1st December 2025 | Pairings & Recipes | 10 minute read
Christmas dinner is arguably the most important part of Christmas Day (aside from the presents, of course), so we like to pull out all the stops when it comes to pairing wine with our big festive feast. Whether you’re going for classic roast turkey, switching things up a bit with chicken or goose, opting for something far less traditional or planning a vegan nut roast, we’d love to share our best wines for Christmas dinner with you.
There’s a lot to consider when it comes to mastering your Christmas wine pairing. Once you’ve chosen your meat, sauces and trimmings, it’s good to also consider the textures and flavours you’ve gone for in order to pick a wine that complements it all perfectly.
Let’s start with the meat that’s most synonymous with Christmas dinner. Turkey is the number one choice for many on Christmas Day, served with crispy roasted vegetables, lashings of gravy and a nice big dollop of cranberry sauce.
What makes turkey so different to other types of poultry is that it tends to be a drier texture when cooked, so you need a wine that will make up for that dryness when it comes to pairing with turkey. The meat itself is also fairly mild in flavour, so not only do you need to be conscious of not overpowering it with seasonings and other ingredients in your cooking, you need to make sure the wine you choose doesn’t overwhelm it too.
It may be a white meat, but it’s actually red wine that makes one of the best pairings with turkey. Old World Pinot Noir is light in body and tannins and is an absolute winner for this type of roast. With an interesting palate of strawberry and cherry mixed with mushroom and wet leaves, it’s a complex red that complements the delicate meat rather than being so bold and punchy that all you can taste is the wine.
The Domaine Michel Girard Sancerre Rouge is a glorious French Pinot Noir that’s lovely and elegant yet bursting with racy red berry flavours. From vineyards stretching some of the finest soils in the Loire Valley, this is a fruit-forward, food-friendly red with a satisfying, fleshy finish that’ll allow the mild-flavoured meat to shine through.
For something even lighter than Pinot Noir, opt for a Beaujolais instead, which is famous for its light body, low tannins, refreshing acidity and oh-so-perfect-for-Christmas notes of cranberry and cherry.
With white wine, you have two really strong options. A mineral Sauvignon Blanc is hard to beat, especially if you prefer your whites clean, crisp and light. With all the hallmarks of a quality white Sancerre, but more complex and ravishing, the Pouilly Fumé Les Loges Pierre Marchand is the best Sauvignon Blanc around for a lavish roast turkey dinner. A symphony of gooseberry and blackcurrant overlaid with hints of citrus and minerality make it an utterly sensational pairing.
For something a little fuller in body and creamier in texture to offset any dryness in the turkey, go for a Viognier. It has a similar mouthfeel to a full-bodied Chardonnay, but also has that delicate minerality that complements a mild white meat like turkey well.
The nation’s favourite white meat, and a popular alternative to roast turkey in many households on Christmas Day. All the traditional trimmings and sauces you’d serve with turkey tend to be served with roast chicken, although unlike turkey, the meat is succulent when roasted rather than dry. So, while there are similarities between these two festive favourites, pairing wine with chicken is a different ball game.
For a juicy roast chicken, a rich and smooth white wine is the only way to go in our book. Chardonnay is one of the best options, especially if it has spent some time in oak barrels, giving it a beautiful, buttery nuance and imparting warm cooking spice flavours into the wine.
With Chardonnay grown all over the world and being one of the most popular grape varieties of all time, we like to go off the beaten track and seek out lesser known examples, such as Argentinian Chardonnay. Mix things up this Christmas with the Familia Zuccardi Chardonnay Q from Mendoza that balances freshness with supple oak. Made from small parcels of top-quality old vine fruit marked by its depth and concentration, this is an expertly made white that’ll certainly elevate your roast chicken.
If you don’t fancy a Chardonnay, Viognier is another delectable pairing for roast chicken, for similar reasons to turkey. The perfumed, floral aromas of this grape variety are also a nice match for herbs you’re likely to be using in your roast such as rosemary, oregano and thyme.
