What Should You Serve With a Christmas Turkey Dinner?

A FESTIVE DISH: WHICH WINES SHOULD BE SERVED WITH THIS FINE POULTRY?

With a generous creamy sauce sprinkled with wild mushrooms, stuffed with foie gras or chestnuts, roasted or grilled, turkey comes in a variety of flavours at Christmas time. Some will opt for the classic pairing with a dry white wine, others for the assertive charm of a red wine. But here are some mistakes you should not make:

• When pairing with white wine, avoid wines that are too chiselled and lack roundness. A texture that is too fresh would be overwhelmed by the fat of the cream or the meat juice.

• When pairing with red wine, care should be taken to avoid those that are too tannic, as poultry naturally has a certain dryness. The textures in the mouth would not be harmonious.

• This is not the most classic pairing, but it is still possible: the pairing with Champagne! Worthy of special occasions, avoid sweet or rosé Champagnes, which do not go well with overly salty flavours. To appreciate the meat of the turkey and its seasoning, choose a brut Champagne! The advantage is that it can also be drunk as an aperitif.

For the essential matches let yourself be guided by our experts! They have put together an easy to follow selection for you!

THE CLASSIC PAIRING: WHITE WINE AND CHRISTMAS TURKEY

A dry white wine is an excellent choice, especially if the sauce is creamy and generous. You should choose a white wine that is "fat" and buttery, i.e. with a good consistency, thick but supple, full-bodied and fleshy. The unctuousness of a Chablis will be marvellous, it will underline the delicacy of your dish. King of the Mâconnais, Pouilly Fuissé is an excellent gastronomic wine: this great Burgundy wine marries beautifully with white meat dishes: Made from Chardonnay, its exquisite bouquet, melted and nuanced, combined with its full and structured side, is almost made for creamy poultry dishes. Choose a Pouilly Fuissé of a venerable age, otherwise remember to decant the young vintages 1 hour before serving to release all the aromas. You can't go wrong choosing from among the great white wines of Burgundy: these Chardonnays are generally suitable with poultry in sauce, in broth, or simply served in their cooking juices. Finally, another style, more assertive this time, bet on the singular character of Vin Jaune. Its singular taste is due to the Savagnin grape which, when vinified into yellow wine, gives expansive aromas marked by powerful oxidative notes of dried fruit dominated by walnuts, toast, green apples, coffee, curry and oriental spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves). Powerful aromas in the glass that go well with a recipe for spicy turkey with curry, for example. One caveat, however: yellow wine is a wine of character, you have to know how to appreciate it.

THE PRESTIGIOUS PAIRING: VINTAGE RED WINES AND CHRISTMAS TURKEY

Red wines with too much tannin will be ruled out in favour of red wines with more roundness and mellowness. We will look for elegant wines with a controlled tannic structure and wood ageing that is not too pronounced. For this reason, Burgundy wines are preferred to Bordeaux wines, even if the latter are not to be dismissed. So we head for Burgundy, where the freshness of the Pinot Noir, the region's emblematic red grape variety, will balance the fatness of this delicate dish. Smaller budgets should look to Gamay, which respects the delicacy of white meats: Beaujolais wines are also your friend.

A FINE PAIRING: CHAMPAGNE AND CHRISTMAS TURKEY

This pairing is more original, but the advantage is that it is possible to make an all Champagne meal... as long as you choose a Champagne that does not overpower the dish. The turkey is usually roasted, which offers a great opportunity for sparkling wines to marry the tender flesh and the crispness of the baked skin. The basic principle is to respect the simple culinary equation: fat = fat. So for a recipe for poultry with cream, prefer a full-bodied wine, or even a vintage Champagne. You should carefully avoid sweet wines, or rosé Champagnes, which do not go well with overly salty flavours. To appreciate the meat of the turkey and its seasoning, choose a brut Champagne, a blanc de blancs in which, once again, the magic of Chardonnay works.

CHAMPAGNE DOM RUINART 2007

CHAMPAGNE DEUTZ - AMOUR DE DEUTZ - LUXURY BOX

WHAT ABOUT TURKEY STUFFED WITH FOIE GRAS?

For lovers of hot foie gras, red wine is preferable, but be careful! The tannins present in red wines do not go well with foie gras, giving it an unpleasant taste. Harsh wines should therefore be avoided at all costs. It is therefore better to match turkey stuffed with foie gras with preferably old red wines. Older vintages have a finesse and delicacy that goes hand in hand with the finesse of the texture of the dish. The tannins are indeed well blended. Without worrying, you can enjoy turkey stuffed with foie gras with the following appellations: Pomerol, Médoc, Haut Médoc, Saint-Émilion among the great wines of Bordeaux will work wonders with this Christmas dish. Better still, opt for the charm of a red Bergerac. Chinons and Saumur wines are also good options, as the tannins in these wines are subtle. The density of the foie gras calls for a wine of the same calibre, so you can also opt for a red Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

WHICH INEXPENSIVE WINE WOULD BE GOOD WITH CHESTNUT ROASTED TURKEY?

Patrick Lesec's Richette was voted "Customer's favourite" and is as delicious on the palate as it is light on the wallet! The 2016 vintage even impressed the tasting committee of the Wine Advocate of the famous critic Robert Parker who gave it an excellent score of 90/100! An unbeatable value for money for this Côtes du Rhône with silky tannins that marries the tender flesh of white meats. Its notes of white pepper and its round texture will work wonders on a recipe for turkey stuffed with chestnuts. You won't be disappointed!

CÔTES DU RHÔNE - RICHETTE - PATRICK LESEC