Verriq Christmas special

Wine with prawn cocktail

Prawn cocktail is a Christmas classic that appears on the Christmas menus of all five major Dutch recipe sites: prawns with lettuce and a sweetish cocktail sauce.

Wine advice

Prices are indications per bottle; they vary by shop.

Smart up to €10

Spanish sparkling wine

Cava brut

Fresh and festive.

Riesling

Mosel riesling

Fresh, with a touch of sweetness for the sauce.

Generous €10 to €25

Crémant

Crémant d’Alsace or Crémant de Bourgogne

Traditional method at a friendly price.

Off-dry riesling

Riesling Kabinett

Light and fruity, copes with the sweet sauce.

All out from €25

Champagne

Champagne brut

A classic with prawns.

English sparkling wine

English classic cuvée (traditional method)

High acidity and fine bubbles. Read more →

Why this wine?

Prawns are salty, the cocktail sauce sweetish. Sweetness makes a dry wine taste less fruity and more sour. Choose a fruity white, a wine with a touch of sweetness, or sparkling wine.

What matters here

Sweetness in food makes wine taste less sweet and fruity, and makes bitterness, acidity and alcohol stand out.
Salt makes wine softer and fuller, and less bitter or astringent: salty dishes are easy to match.

Better not

A bone-dry, austere white: next to the sweet sauce it tastes sour and thin.

← All Christmas dishes

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Sources

Verriq · Last updated: 2026-10-19