What Wine Pairs with Christmas Cookies - Pinkies Up Ep. 4

Welcome to Pinkies Up, a series where we answer questions "normal" wine drinkers like Bridget have about wine. In this episode, we find out what wine pairs with Christmas cookies!

It's a festive time of the year, and you're probably going to be baking and eating Christmas cookies. You're also probably a little stressed from the hectic schedules, so you may want a glass of wine with your cookies. However, with so many types of cookies and so many flavors, how do you pick a wine that makes those cookies taste even better?

In this episode, we tried many different types of cookies and Holiday treats and found out that rich, sweet wines often pair the best with the sweet cookies. Here are a few of our favorite pairings:

- Peanut Brittle pairs great with Tawny Port like Offley Tawny Port.
The sweetness of peanuts and sugar needs a really sweet wine to match up. A tawny port has both sweetness along with nutty notes in the flavor profile that work excellent with this treat.

- Sugar Cookies pair well with buttery Chardonnays like Josh Reserve North Coast Chardonnay.
Sugar cookies are buttery and sweet, plus a bit of a crumbly texture in your mouth which can get dry after chewing. A rich, full bodied Chardonnay that has oak aging for buttery flavor is a perfect pairing.

- Gingerbread Cookies pair well with Gewürztraminers like Lucien Albrecht Gewürztraminer.
The spicy notes of these cookies are highlighted by the perfumed and baking spice aromas and flavors of this aromatic white wine while the sweetness in the wine helps make this dry cookie a little bit more enjoyable.

- Peppermint Cookies pair well with Australian Cabernet Sauvignon like Mitolo Jester Cabernet Sauvignon.
Peppermint's combination of sweet and peppery flavors is perfectly matched by Australian Cabernets from places in South Australia like McLaren Vale, Barossa, and Coonawarra. These are generally full bodied styles of Cabernet that have hints of menthol, mint, or eucalyptus in them. These flavor hints really bring out the best in the peppermint!

- Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies pair well with Australian Cabernet Sauvignon like Mitolo Jester Cabernet Sauvignon.
Australian Cabernet also works well with these cookies because the rich, full body and black fruit flavors of the wine is lovely with milk chocolate. The full body also helps cover up some of the chalky texture of the cookie part of this cookie.

- Shortbread Cookies pair well with Sparkling wine like Gran Passione Prosecco.
Let's face it, shortbread is a dry cookie. Pairing it with a crisp sparkling wine like a Prosecco brings a little sparkle to the match that the cookie needs. We especially like looking for an "extra dry" sparkling wine because, weirdly enough, extra dry sparkling wines have a bit more sweetness than brut sparkling wines. The little extra sugar helps the cookie a bunch!

We also tried caramel corn, fruit cake (ick ick ick), stroopwaffel, and one more surprise treat and came up with fun pairing ideas for these treats. Watch to see all of our thoughts.

Have a great Holiday season, we appreciate you tuning in! We hope this episode gave you a bit of seasonal joy! Let us know what you think of our pairing suggestions and if you have any of your own favorites by sending us an email at hello at dinnerplusdrinks dot com. 

If you like the series, please consider subscribing to our channel and leaving us a review. Pinkies Up is a part of the Dinner Plus Drinks podcast, which you can also subscribe to and follow in your favorite podcast app. We appreciate you listening and spending time with us - have a beautiful Thanksgiving and enjoy your wine!

Cheers!

Bridget & Nick