Chistmas Dinner Choices

I know it is still the 25th, but somehow it seems as if there is always more time to organize those pesky dinner wines when you have the weekend and a few days to think about what to serve.

If you have been reading this column for a few decades, you should know by now there are no right or wrong choices. Of course some wines do pair better with turkey than ham or with roast beef versus fish, but if you can stickhandle through those style or grape choices, there is an amazing choice of wines to choose from in this city.

Today we will get you headed in the right direction, but there are plenty of sources of information out there and none more relevant than the many people who work in wine stores across the Lower Mainland. Most of your angst can be assuaged by asking for help at the store. Even if you can't find what you are looking for just suggesting a wine or style will set the store clerk free to help you.

If there is a caution we might suggest it is to analyze the guest list before Christmas Day. If your dinner involves multiple guests and a mix of ages, and even generations, great wines from old vintages, the kind that require attention, are not recommended. It is the generous wines that are always a hit. That means red wines with soft tannins and white wines with a reasonably fruity, aromatic demeanour.

So where to start? Let's look at the big main course categories that are likely to dominate Christmas dinners around the province: vegetarian, fish, turkey, ham, beef or lamb. There is good news for vegetarians who seem to prosper at Christmas thanks to the many meatless, vegetable side dishes and trimmings that combine brilliantly with the emerging category of aromatic blends.

Try Torrontés from Argentina, aromatic blends from British Columbia, Northern Italian whites or Sauvignon Blanc.

Fish presents its own challenges. Lighter fish calls for fresh white wines with little or no oak. Sancerre would be a great pick, Sauvignon Blanc from Leyda or New Zealand; heavier, oily fish like salmon is perfect with Pinot Noir or Gamay from France or the New World.

Matches for turkey can be more about the stuffing and the trimmings than the bird, but on the surface you could serve red or white. Chardonnay, Riesling, Grenache/Syrah and Pinot Noir would all work. Cool-climate New World Chardonnay from B.C., California and Australia work, southern Rhône or even Languedoc red blends would be fine too.

If ham is on the menu, or any kind of charcuterie, think off-dry Riesling. The fruit and acidity is a perfect foil to the smoke and salt. In B.C., local picks would be perfect and producers you might want to look for would be CedarCreek, Tantalus, Gray Monk, Mission Hill, Nk 'Mip. There are many excellent German examples too from Tesch, Selbach, Pauly Bergweiler and St. Urbans Hof.

Beef, likely roast beef, is an easy dinner match. Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec or Merlot will all work, especially when the tannins and the fat combine in your mouth. California Cabernet, Pacific Northwest Merlot and Mendoza Malbec are the tickets here. If lamb is on the menu, the slam dunk match is Syrah, but Syrah blends are equally welcomed as is Malbec with its savoury, juicy dark fruit flavours. Your best Syrah/Shiraz bets are local: Painted Rock, Jackson Triggs, Black Hills or Burrowing Owl. Australian shiraz from Barossa or McLaren Vale work as does French Hermitage, Crozes-Hermitage and Châteauneuf du Pape.

Don't forget to consider some sparkling wine to settle everyone in and kick off the pre-dinner festivities. Happy holidays and plan ahead; do not drink and drive.

Santa Carolina Sauvignon Blanc Reserva 2012, Valle de Leyda, Valle de San Antonio, Chile

Price: $13 | Score: 88/100

UPC: 7804350596366

Refreshing, fragrant grapefruit, canned jalapeno, passion fruit nose with melon aromas. The attack is juicy, creamy and off-dry with spicy, floral, passion fruit, pink grapefruit, grassy, nettle flavours. Fine fruit and balance for the money. Clean, fresh, super value in Sauvignon Blanc for shellfish, sushi or chicken. Back up the truck.

Dr. Pauly -- Bergweiler Riesling 2012, Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, Germany

Price: $19 | Score: 88/100

UPC: 4004888891039

Always dependable, this easy-sipping Riesling opens with an elegant, juicy, somewhat creamy/sweet palate mixed with ripe apple, honey, peach pit, smoke and light petrol flavours. Fine intensity and well balanced. Good value.

Edmeades Zinfandel 2009, Mendocino County, California, United States

Price: $23 | Score: 89/100

UPC: 768033001011

Inviting blackberry jam, tobacco, spicy, licorice root aromas preview a fresh, round, full, warm palate. The attack is juicy with coffee, pepper, blackberry jam, smoky, herbal, cedar flavours. A friendly red for winter stews, but it would look good alongside a turkey.

Les Halos de Jupiter Côtes Du Rhône 2010, Rhone Valley, France

Price: $24 | Score: 88/100

UPC: 00690604000447

The grapes come off a high altitude vineyard near Roaix at the northern edge of the Southern Rhône. The blend is an 85/10/5 mix of very old Grenache, Syrah and mourvèdre. The wine is aged for one year in concrete vats. Expect a spicy robust red with a warm nose and palate. The palate is floral with sweet blackberry fruit pepper and black licorice. The finish is long warm and sweet in a tolerable way. Lamb would be a fine match.

Chateau de Sancerre 2011, Loire, France

Price: $30 | Score: 89/100

UPC: 00642917000027

No shrinking violet, this is an intense version of Sauvignon with grassy grapefruit aromas up front with and hints of citrus rind. The attack is fresh with more lime rind, mineral, floral blood orange and citrus fruit flavours that persist through the finish. Grilled fish or the classic goat cheese salad would be a fine match.

Mission Hill Quatrain 2009, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada

Price: $50 | Score: 90/100

UPC: 776545555724

The '09 Quatrain is a 30/30/20/20 blend of Merlot, Syrah, cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc fermented in large French oak vats. Expect a fragrant nose cherry with sweet licorice and spicy warm mocha, meaty notes. All the fruit comes off the best blocks farmed in the south Okanagan and spends 15 months in the oak. The finish is warm and long with chalky but firm tannins and will need some time to come around in the bottle