Which wines do you like for the holidays?

Which wines do you like for the holidays?

Editor's Note: Our wine columnist offers his view on some of his wine choices to enjoy with your holiday food selections. Happy pairings and happy Thanksgiving!
FINGER LAKES--Ask 100 people which wines go with holiday dining and you might get 100 different answers--and they might all be correct.
Here's my version of wines for the holiday table. You might disagree, but I am only one out of 99, so I expect that.
The holiday table is a jumble of aromas and tastes. Some wines can handle a wide variety of foods, but rarely will one wine be a perfect match for everything on that table. For example, there's turkey.
When it comes to turkey and wine three conversations take place: the one about white meat, the one about dark meat, and the one about stuffing.
The white meat of turkey pairs well with wines you might have with chicken: Chardonnay and dry Riesling are at the top of the list.
The dark meat of turkey is more of a challenge. Riesling can handle that too, but so can Gewurztraminer, and so can red wine like Cabernet Franc or Lemberger.
If the turkey is smoked, it's Riesling again, and Gewurztraminer, maybe even Pinot Noir. Sparkling wine is a possibility as well.
The challenge is in the stuffing. Stuffing recipes vary from family to family, so it's hard to even think of a blanket statement about wine with stuffing, but if mushrooms dominate, Pinot Noir might work. If Alliums dominate the stuffing--onion, garlic, leeks--Gewurztraminer might be the answer. If the stuffing is mild flavored, and almost like a bread pudding, maybe Sauvignon Blanc or Seyval.
I've had stuffing with raisins--once--and could not imagine a wine for it, but I don't care for raisins in my food.
Some families dine on smoked ham at holiday time. Once again, Riesling, but a local Cayuga White might also work, as could a fruity red like a "nouveau" style.
The biggest problem with the holiday meal is pairing wine with the side dishes. Which wine goes well with mashed potatoes? Chardonnay? Which wine for yams? Chenin Blanc? Which wine for green beans? Sauvignon Blanc? Which wine for turnips? Cayuga White? Which wine for cranberries--oh my.
The best advice I can give is to pair the wine with the dominant food on the table, whether it's turkey, ham or a vegan delight. The other best advice is to put a bunch of different wines on the table and let those 100 people each have what they want!
Other foods of course show up at holiday dinner--cheese, nuts, pies--and each can certainly find a mate in wine.
To pair wine with cheese, keep this in mind: sharp cheese does well around sweeter wine like Late Harvest and soft cheese does well with dry wine, but make that dry wine white, not red. Cheese is a fatty food; it works best with the high acidity of many white wines. If you are a diehard red wine consumer and want red with cheese, go for higher acid reds like Cabernet Franc and Pinot Noir.
Don't forget sparkling wine--it is terrific with cheese.
Nuts do well alongside high alcohol, sweet port style wines. A number of local wineries produce such wines. One winery based in Ithaca (Ports of New York) produces only port style wine.
With cheesecake, I like Vignoles, a wine that also can pair with apple pie. With pumpkin pie, semi-dry Riesling or maybe Gewurztraminer--it depends on the style of the wine.
This is my take on holiday food and wine pairing, but you don't have to take my word for it. Explore and experiment. Every wine I mentioned is produced in New York, and some are produced right next door.