Ham is a trickier holiday main to pair with wine. Most holiday ham preparations are often fairly salty, often sweet from a glaze, or sometimes smoky, and almost always rich, and sometimes all of these qualities are present at once. Many big, bold red wines that people traditionally reach for at the holiday table will actually clash with these types of ham preparations. The good news is that the right wines are easy to find, with plenty of affordable options and many crowd-pleasing choices - which is exactly what you want when you're hosting.
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Quick Answer
Fruit-forward, low-tannin wines with good acidity are the best choices for most holiday ham recipes. That means off-dry Riesling, pinot noir, Beaujolais, dry rosé, sparkling wine, and Chenin Blanc. For ham with a spiced or brown sugar glaze, a fruit-forward Zinfandel can also work well. Avoid heavily tannic red wines such as Cabernet Sauvignon, which can taste metallic, bitter, or simply off against ham's innate saltiness.
Why Ham is Tricky to Pair
If you've ever tried to pair a wine with ham and found the combination to be either off or downright unpleasant, you aren't alone. Here are three reasons that ham is a trickier pairing than most other holiday main courses:
- Salt: Ham is cured, and that makes it salty almost as a rule. Salt makes tannic wines taste harsher and more bitter, and that's why a big Cabernet Sauvignon or a Chianti will feel off with ham.
- Sweetness: Most traditional holiday hams are prepared with a glaze, and these glazes are often heavy on honey, brown sugar, maple syrup, pineapple, fruit preserves, or some combination thereof. Thus, a bone-dry wine can taste thin or even sour when served alongside such a sweet glaze. Wines with ripe fruit, or a touch of residual sugar, will hold up much better.
- Smoke: Many hams are smoked, which works to add a savory depth that pairs well with earthy or fruity wines, but very poorly with heavily oaked wines.
With all of that said, the wines that work best at managing all three of these qualities have the following characteristics: enough fruit to match the glaze, enough acidity to cut through the richness, and low enough tannins to avoid clashing with the salt.
The Best Wines for Ham
- Off-Dry Riesling: This is the classic pairing for ham, and for good reason. It has a touch of sweetness that nicely mirrors the usual ham glaze; its bright acidity cuts through the ham's richness, and its fruit notes help to balance out the salt. German Kabinett or Spätlese, or an off-dry Riesling from Washington State or New York, are all excellent choices for all of the most popular ham preparations.
- Pinot Noir: The most reliable red wine for ham is easily pinot noir. It is a light-bodied, low-tannin red, with notes of bright red fruit and a subtle earthiness that complements smoked ham beautifully. Oregon, Burgundy, and California pinot noir are all great choices.
- Beaujolais: Produced from gamay grapes, Beaujolais is a wine often best described as fruit-forward and juicy in character. It is also very low in tannins. It also happens to be, in my opinion, one of the most underrated holiday wines since it is affordable, food-friendly, and delicious when slightly chilled. Look for Beaujolais-Villages or a Cru Beaujolais like Morgon or Fleurie.
- Dry rosé: Rosé has the acidity of white wine with the red-fruit character of red wine. This makes it, in my opinion, one of the most flexible wines for a holiday table. It is especially good at spring holiday meals like Easter.
- Chenin Blanc: An off-dry Vouvray from France's Loire Valley is an excellent pairing alongside ham. It has honeyed fruit notes, bright acidity, and enough body to handle the ham's richness.
- Sparkling Wine: Cava, Prosecco, Champagne, and Crémant can all work well. The bubbles and acidity work to cleanse the palate between bites and cut through the richness. For a festive, unorthodox choice, try a dry or off-dry Lambrusco, which is a sparkling red from Italy that's excellent with cured pork but will also work nicely with a glazed ham.
- Zinfandel: For hams with a bold, spiced, or brown sugar glaze, a fruit-forward Zinfandel works excellently, as it stands up to both sweetness and spice very well. Choose a zinfandel with moderate alcohol, since zinfandel with very high alcohol can taste hot when paired alongside salty food - and most hams are quite salty.
- Gewürztraminer: Slightly sweet and very aromatic, with notes of lychee and spice, Gewürztraminer is especially good with hams glazed with cloves, cinnamon, or other warming spices.
Pairings by Glaze
- Honey or Brown Sugar Glaze: Off-dry Riesling, a fruit-forward pinot noir, or Chenin Blanc.
- Pineapple Glaze: Off-dry Riesling or Gewürztraminer are the best options. The tropical fruit and acidity of these wines deliciously mirror the pineapple in the glaze.
- Maple Glaze: Pinot Noir or Beaujolais. The wines' earthy essence and red fruit notes play very well with the maple's depth.
- Mustard or Savory Herb Glazes: A dry rosé is what you're looking for if the glaze is mustard-based or has lots of savory herbs. You can also opt for a pinot noir or a crisp sparkling wine.
- Spiced Glazes (Cloves, Cinnamon, Allspice): If the glaze has a lot of warm spices, such as cloves, cinnamon, or allspice, you want to reach for a Gewürztraminer or a Zinfandel. That, or serve a different beverage.
- Cherry or Fruit Preserve Glaze: Pinot Noir, Lambrusco, or Beaujolais. What we're looking to do here is to echo the glaze with the wine.
- Unglazed or Lightly Smoked Ham: Opt for a pinot noir, sparkling wine, or a dry rosé.
Wines to Avoid
- Tannic Reds: Structured red wines are simply not good choices for ham. That means avoid Cabernet Sauvignon, Barolo, Bordeaux, and other structured red wines. These will taste bitter or metallic with ham due to the salt content.
- Heavily Oaked Chardonnay: Flavors of oak and butter will almost always compete with the ham's glaze and smoke rather than complementing them. Avoid oaked wines and wines with notes of butter.
- Very dry, very light white wines: A lean Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc will taste thin alongside a sweet glaze and rich ham.
Serving Wine for a Holiday Crowd
- Offer One White and One Red: An off-dry Riesling and a Pinot Noir will cover nearly every guest's preference and nearly every type of ham preparation. If ham is on the menu, you can't go wrong with this combo.
- Or Choose One Crowd-Pleaser: If you only want to open one type of wine, or are serving a crowd that perhaps has a particular preference, my recommendation would be to reach for a dry rosé or a sparkling wine, as these work with most ham recipes and with most holiday sides.
- Plan Quantities: Allow for roughly half a bottle per wine-drinker for a dinner, plus a little extra for toasts.
- Mind the Temperature: Serve white wines, rosé wines, and sparkling wines well chilled. Pinot noir and Beaujolais taste best slightly cool, around 55-60 degrees F. Twenty minutes in the fridge before serving does the trick nicely.
What About the Sides?
Holiday hams usually share the table with sides like green beans, scalloped potatoes, sweet potatoes, rolls, and glazed carrots. In each case, the wines recommended above, especially Pinot Noir, Riesling, and rosé, are food-friendly enough to handle the entire spread, which is another reason they're such good holiday choices, especially for hams.
Bottom Line
For a holiday ham, choose fruit-forward, low-tannin wines with good acidity. That means off-dry Riesling and Pinot Noir are the most reliable pairings. Beaujolais, dry rosé, chenin blanc, and sparkling wines are also excellent choices. Match the wine to the glaze, skip the big, structured tannic reds, and you'll have a delicious pairing that makes both the ham and the wine shine together.
For more on wine, check out our articles on How Cold Should White Wine Be Served and How Long Does Opened Wine Last, as well as our take on Pinot Noir vs Merlot.
Cheers!
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