Goose is proving a popular alternative to the traditional roast turkey. Typically seasoned with plenty of herbs and citrus and accompanied by a generous helping of sweet and tangy apple sauce, a festive roast goose can be an explosion of herb and fruit flavours. The gamey notes and higher fat content of this meat compared to other types of poultry mean you can go a little bolder with your wine choices when pairing with goose.
This calls for a juicy Italian drop. A red made from native Italian grapes, such as a Barolo, is a mighty match for roast goose. Packing heaps of acidity that counterbalances the fattiness and oiliness of the meat, these styles of red wine have everything you need including lashings of luscious fruit flavours and spice that’ll complement your apple sauce.
The incredible Schola Sarmenti Antieri Susumaniello IGT Salento delights the senses with pronounced red berry and cherry flavours lifted by a refreshing acidity that cuts through the rich food. These deep berry flavours become even more delicious if you give the wine time to breathe, so we’d recommend decanting this one before you sip with dinner.
Your best white wine option for a flavoursome roast like goose is something crisp and acidic yet a little sweet. The bold, gamey flavours of the goose can handle more pronounced aromas and flavours than you’d find in a light and delicate white wine. So, be brave and go for a bottle of off-dry German Riesling or a lightly sweet Gewürztraminer from a cool climate region such as Alsace.
We’d recommend the fantastically food-friendly Preiss Zimmer Gewurztraminer Sables et Galets which has a good balance of ripeness, varietal purity and finesse. With notes of rose petal, grapefruit and hints of sweet spice, it’s got the right level of boldness and complexity to match goose and go with the cooking spices in your Bramley apple sauce too.
Christmas dinner doesn’t have to be about poultry. Beef is one of our most loved Sunday roasts in the UK, so why not choose beef for the biggest roast dinner of the year? Traditionally served with a drop (or dollop, if you can handle the heat) of horseradish sauce, pairing wine with beef is a balancing act of complementing the red meat, the herbs and the spiciness of the horseradish. The flavours are big, so stay away from white wine for this one.
It’s red wine all the way for roast beef. Especially fuller, bolder reds with a smoky edge, such as Shiraz or Cabernet Sauvignon. Our top pick for this Christmas is the magnificent De Martino Enigma, an exceptional barrel blend from Chile’s Maipo Valley.
Brimming with sumptuous notes of blackberry, cassis, cedar and silky dark chocolate, this rich red combines Cabernet with Carménère to create a complex palate that complements juicy roast beef fabulously. The woody cedar nuance also works well with horseradish sauce.
There’s no denying that pork is a holiday season essential, whether that’s pigs in blankets, pork stuffing or honey-glazed ham and crackling. It tends to be a sweeter roast dinner than other red meats, often cooked with a brown sugar, maple syrup or honey coating and served with a sweet apple sauce.
Unlike other red meats, it can be paired with a variety of red and white wine styles, which (although is a great thing in some ways) can make pairing wine with pork a lot trickier as you’ve got so many more options. We’ve narrowed it down for you and chosen the best possible styles to go for.
Stay away from anything too heavy. Instead, a juicy, fruit-driven red is your best bet, especially as it’ll enhance that apple sauce. Both Carignan and Montepulciano grapes create medium-bodied wines with an abundance of bright red fruit flavours that complement roast pork well.
Try La Pénombre Reserve Vielles Vignes de 1903 Carignan Noir which exhibits wonderful freshness alongside the naturally dark flavour characters that are so charming in old-vine Carignan. With bright berry notes and savoury flavours that are long lasting into a dry finish, this French red offers luscious drinkability and isn’t too heavy.
You need to find a style that’s rounded and fruity and has just enough acidity to stand up to the flavour of the meat. Sémillon is a great shout here for all of these reasons, plus it can often evoke notes of honey that would complement a honey-glazed roast pork exceptionally.
Try Five Bastions Sémillon which is brimming with palate-cleansing stone fruit flavours, herbaceous notes and a squeeze of citrus refreshment. It’s a great one for enjoying with succulent roast pork and apple sauce.
Another beautiful alterative to roast turkey that’s a little different for Christmas Day. A Sunday roast lamb tends to be seasoned with the usual suspects (rosemary, oregano, thyme), but the herb that makes this meat stand out is mint.
