to dessert wines for Christmas covers Tawny Port, PX Sherry and more.
Before you go
Find more festive picks in our Christmas Day wines range, or in the Christmas gifts collection if you're bringing a bottle to someone else's table. We deliver across Ireland, or you can Click & Collect in Mullingar or Athlone. The last delivery day before Christmas is Monday 21 December.
Stuck between two bottles? Ring the shop on 0818 579 579. We'll ask what you're cooking and tell you who made the wine we'd pour.
Whatever ends up in your glass this Christmas, take a photo and tag us @winesdirectirl on Instagram. We love seeing these wines on Irish tables, and so do the families who made them.
Nollaig shona,
Gav & Gareth Keogh, Wine Brothers | Wines Direct