For Finnish Christmas dinner, when I am asked about wine, I always think « white » first. In my opinion, this is the colour that match the best all the traditional dishes. I will give you a selection of different style of wines, they might not match every single meal, but none will be totally out of place. I will sort them by type of grape. Enjoy!
Chardonnay
Chardonnay is a very versatile grape that make not too aromatic wines. As a result they are really easy drinking and pass on a huge variety of meals. Besides, it is can be cheap to produce and it can be grown almost everywhere. The selection of decent to good Chardonnay at Alko is big. Almost none are bad but, don’t be fooled, many are boring 😉
Argentina: Alamos, Chardonnay 2012 (570287) 9,98€ : A nice and pleasant wine. Rather on the exotic side. Not too oaky. Easy.
Australia: Penfolds, Thomas Hyland Chardonnay 2011 (534747) 12,99€ : Fresh and crisp. Easy drinking wine.
New-Zealand: Sileni, The Lodge Chardonnay 2010 (519767) 14,99€ : This starts to be more serious. Little bit toasty. Nice wine.
New-Zealand: St Clair, Pioneer Block Sawcut Vineyard Chardonnay 2011 (501427) 19,89€ : Extremely powerful and strongly toasty. Not the prefect example of elegance but it really delivers. A bit like a punch in the face. Should be a nice match to joulukinkku.
Austria: Tement, Morillon Muschelkalk 2011 (583807) 19,89€ : More balanced and fresh. This will do well with fish and salads.
Italy: Planeta, Chardonnay 2011 (525267) 19,98€ : A surprisingly balanced Chardonnay from Sicily. Will match most of the meal.
France: La Souffrandise, Pouilly Fumé 2011 (510217) 21,10€ : Powerful and yet delicate. It is a very fine wine, in a very good vintage for white wines in this region.
Sauvignon blanc
Sauvignon blanc is a very strong grape, producing wines with a clearly vegetal side. At its best they are powerful, aromatic and very fresh wines. Downfall is to get a too green and flat wine. Like many a white grape, it gives it best when grown in cool climates.
Chile: Leyda, Garuma Vineyard Sauvignon blanc 2012 (594677) 9,99€ : typical Sauvignon blanc. Grassy, fresh. A bit simple but nice to drink. Prefect match for the salads , cheese and fish.
Chile: Leyda, Kadun Vineyard Sauvignon gris 2012 (549837) 11,98€ : Sauvignon gris is a mutation of Sauvignon blanc. The difference is not huge. A bit more structure than the previous one.
Chile: Leyda, Lot 4 Sauvignon blanc (587357) 12,98€ : a huge difference between this one and the two before. Powerful and aromatic. A real good match for the meal. With always the typical grassiness of Sauvignon.
New-Zealand: Jackson Estate, Sauvignon blanc Stich 2012 (586067) 15,99€ : one of the best Sauvignon from Alko. More exotic. Extremely powerful. At his best after one year of cellaring.
Riesling
Riesling is an other extremely powerful and noble variety. Some of the greatest wines are made out of this grape. It is often slightly sweet (to balance its acidity) and it is extremely sharp in term of acidity. Therefore it ages beautifully and it pass extremely well with quantity of food, including red meet (if fresh and structured enough). Best examples come from Germany (Mosel, Nahe, Rheingau), Austria (Wachau, Kremstal, Kamptal…) and France (Alsace).
Germany: Dr. Pauly Bergweiler, Blitz Riesling 2012 (524667) 8,69€ : uncomplicated. Fresh and aromatic. A pleasant wine, will pass on most of the meals.
Austria: Malat, Riesling Kellergarten 2011 (590147) 11,61€ : a more serious and dense Riesling. Still very young in a great vintage in Kremstal, Austria. To be opened and decanted 2 hours in advance.
Germany: Reichgraf von Kesselstatt, Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese 2007 (582407) 20,10€ : SWEET! Very nice wine to end the meal and on desert.
Germany: Fritz Haag, Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling trocken GG 2011 (543897) 34,30€ : a great dry Riesling from Mosel. To be opened in advance.
Grüner Veltliner
The typical grape of Austria. Extremely aromatic, exotic and less sharp than Riesling. A very nice selection is to be found in Alko.
Austria: Rabl, Grüner Veltliner 2012 (599634) 7,52€ : simple but clean. A good pick.
Austria: Josef Jamek, Grüner Veltliner Ried Liebenberg Smaragd 2011 (599827) 24,20€ : an other great wine in a great vintage. Best cellared for 2-5 years. To be decanted two hours.
Austria: Rudi Pichler, Grüner Veltliner Terrassen Smaragd 2011 (509017) 24,80€ : same region than the previous one. Styles are slightly different, maybe more mineral for Pichler.
Others
Hungary: Oremus, Mandolas Tokaji Dry 2001 (598027) 16,50€
Spain: Gramona, Xarel.lo 2011 (505867) 19,84€
France: Château Doisy-Daëne 2009 (539404) 27,70€ (half bottle) : Sweet wine. One of the very best Sauternes in a great year for sweet wines.