Lamb is one of the most wine-friendly meats out there, so it’s the seasonings and powerful mix of peppermint and vinegar in the mint sauce that should influence your wine choice here. Just like with beef, when it comes to pairing wine with lamb, it’s got to be a deep, fruity red all the way.
You can’t get much bolder than a Cabernet Sauvignon, and it even displays mint as one of its main tasting notes! The Château La Raze Beauvallet Medoc Cru Bourgeois makes for a heavenly match with roast lamb. A superb, medal-winning Cru Bourgeois expressing notes of bramble fruit and blackcurrant leaf, along with earthy and herby nuances that go so well with lamb. A few years of ageing give this indulgent dinner choice a cigar-box and toast finish, all enveloped in velvety tannins.
Another incredible French option is the world-famous Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The Grenache-Syrah-Mourvédre blend you find in vintages like the André Brunel Cuvée Pierre et Gobelet Châteauneuf-du-Pape gives a deliciously dense palate with a touch of meatiness and a long, luxurious finish. A classy option for lamb, and perhaps a more suitable match if you’re leaving out the mint sauce.
You really can’t go wrong with roast duck as an alternative to turkey on Christmas Day. The traditionalists at the table will be happy you’ve gone for poultry, while those who are craving a break from turkey or chicken will be excited at the prospect of a much richer, gamier meat.
Duck is also a fattier and sweeter meat than other types of poultry, meaning your wine should be well structured and display some sweet notes of its own. Other factors to keep in mind when pairing with duck are your seasonings and condiments. If you’re doing a honey balsamic glaze or serving with a cherry sauce, remember to choose a wine that’ll work well with these flavours too.
If you really want to impress your guests this Christmas, go for a good quality bottle of Chianti or Rioja for your lavish roast duck dinner. Our top Italian pick for this meat is the Riecine Chianti Classico. Sangiovese has a natural charm and elegance other grape varieties envy, producing wonderfully bright and juicy drops like this one. Succulent, red cherry flavours and fine, powerful tannins make this a worthy match for a decadent duck dish and a real talking point at the dinner table.
Riesling is a wonderful option for a slightly sweeter meat like duck, and even more so if you’re planning on doing a honey or marmalade glaze. You’ll typically find notes of apricot and honey with this grape variety, and an interesting combination of sweetness and acidity that you won’t find in many other wines.
The Hiestand Asia de Cuba Riesling NV is a modern example of this famous German grape, offering a vibrant and colourful palate of fresh, zesty lime beautifully balanced by a touch of sweetness. A burst of crisp acidity allows this award-winning white to cut right through the fatty meat of a rich roast dinner perfectly.
If you’re planning a nut roast, you’ll no doubt be looking to pair your dish with a vegan wine. These are wines where the producer has used clay rather than the traditional fining agents of egg whites or milk protein to give clarity to the wine, and these bottles can often be spotted by the term ‘Unfined/Unfiltered’ appearing on the label.
Cabernet Sauvignon is ideal for a spicy, herby nut roast due to its balance of dark fruit flavours and spicy notes. If you’re looking for a crowd-pleasing Cab Sav that’s also vegan, look no further than the rich and complex The Black Pig Cabernet Sauvignon with its luscious palate of blackcurrant, mint and chocolate.
Or, for a red that displays more festive flavours, then Cinsault is a lovely choice. It has notes of cherry and ripe strawberry, accompanied by that peppery spice you’d find in a Cabernet Sauvignon, but with warm cooking spices of clove too. The Château Musar Jeune Red, which is an unusual Lebanese Cinsault blend, would be our top pick for this as it has plenty of wow factor.
If white wine is your style of choice for the big day, opt for an oaked Rioja Blanco or a French Chardonnay. The divine Castillo de Logrono Familia Manzanos Barrica Rioja Blanco is a glorious Riojan white made from a blend of Viura and Chardonnay grapes kept in a mix of American and French oak barrels for five months. The result is a decadent drop with plenty of vivacity and rounded, rich flavours of butter, toast, nut, pear and baked red apple.
Whatever you choose to serve up for your annual festive feast, cheers to great wines and a very merry Christmas!
Hit the red button below to browse our full range of premium wines.
