Serve the Perfect Wine This Holiday Season
Story By Jancis Robinson
Photos by Christopher J. Davies, Publisher

Mary with a bottle of merlot

In my 25 years of writing about wine the most common mistake I see is that we hang on to treasured bottles for far too long, often until they are way past their prime. If you're saving a bottle, exactly who or what are you saving it for? And what could be more appropriate than sharing it in a celebration of life, family and friendship on one of the most appropriate days of the year? So, I would encourage you literally to make a meal this year of any exceptional bottle that has been lurking in your home waiting to give you pleasure.

But if you are planning to go out and buy wine expressly for traditional holiday meals, then you may welcome more specific advice. The main dish on your holiday table may be turkey or some other innocuous white meat, but all sorts of sweet accompaniments tend to crowd the table as well, which call for a particularly fruity wine. In The Oxford Companion to Wine, I recommend Gewurztraminer, the extra full-bodied white from Alsace. This would be fine if you prefer white wine, though check with your retailer that it is not too sweet, nor too alcoholic‹I reckon 13.5 percent is an absolute maximum to keep large family gatherings harmonious, which is why I'm wary of many California Zinfandels.

A gentler alternative would be a fruity red burgundy from France or its closest American counterpart, one of Oregon's soft Pinot Noirs. These are bottles that are appetizing and interesting enough to return to with pleasure, which is, after all, what wine is all about.


JANCIS ROBINSON is one of the world's leading authorities on wine. Her columns appear regularly in The London Observer, and hundreds of other newspapers across the globe. She is the editor of the award-winning Oxford Companion to Wine.