CHRISTMAS TURKEY 10 perfect pairings

The beauty of our favourite festive fowl is that it pairs well with a wide variety of wines. So do you opt for your usual choice this year, or try something different? Here’s some advice from our pairing expert, plus 10 great wine matches

- FIONA BECKETT

If you’ve cooked – and written about – Christmas turkey as often as I have (which is a lot), you may think there’s nothing more to be said on the subject of what you should drink with it. But can I gently suggest that you might be wrong.

It’s not that there are likely to be options out there that you’ve never thought of – it’s more that it may be possible to do it better, more cheaply, and more in tune with the guests you have round your table this year.

Even if you plan to bring something special out of the cellar this year – I mean, you are a Decanter reader, after all – I suggest it’s wise to have younger wines as back-up, and not only because one or more might be corked or over the hill. Not everyone enjoys older wines, and if it is a big party and they are likely to drink a lot then you might also want something more affordable to hand.

It is of course not just the turkey (which will rub along perfectly amiably with most wines) but the trimmings you need to match with, which are, after all, the main point of Christmas lunch. Of which the stuffing, cranberry sauce and whatever gravy you’re serving are the main issues to contend with.

I find it helpful to consider how traditional your menu is going to be. If the meal is predominantly savoury (ie, chestnut stuffing, classic veg, traditional, British-style gravy), I’d be more inclined to go for a classic red such as a Bordeaux or a Rioja. If it’s more modern in style, with, say, a spicy or fruity stuffing and jazzed up Ottolenghi-ish veg, you might find a brighter red like a Shiraz or a New World Pinot Noir would work better.