For some reason, around this time of year, we all become primal carnivores with various types of roast meat dishes. Some family's prefer traditional turkey lunch while others go for a more meatier rib roast. Which ever roast you choose, choosing a wine to pair just right with your dish is essential. So here are the top wine pairings for any of your meat roasts this holiday season.
Prime Rib Roast
Many Christmas tables this year will be boasting a mouth watering glazed rack of prime ribs. Something rich, dark, and bold would pair just fine, like our award winning Nymphomane. This exciting new blend explores the marriage of Bordeaux varietiesfrom vines situated in the Hemel en Aarde Ridge. This wine shows the balanced and structured contribution of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc with the fruity flesh from the Malbec.
Honey Glazed Ham
One of the most popular Christmas dishes is definitely a honey glazed ham. The problem with pairing this very favourite ham dish is that during the cooking process it can either end up very salty or very sweet depending on the chefs prefference. So to cut through the fatty sweetness of the meat and glaze you should pair this dish with something like our La Vierge Pinot Noir. This wine shows cool climate poise and elegance with an earthy and bright fruit character.
Roast Goose
Not many of us in South Africa cook Roast Goose but there are a few amongst the more American, British and Germanys Christmas chefs. This flavouresome bird goes well with something that cleans the pallet of the fatty goose skin like as our Last Temptation Riesling especially if the goose is cooked with apples. Your guests will probably expect to be served a red wine but theres no reason why you cant serve bouth.
Roast Chicken
Probably the most common but also most loved Christmas dish by many in South Africa. This is an easy to pair dish which can be paired with either a red or white wine depending on how it is cooked and the side dishes it will be served with. If you’re cooking it simply with its own roasting juices, a light white wine such a our Jezabelle would be perfect. When cooking roast chicken in a more British style with a gravy and lots of roast vegetables, a more substantial red wine would be better such as our La Vierge Nymphomane .
We hope that these pairing suggestions help you select the best wine pairing option for your Christmas dinner this season. Thank you for your loyal support during this year and we wish you and your family a blessed Christmas and a restful, carefree holiday.