'Perfectly pair wine & beer with Christmas Dinner' [INFOGRAPHIC]

Wine, Beer & Christmas Cheer! A HOLIDAY DRINKING GUIDE The holiday season is an indulgent time. Enjoy your Christmas dinner drinks by learning the best tips on how to pair the perfect wine and beer to match your menu and your course. THE RIGHT CHRISTMAS DINNER TIPPLE Turkey is a simple meat, and can be paired with a variety of wines, but it is rare that turkey is eaten on its own. Herb stuffings, rich gravies and roasted vegetables Turkey need to be taken into account when working out the best wine and beer pairings. Red Wines for Turkey White Wines for Turkey Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah/Shiraz, Viognier, Beaujolais Nouveau Riesling, Gewurztraminer Beer Pairing Beers for Turkey Avoid hop-heavy beers that have a bite, they will overpower the mild-tasting turkey and gravy and will clash with the roast vegetables and cranberry sauce. Malty red ale, Dubbel, crisp Blonde Ale Baked, smoked, or honeyed hams beg for wines with a dash of Ham sweet. You should choose wines that balance the saltiness and savoury taste of the ham. Red Wines for Ham White Wines for Ham Beaujolais Nouveau, Riesling and Pinot Noir, Gewurztraminer Zinfandel, Tempranillo Beer Pairing Beers for Ham A fruity ale is a good complement to a traditional glazed ham, which is both salty and sweet. An Oktoberfest märzen lager is also a good match. Märzen, dunkel, fruity ale or bock When it comes to pairing wines with duck, considerations have to be made for the unique, fatty profile along with the innate gaminess of the meat. Duck Red Wines for Duck White Wines for Duck Zinfandel, Red Burgundy, Gewurztraminer, Tempranillo Sauternes Beer Pairing Beers for Duck Duck is very rich, so you want a zingy ale or IPA to cut through the fat and refresh your palate. Belgian Dubbel, IPA Wine Pairing Beef makes a serious play for a variety of red wines. White wines Bed need to be on the heavier side in order to keep pace with the rich textures and greater ratios of protein and fat. Red Wines for Beef White Wines for Beef Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Shiraz, Tempranillo, Carmenere, Malbec, Merlot, Bordeaux blends, Rhone Valley blends, Barolo, Barbaresco White Burgundy (Chardonnay) Beer Pairing Beers for Beef Beef is bursting with flavour and the bitterness Black Lager, from the darkened malts used in stouts and porters offers the perfect contrast. Dry Stout or Black IPA DESSERT DRINKS TO DIE FOR CHOCOLATE-BASED DESSERTS Pairing wine with chocolate-based desserts Pairing beer with chocolate-based desserts Desired Flavours (in the wine and dessert) Chocolatey flavours Dark Buttery Caramelised Rich Chocolatey flavours imparted by the dark-roasted malts found in stouts and porters complement chocolate-based desserts very nicely. Suggested Wine Pairings Pinot Noir, Banyuls, Grenache, Australian Shiraz, port and Grappa. Doppelbock, Belgian strong dark ales, **** *** FRUIT-BASED DESSERTS Pairing wine with fruit-based desserts Pairing beer with fruit-based desserts Desired Flavours Yeast is your friend when it comes to fruit-based desserts. Esters produced by many yeast strains offer a slew of fruity flavors that can connect beer and food. Apples Pears Cinnamon Suggested Wine Pairings Sauternes, Gewirtztraminer and pink champagne. Dunkelweizens, brown ale, fruit beers CARAMEL AND TOFFEE-BASED DESSERTS **** Pairing wine with caramel and toffee-based desserts Pairing beer with caramel and toffee-based desserts Desired Flavours lin the wine and dessert) Very sweet, similarly caramelly beers are a safe bet to match-especially if the beer carries enough depth and complexity to keep things interesting. Mild Light Buttery Suggested Beer Pairings Suggested Wine Pairings English barleywine Riesling, sparkling wines like demi-sec champagne, and Asti Spumanti. BEAUTIFUL BUBBLY There are many types of sparkling wine produced in various countries, as many as the number of fruits and methods used in the process. II Champagne This is the most popular of the sparkling wine worldwide. It is produced in the champagne region in France. Three