The holidays are a magical time of year. And by “magical,” I mean that strange period when otherwise functional adults lose their minds over table settings, spend three days arguing about green bean casserole, and pretend they can taste the difference between two wines that cost under twenty bucks.
And every December, like a seasonal fungus, the “perfect pairing” people pop up again. You’ve seen them. They’re always hovering near the cheese board, swirling a glass of wine like they’re auditioning for a perfume commercial, whispering things like, “The brine really enhances the minerality.” Meanwhile, you’re just trying to sneak a second deviled egg without judgment.
Let me save you the suspense: there is no such thing as a perfect food and drink pairing. If there were, humanity wouldn’t have survived this long drinking boxed wine with pizza and whatever beer was coldest with whatever food was closest. That’s the system that built civilization. Not sommeliers. Not tasting notes. Not the cult of charcuterie boards with meats folded into delicate flower shapes. Civilization was built on convenience.
But fine, it’s the holidays. People like to pretend we live in a world where the etiquette police roam the streets with breathalyzers and cheese thermometers, waiting to knock on your door because you paired turkey with a beer. Good news: nobody’s coming. Serve whatever you want. Serve tap water and Pop-Tarts if it makes you happy. The only important rule is: does this taste good to you? If the answer is yes, congratulations, you’re already a master of the so-called “art” of pairing.
Still, some combinations really do hit the spot—especially when they come from the place you call home. Drink local, eat local, support the people who freeze half their anatomy off growing grapes in unpredictable climates for your holiday enjoyment.
So here they are: four local food and drink pairings that actually work, not because some expert said so, but because they taste good, they make sense, and they help distract you from the family argument brewing in the next room.
Pour yourself something. Let’s begin.
1. Oysters + Dr. Konstantin Frank 2021 Brut: A Bubbly Way to Prove You Have Good Taste Without Actually Trying
Nothing says “the party has started” like popping open a bottle of sparkling wine. It’s dramatic, loud, and slightly dangerous—everything the holidays aspire to be. And if you really want to send a message, pair those bubbles with oysters.
Now, oysters are already controversial. Half the table sees a briny delicacy; the other half sees something that looks like it should be thrown back into the ocean and apologized to. But sparkling wine? That’s a crowd-pleaser—light, bright, refreshing, and guaranteed to make even your grumpiest relative exhale through their nose in approval.
The Dr. Konstantin Frank 2021 Brut is the real deal. It’s a blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier—grapes with names that sound like private-school students who bully other, weaker grapes. The wine is crisp, electric, and flavorful enough to stand up to seafood. Oysters, shrimp, lobster, fried fish—hell, fried anything. You could pair this bottle with fried cardboard and it would still taste fantastic.
And if you haven’t tried sparkling wine with French fries? You need to reconsider your entire life philosophy. Just stop what you’re doing and fix that mistake. Immediately. There are few joys more pure than a salty fry dipped in bubbles. It’s the closest thing to spa therapy you can experience while holding a grease-stained bag.
This wine comes from a Finger Lakes operation famous for planting the first Vitis vinifera grapes in New York State. Translation: they’re wine pioneers. Trailblazers. The people who looked at a cold, inhospitable region and said, “You know what this needs? Grapes.” That’s ambition.
If you’re trying to elevate your holiday feast without becoming one of those obnoxious tasting-note people, this pairing is your golden ticket.
Holiday translation:
Bubbles + brine = delightful distraction from uncomfortable family conversations.
2. Turkey + Tree House Brewing’s Julius: Because Sometimes the Bird Needs an IPA to Make Sense
Turkey is the most overrated bird on the planet. Every year, people obsess over cooking methods—brining, basting, deep-frying, dry-brining, reverse-searing, stuffing, unstuffing, tying it up like a hostage, roasting it upside down, roastings its aura—as if any of this will make the thing taste like something other than a mildly seasoned towel.
But pair it with the right drink and suddenly turkey becomes interesting.
Enter Julius, the tropical IPA from Tree House Brewing, now in Saratoga. This stuff doesn’t play around. It’s bold enough to cut through turkey’s rich (or dry, let’s be honest) personality without turning your mouth into a hops cemetery. Better yet, it’s been known to convert people who swear they hate IPAs into believers.
It’s like the gateway drug of hoppy beer—but, you know, happy and legal.
The secret? Flavor. Actual flavor. It’s tropical, citrusy, smooth, and balanced. Turkey needs all of these things. Turkey is basically a blank canvas—a dry, bird-shaped void waiting to be rescued. Julius swoops in like a flavor superhero, a caped crusader of citrus, giving the meat something to bounce off of.
