Wine with Christmas Cookies!!

Written by Maureen Bayer, CS, CSW, CWP

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! With Christmas just around the corner there will be cookie exchanges and desserts galore! So rather than binge eating that cookie tin, let’s have a little fun and try some pairings! Leaving out the right glass of wine for Santa is sure to get you on the nice list rather than a glass of milk. 

Ginger Bread Cookie – Thousand Islands Winery Riesling

We will start with a classic holiday cookie, the ginger bread cookie. Whether you are decorating a little cookie man or building a house out of frosting and gummies, ginger bread is the ultimate holiday cookie. Riesling pairs well with many Asian cuisines and what is a primary ingredient there? GINGER! The slight sweetness in the wine contrasts perfectly with the spice coming from the ginger. The Thousand Islands Winery Riesling is a New York State wine that falls into the sweet section of the IRF scale but can still be enjoyed by drier wine drinkers. The citrus and apricot in the wine bring out the nutmeg and cinnamon in the cookie. Why does this pairing work? The sweetness of the cookie tames the sweetness in the wine.

Peanut Butter Kisses – DOW’S Late Bottles Vintage Porto 2007

Peanut Butter Kisses are my all time favorite cookie! There is something special about the chocolate and peanut butter combination that just seems heavenly. Port is an excellent choice of wine to go with desserts because it is going to be sweeter than the food. This way the sweetness in the food is not masking the sweetness in the wine. The DOW’s LBV Porto is expressing its dried fruit characteristics that pair well with the chocolate kiss in the center of the cookie, while the nutty and oxidative notes will pair with the peanut butter cookie. 

Butter Cookies – Peirano Estate Vineyards Chardonnay

The category of butter cookie includes tea cookies, shortbread cookies, and spritz cookies. As you can imagine the primary ingredient in these cookies is butter! The Peirano Estate Vineyards Chardonnay is coming from Lodi, California. This Chardonnay is made in both French and American oak giving it flavors of vanilla and grilled pineapple that will pair with the simple butter cookie. It also goes through 50% malolactic fermentation giving it a creamier texture and a toasted buttery flavor to match the butter cookie. 

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies – Francis Ford Coppola Winery Pitagora

The chocolate crinkle cookies are a very rich treat covered in powdered sugar. The Pitagora Red Wine Blend is primarily Syrah but also has Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Petite Sirah. This red blend gets its fruit from a variety of locations in Sonoma California including Dry Creek Valley, Alexander Valley, and Knights Valley. Each grape adds a different component to the wine; it has everything from floral notes to spicy aspects with dark fruit and a high tannin backbone. This bold red blend can measure up to to the rich chocolate crinkle cookie.

Snowball Cookies – Santa Cristina Pinot Grigio

Snowball cookies can be a variety of things to different people, some people would call them Russian Tea Cookies, others the Italian Wedding Cookie, to me they are snowballs. They are a relatively neutral cookie and may even fall into the butter cookie category but they are covered in powdered sugar and have chopped walnuts or almonds in them, depending on your recipe. The Santa Cristina Pinot Grigio is coming from the Delle Venezie region in Italy. It is a fairly neutral wine with flavors of green apple and citrus (classic white wine description am I right?!?) but these cookies will bring out a slight nuttiness in the wine. 

Sugar Cookie – Chloe Prosecco DOC

Sugar cookies another basically neutral cookie shared at Christmas time! These are great because you can decorate them as ornaments, trees, snowmen, Santa, etc, etc. Since the cookie itself is rather neutral the frosting is the key pairing, whether you do a butter cream topping or almond frosting it will pair with BUBBLES! The Chloe Prosecco is a DOC wine from Italy. This fresh and fruity sparkling wine will prepare your palate for each bite of that delicious sugar cookie.