types of grapes of grapes - Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meaner- are blend together through the method Champenoise to create the amazing taste and smell associated with Champagne. Cava This is a Spanish (white or pink) sparkling wine that uses the champenoise method but with different types of grapes from those used in Champagne. Macabeo, Parellada, Xarello, and Chardonnay grapes are used. Asti A sweet Italian sparkler made in the region of Asti using the charmat method. Muscat grapes are used in the process to create this wine that has a sweet flavor and low alcohol content of about 8%. Prosecco This is an Italian sparkler that is produced through the Charmat method just like the Asti, but it is dryer and sweeter due to the prosecco grapes used. It comes in lightly sparkling and fully sparkling versions. UNDERSTANDING THE TERMS BRUT NATURE/BRUT ZERO EXTRA BRUT BRUT .... Bone dry, no sugar has been added. Very dry Very dry to dry EXTRA-SEC OR EXTRA-DRY ŠEC DEMI-SEC Off-dry to medium dry Medium dry Sweet DOUX Luscious, very sweet TOP TIPS FOR SPARKLING WINE THE IDEAL BOTTLE SIZE FOR CHAMPAGNE IS THE MAGNUM The larger bottle enables the wine to age more gently in the winery's cellar BE WARY OF HALF-BOTTLES (375 ML) AND SPLITS (187 ML). Champagne in these small bottles is often not fresh. SPARKLING WINE IS BEST SERVED COLD, ABOUT 7° TO 8°C. Vintage Champagnes are more complex, you can chill them less than young, non-vintage Champagne or sparkling wine. DON'T LEAVE AN OPEN BOTTLE OF SPARKLING WINE ON THE TABLE; IT WILL WARM UP QUICKLY. Use a sparkling wine stopper to keep leftover bubbly fresh for a couple of days – in the fridge, of course. HomeBrewWest Ireland's largest hamebrew supplier www.homebrewwest.ie References: http://wine.about.com/od/holidayswithwine/a/Christmasdinner.htm http://www.greatfood.ie/item_display.asp?cde=6&id=1365 http://www.bbr.com/wine-knowledge/xmas-food-wine http://www.bbr.com/wine-knowledge/xmas-main http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2012/dec/07/wine-to-drink-christmas-turkey http://winefolly.com/tutorial/holiday-wine-guide/ http://www.ireland-guide.com/article/craft-beer-and-christmas-cheer--beer-and-food-pairing-tips-for-christmas-dinner. 10648.html http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/buying-and-serving-champagne-and-sparkling-wine.html http://www.totalwine.com/eng/guide-to-wine/champagne-and-sparkling-wine.cfm http://drinks.seriouseats.com/2011/12/the-serious-eats-guide-to-sparkling-wine-what-is-champagne-cava-prosecca-cremant.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/30/sparkling-wine-guide_n_1160221.html http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/07/best-beer-for-grilled-bbq-beer-pairing-advice-burger-steak-chicken-sausage-grilled-vegetable-summer-party.html http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/07/best-beer-for-grilled-bbq-beer-pairing-advice-burger-steak-chicken-sausage-grilled-vegetable-summer-party.html http://www.esquire.com/blogs/food-for-men/craft-beer-week-tips-092810 http://www.mensfitness.com/nutrition/what-to-eat/beer-and-food-pairings http://drinks.seriouseats.com/2013/12/beer-for-holiday-meal-pairing-prime-rib-ham-lamb-duck-christmas-dinner-beer.html http://beer.about.com/od/beertastinganddrinking/a/HolidayBeerPair.htm http://www.craftbeer.com/beer-and-food/craft-beers-spin-on-classic-wine-pairings http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/drinking/beer/beerpairings http://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2011/11/23/what-is-a-good-beer-pairing-with-thanksgiving-dinner/ http://www.thedailymeal.com/12-beers-invite-thanksgiving-dinner-slideshow http://www.sitrib.com/sltrib/lifestyle/52864954-80/beer-turkey-epic-brewing.html.csp http://drinks.seriouseats.com/2009/11/serious-beer-pairings-for-thanksgiving.html http://www.craftbeer.com/beer-and-food/randy-moshers-thanksgiving-day-beer-list http://drinks.seriouseats.com/2013/10/how-to-pair-beer-and-dessert-tips-sweetness-alcohol-intensity-chocolate-fruit-toffee-beer-dinner-advice.html http://www.tringbrewery.co.uk/Beer_and_Food.pdf