And if turkey isn’t your thing, this beer plays beautifully with vegetarian dishes, too. Think acorn squash baked with wild rice and pecans. A dish that says, “I care about flavor, but I also compost.”
Add this beer, and suddenly everything feels intentional.
Holiday translation:
This IPA will not only help your turkey taste better—it’ll make the entire feast seem planned instead of panicked.
3. Cheese + Arrowood Farm Distillery’s Single Barrel Bourbon: A Pairing for Adults Who Aren’t Afraid of Flavor or Responsibility
Let’s get something straight: ending a holiday meal with cheese is a power move. It’s classy without being pretentious. It’s comforting without being childish. It says, “I have taste, I have restraint, and I’m not about to eat a third slice of pie and pass out on the couch like the rest of you.”
A good cheese spread is fantastic—and New York cheesemakers are knocking it out of the park. Chaseholm Farm, Four Fat Fowl, Old Chatham, Lively Run Dairy. These folks are crafting cheeses that could make a grown adult weep.
But what do most people pair cheese with? Wine. Of course. Because someone on TV told them to. But you know what pairs even better? Bourbon.
Arrowood Farm Distillery’s Single Barrel Bourbon is the winner here. This is bourbon with character, made from heirloom corn, rye, and barley grown locally, then aged in Adirondack oak. Adirondack oak, by the way, is the kind of phrase that makes people think you know what you’re talking about even if you don’t.
This bourbon is smoky, rich, and layered with flavors like candied black cherries. It’s elegant without being delicate, bold without being abrasive. It stands up to everything a cheese plate can throw at it—sharp cheddar, funky blues, creamy brie, goat cheese that tastes like it just yelled at you.
Bourbon and cheese together create a moment. A moment that says, “Yes, the holidays are stressful. Yes, I’ve listened to my relatives argue about politics again. But right now? I am at peace.”
Holiday translation:
Serve this pairing if you want to end the meal feeling satisfied instead of comatose.
4. Pumpkin Pie + Nine Pin’s Imperial Cider: Your Dessert Just Found Its Soulmate
Most people want sweetness at the end of a meal. Even if they claim they don’t, give them a dessert and watch their eyes light up like children on sugar crack. So pair your dessert with something that knows how to complement it, not fight it.
Nine Pin’s Imperial Cider is that something.
This cider is big. Bold. Full-bodied. It practically bursts with fruit-forward goodness thanks to local high-sugar apples like Gold Rush and Harrison—apple varieties that sound like they should be starring in a 1950s Western. It has notes of toffee and baking spices, making it the perfect companion to anything your oven produces.
Pumpkin pie? Perfect.
Chocolate mousse? Divine.
A berry tart? Delightful.
A dessert you bought last-minute from a grocery store because you forgot you were responsible for bringing something? This cider will still make it taste intentional.
It’s the holiday equivalent of showing up late to the party but bringing gifts so good everyone forgives you.
And the beauty of cider is that it doesn’t pretend to be more complicated than it is. It’s not swirling itself in a crystal glass. It’s not lecturing you on tannin structure or the moral virtue of French oak. It’s here for a good time, and it doesn’t need a PhD in viticulture to justify its existence.
Holiday translation:
Your dessert deserves a partner that won’t overshadow it or bore it. This cider is that partner.
The Myth of the Perfect Pairing (Spoiler: It’s You)
After all this talk of oysters, turkey, cheese, bourbon, pie, beer, and cider, it’s time for a reality check.
The perfect pairing is not a bottle. It’s not a plate. It’s not a flavor profile described by a person wearing a scarf indoors.
The perfect pairing is you and your people, gathered around a table, eating food, drinking something, and making memories—good or bad. Preferably good, but let’s be honest: the bad ones are way more entertaining in the long run.
The holidays aren’t about achieving some culinary ideal that only exists on social media. They’re about connection. Laughter. Arguing with the same three people you argue with every year. Realizing someone burned the rolls again. Discovering that you enjoy pairing sparkling wine with potato chips more than with oysters. Learning that your cousin who hates all beer actually loves Julius. Watching someone’s face light up because cheese and bourbon together is the greatest revelation since indoor plumbing.
Pairings don’t have to follow rules. They don’t need approval. They only need one thing: joy. If it brings joy, it’s right.
So drink local, eat what you like, share the table with people who matter to you, and let the holiday chaos swirl around you like a festive tornado. You can’t control any of it. But you can control what’s in your glass.
Happy pairing—whatever that means to you.