People often ask what the perfect wines are to pair with Christmas dinner. Well, here’s your answer: There aren’t any.

There are too many courses with too many food types and flavours for a single wine to effectively complement every dish. It’s why it’s never a bad decision to offer both a red and white wine option for guests at the table. Drink what you enjoy!

Now that said, given that turkey is the main course of choice for most folks at the big event, it’s advisable to stay away from powerful reds. You may adore your high-tannin, high-alcohol, full-bodied California cabernet sauvignons, but they can completely overpower a poor helpless turkey and the potato and veggie dishes it traditionally accompanies.

Of course, it’s not etched in stone that you must serve turkey. If you’ve been saving that great bottle or two of big red vino for a special occasion, you can always mix things up and opt for a beef or steak main course.

But if turkey is on the menu and you still prefer red wine, pinot noir is the go-to option. You want something with softer tannins, lower alcohol and the finesse to deftly manoeuvre between dishes.  But don’t cheap out! Pinot Noir tends to be a little pricey because it takes more grape-growing attention (and cooperation from Mother Nature) to get just right. Apart from it being a really finicky grape to nurture, the finished products invariably seems to teeter on a tightrope of being either too tart or (artificially) too sweet, and between too fruity and too earthy and mushroomy. But when it’s nailed, I don’t think there’s a better wine in the world.

For visitors to the LCBO, a few safe pinot noir bets (if you don’t mind spending $40-$50) include Niagara’s Domaine Queylus Réserve du Domaine and Bachelder Lowrey Vineyard Old Vines, Prince Edward County’s Closson Chase Churchside and New Zealand’s Dog Point. But there are plenty more. And, of course, there’s a wealth of top-notch options from Burgundy and Sonoma, California—particularly if money is no object (ask the experts in your local LCBO Vintages section).

Speaking of pinot, here’s a couple from Cono Sur, the first Chilean winery to ever export pinot noir.

Cono Sur Organic Pinot Noir 2020 — Central Valley, Chile ($14.05)
While you shouldn’t go looking for a delicate and refined pinot in a $14 bottle, what you will find in this one is well worth the price—meaty, juicy, aromatic, with notes of wild berries, figs and mint shavings, with soft to medium tannins. Well rounded with a decent finish, there’s great value once again in this organic/vegan wine. Pair it with poultry and fish. 87

Cono Sur 20 Barrels Limited Edition Pinot Noir 2018 — Casablanca Valley, Chile ($29.95)
For those unfamiliar with this special-selection pinot, it’s available at the LCBO’s “Destination Collection” Chile store in Erin Mills and likely next year through the LCBO website, as well as through Canadian agency Authentic Wine & Spirits Merchants (they bring it in once a year on a consignment basis, with a minimum case-of-12 order). I’m going to need to revisit this one somewhere down the road. While there’s thankfully no attempt whatsoever to overripen or sweeten the mix to simply appeal to the masses, this particular Pinot definitely entertains the other side of the spectrum, with some animal qualities rivaling the fruit for attention—a bit funky, with dark red fruit (raspberry, plum and redcurrant), along with leather and some integrated oak—but polished throughout. It had the sense of having already aged a decade or more, given how the tertiary notes and flavours jumped to the fore, even the following day. Having not sampled this wine before, it was sufficiently unique that I question whether my bottle may have been a touch off. Serve slightly chilled. 89