White Christmas: the 5 best white wines to give (and drink) during the festive season

The approach of Christmas each year marks a major change in people's lives, who already start scrambling to find the perfect gift and the most suitable recipes to bring to the table. When these two goals come together, gift lists are enriched with bottles of wine, to put under the tree for loved ones and friends, or to uncork with traditional recipes.

Do you want to bring a bit of liveliness and elegance to the Christmas of friends and family? Giordano Vini offers you 5 gift ideas with white wines to unwrap and drink during the festive season!

White wine for the holidays: a gift idea combining freshness and sophistication

Giving a wine for Christmas is a bit like giving a special perfume: it is a good idea, but also a risky move when you do not fully know the recipient's tastes. If, on the other hand, you are aware of what your loved ones prefer, a bottle of good quality wine is the perfect gift, characterised by an ancient history and loaded with symbolic meanings.

Bringing a white wine as a gift for Christmas, specifically, means embellishing the festivities with a hint of liveliness, expressing an affectionate wish for a new year of elegance, harmony and light-heartedness.

If you want to think of everything, you can go for white wines that are perfect for Christmas dishes, easy to pair with traditional meals, usually those with fish or delicate flavours, to be enjoyed with your loved ones!

White wine and Christmas dishes: the best pairings with these 5 gift ideas

Christmas does not only mean trays of lasagne with meat sauce and tasty red meat roasts, but also more delicate and refined flavours, such as those of fish menus, vegetarian recipes or white meat dishes. In these contexts, the best wines to give and uncork are the whites, characterised by persuasive, aromatic notes and an innate, pleasant freshness.

For a Christmas with sparklers, Giordano Vini suggests 5 unmissable labels!

1.                 Chardonnay Vigneti delle Dolomiti IGT

Every self-respecting celebration opens with an aperitif and closes with a dessert, and rich festive meals do not escape this logic either. To open a delicious Christmas menu, you need a wine capable of accompanying the majority of appetisers - whether land or sea - with a harmony that stands out sip after sip.

Among the best Italian white wines that meet this demand is the Chardonnay Vigneti delle Dolomiti IGT, a high-altitude wine that brings with it the magnificence of the South Tyrolean terroir. Finding it under the tree is a real pleasure, but it is above all a pleasure to uncork it together with a typical platter of fresh cheeses from Trentino, be it a malga goat cheese, a grilled tosella or a tasty Casolet.

It goes well with these delicacies thanks to an aromatic bouquet that mixes golden apples, exotic fruit and herbs, with a floral touch that enchants. The palate is fresh and pleasantly mineral, excellent for degreasing the mouth from the demanding textures of cheese.

2.                 Grillo Sicilia DOC

From the lofty peaks of Trentino, one travels to the marvellous Sicilian coastline to discover a white wine that makes an excellent Christmas gift idea, as well as a versatile product to pair with the typical Christmas Eve seafood dinner or the lighter dishes of Christmas lunch.

The ideal candidate to accompany these courses is the Grillo Sicilia DOC, which immediately captivates with its splendid bright straw yellow colour, mottled with golden hues. On the nose, it is no less elegant, characterised by an exotic texture and floral hints that enhance the experience, giving the senses an enveloping bouquet that matures with age.

Excellent pairings with this Christmas white wine - savoury and with a sour aftertaste - are vegetarian starters, seafood salads, cod meatballs, smoked salmon croutons, oysters or scallops.

3.                 Lugana DOC

It is not only seafood dishes that grace Christmas Eve tables, but also recipes based on lake fish, characterised by more delicate flavours and easily digestible lean meat. Trout, whitefish, perch and pike baked or stewed (or used as a base for more complex preparations such as ravioli, lasagne or cannelloni) are the ideal ingredients to bring to the table, even better if accompanied by the right wine.

When talking about the best white wines to pair with lake recipes, reference to Lugana DOC is almost a must, a product that is mainly developed along the shores of Lake Garda.

This wine with its pale colour and beautiful golden reflections gives diners an organoleptic charge that captivates, blending notes of peach, flowers, citrus and tropical fruits. Its aromatic delicacy does not, however, prevent it from displaying a bold character, through good structure and considerable body.

4.                 Vermentino di Sardegna DOC

If Christmas Eve is the perfect occasion to indulge one's passion for fish dishes - be they from the sea or the lake - lunch on 25 December is traditionally the context in which ovens and cookers give life to excellent earthy dishes.

The recipes, however, do not only include full-bodied, savoury red meats, but also slightly more delicate preparations, which go perfectly with a savoury and versatile Vermentino di Sardegna DOC.

In the glass, this wine displays an elegant straw-yellow colour that evolves into green hues, while on the nose it offers suggestions reminiscent of its native coastline. The marvellous terroir of Sardinia is reflected above all in its mineral and savoury, almost brackish notes, while on the palate the floral hints mingle with a citrus taste that lends freshness. Note the bitterish nuance on the finish, which adds complexity and pairs well with roast turkey, stewed rabbit or a tempting glazed duck breast.

5.                 Spumante Moscato

Closing this review of white wines for Christmas is a product that goes well with traditional Christmas desserts. At the end of the hearty festive meal, it is almost a must to cut a slice of pandoro or panettone, unwrap some marzipan or munch on some dried fruit biscuits. In these contexts, there is nothing better than a bubbly suitable for Christmas to accompany these sweet, enveloping scents.

Among the best white wines to give as a gift to be on the safe side is the Spumante Moscato, perfect to uncork in company either for an end of a Christmas meal or for an afternoon of chat and treats with friends.

This Piedmontese wine makes fragrance its undeniable strong point, achieved by processing the Moscato bianco variety. The fruity and floral aromas go well with winter desserts or fresh fruit, while the smooth taste and fragrant perlage provide the perfect balance of sweetness and freshness.

For Christmas presents or holiday meals, don't be caught unprepared: explore Giordano Vini's catalogue for your next purchase!