Match your Christmas menu with the perfect wine

Match your Christmas menu with the perfect wine. Photo: File.

Pairing the right wine with your Christmas menu can make the meal that much more special and heighten the flavours of the food. To find the perfect drop for your festive feast this year, Farrah’s Liquor Collective owner Matt Farrah shared his top tips on what to serve this Christmas.

What to serve with ham?

A good French Champagne Rose pairs nicely with a good Christmas ham. The Dumungin Rose is the perfect champagne for the occasion. The slight strawberry lifted nose and creamy palate will balance the ham beautifully. Plus, Dumangin is rated the best champagne in the world under $60 and for good reason.

What to serve with turkey?

Turkey is a versatile white meat that works well with a good sparkling shiraz like Lou Miranda Sparkling shiraz from the Barossa Valley. Sparkling shiraz is sweeter than a normal sparkling but has a richer mouth fill that really works well with turkey hot or cold.

Pair your turkey with Matt Farrah’s wine tips this year. Photo: Claudio Schwarz.

A good naked chardonnay also goes wonderfully with turkey as the richer creamier texture and peach melon flavours really enhance both the wine and the turkey. Try the Maverick Chardonnay Semillion 2015. This wine usually cost around $25 but we have it on special for the entire month of December.

What to serve with seafood?

Seafood is a favourite for Christmas celebrations and being hot outside makes pairing seafood a breeze with a good Riesling, Sauv Blanc or Pinot Grigio chilled down to perfection.

If you like riesling, grab the Rolf Binder Eden Valley 2013. Its aged characters work well with prawns as the prawn needs soft acids to help raise the sweetness in the prawns and balance the flavours.

Sauvignon Blanc is also perfect with prawns as well but is awesome with oysters – natural, Kilpatrick or with a vinaigrette. The tropical notes of the Pear Tree Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc have been a favourite of Canberrans for many years and because the Pear Tree has had some oak treatment it will give a creamier softer finish which will balance the oysters’ smooth flavours.

Don’t go past the Signor Vino Pinot Grigio. The dry, crisp and refreshing flavours of pear and red apple on the palate finishes with a clean and crisp mineral acidity that will work well with oysters on a hot day.

What to serve with pavlova?

A great dessert wine always goes well with pavlova and a cracking dessert wine is A Growers Touch Botrytis Semillion. Not too syrupy, this wine will be perfect with a pav topped with summer fruit.

For the non-drinkers, swap the soft drinks for a bottle of Canberra’s own Altina La Vie En Rose zero proof craft cocktail. Featuring organic hibiscus and pink rose petals, laced with sweet orange and a long finish, it is a gorgeous lightly sparkling non-alcoholic rose cocktail that is perfectly refreshing.

For the non-drinkers, swap the soft drinks for a bottle of Altina La Vie En Rose. Photo: Supplied.

Shop Farrah’s Liquor Collective online or instore at Unit 1, 8 Townsville Street, Fyshwick.