Wine and Christmas capon: a critical question as the holidays approach. If you don’t know what wine to pick with a Christmas capon, you could make a serious mistake. That mistake will hurt the quality of your meal but it’ll also force you to wait until next year to suggest a new wine (if your family still trusts you with the bottle). To save you from those slip-ups, we’ve put together a selection of the best pairings for capon. Capon is a castrated, fattened rooster with particularly fine and tender flesh. It’s the Christmas-meal benchmark. With these tips, you’ll wow the whole family this holiday season.
Christmas capon and red wine
Red wine usually pairs very well with capon. This meat isn’t the hardest to match. With tender flesh and a fine flavour, capon goes with many wines. So we’d recommend reds with discreet tannins. They’re perfect for highlighting the meat’s finesse: wines that are too tannic could feel unpleasant against the flesh. Don’t worry, the wine choice with capon is wide enough that you have little chance of getting it wrong.
Which Burgundy with capon?
Burgundy is a perfect region for finding wines that go with Christmas capon. Many Burgundies will pair with capon. In particular, you can lean toward a Mercurey, a Côtes de Beaune, a Chambolle-Musigny, Santenay, Vosne-Romanée, Aloxe-Corton or a Fixin.
Which Bordeaux with capon?
You can drink a red Bordeaux with capon. Just be careful to choose a wine that has aged with tannins that have evolved nicely. By storing your wine well, you can pull out very lovely bottles and treat your guests. Saint Emilion or Pomerol fit perfectly in vintages of at least ten years. Don’t forget to decant your wine.
Rhône wine and Christmas capon
In food and wine pairings with capon, don’t forget the Rhône Valley. A Châteauneuf du Pape will be a major ally. You can also lean toward a Côtes du Rhône Villages or a Gigondas. To finish, a Chiroubles in Beaujolais could reveal absolutely interesting aromas that will delight your guests’ palates.
Capon and white wine
Poultry pairs extremely well with white wine (it’s true for white wine and chicken, for example). With capon, you can build sumptuous pairings with a white. In that case, our recommendations are: a Meursault and a Chablis 1er cru (less expensive than the first). Such a pairing works particularly well if your capon was cooked in fat. Lean toward a fresh wine with lovely acidity. The freshness will fully lift the dish.
You can also choose a sweet white with capon. At first glance, you might think it’s a dim idea. But in reality, if you cooked a capon with oranges or figs, a sweet wine can be a beautiful idea. In that case, the obvious pick is a Sauternes (preferably not too old).
What wine to pair with a stuffed capon?
Wine and stuffed capon make excellent partners, especially at Christmas. In a few words, here are some pairings with stuffed capon:
- An Alsace pinot noir
- A Châteauneuf du Pape, white or red (Rhône Valley)
- A Chinon (Loire)
- A white Hermitage
With stuffed capon, we’d recommend Rhône, Burgundy or Loire wines. Choose reds that are fairly fruity with discreet tannins. There’s no doubt that Gamay or Pinot Noir, two French grape varieties, will work wonders. For whites, the Côte de Beaune, Rhône wines and vin jaune will be incredible partners.
What wine to pair with capon in vin jaune?
Christmas capon in vin jaune is an absolute delight. To pair capon in vin jaune, you can choose:
- A vin jaune - Côtes du Jura
- An Arbois red
- A Montrachet red
- A Chénas red
- A Riesling
- A white from Beaune, in Burgundy
You can find a delicious capon in vin jaune recipe that will let you wow your guests.
And there you have it, you now know everything about pairings with Christmas capon. You have a few days, maybe a few hours left to do your shopping. We hope this article helped you choose your wine. Before tasting that wine, don’t forget to decant it: it’ll bring you maximum joy.
