Wine with Christmas food
Ribbe, and what to drink with it
On Christmas Eve most Norwegian homes serve ribbe: roast pork belly with crackling, red cabbage, sauerkraut and prunes. It is a harder match for wine than it looks. Here are the styles that survive the table, and where they are made.
13 November 20265 min read
Picolo Editorial
In short: wine with ribbe
Choose a fresh, fruity white, ideally a riesling from Germany or Alsace, or a chenin blanc from the Loire. For red, a mature Rioja Reserva or a juicy pinot noir works. The sweet side dishes make wine taste sharper and thinner, so acidity and fruit matter more than weight. To taste Rioja where it is made, Hotel Marqués de Riscal in Elciego is our first choice.
Last checked: November 2026.
What is ribbe?
Ribbe is a slab of pork belly, ribs left in, scored and roasted until the skin turns to crackling. Norwegians eat it on 24 December, the main day of Christmas in Norway. Around it come sweet red cabbage, sauerkraut with caraway, prunes, apples and medisterkaker, small pork meatballs.
Why is ribbe hard to pair?
The pork is not the problem. The side dishes are. Red cabbage, sauerkraut, prunes and apples are sweet, and sweetness on the plate makes the wine taste sharper and thinner. Vinmonopolet, Norway's state wine retailer, recommends wines with clear fruit and some acidity. The acidity cuts the fat, and the fruit stands up to the sugar.
The big oaked reds that suit a steak tend to fall over here, turning hard and bitter next to the sauerkraut. Vinmonopolet goes as far as saying white wine and beer are generally easier to match than red.
White wine with ribbe
Riesling from the Mosel, the Pfalz or Alsace
Riesling is the grape most wine people reach for. It has high acidity, notes of apple and citrus, and often a touch of sweetness that meets the sweetness on the plate. The Mosel is the valley in western Germany where vines grow in slate so steep they are picked by hand. Alsace, across the Rhine in France, makes drier and fuller riesling.
See our guide to the Mosel wine region.
Chenin blanc from the Loire
Chenin blanc brings apple and quince, dry or off-dry. It comes from the Loire valley and from South Africa. Pick an off-dry bottle if the table is heavy on sauerkraut.
Red wine with ribbe
Rioja Reserva and Gran Reserva
A mature Rioja spends years in oak and bottle before release. The fruit moves towards dried fruit, leather and nuts, and the tannins soften, which makes it one of the safest reds for ribbe. Rioja is the wine region along the River Ebro in northern Spain, a little over an hour's drive from Bilbao.
See our Rioja wine guide.
Pinot noir
Low in tannin and full of red fruit. Vinmonopolet singles out Californian pinot noir, but a juicy Burgundy or New Zealand bottle follows the same logic.
Beer and cider
Norwegian Christmas beer, juleøl, is the classic. Lighter beers often work better: kellerbier, Czech pilsner or a pale abbey beer. A Norwegian or English craft cider suits a table full of apples and prunes.
Taste the wine where it is made
Rioja is the easiest of these regions to reach from Britain: fly to Bilbao, hire a car and drive south through the mountains. In Elciego, the Marqués de Riscal estate has cellars dating from 1858 and a hotel designed by Frank Gehry, the architect of the Guggenheim in Bilbao.
Picolo picks the hotel for you
Picolo is the hotel guest's best friend. We take on the role of guide and do the work before you book: we look at the hotels in the area, where they stand, what guests say and what is actually there. Then we choose the one hotel that suits this particular trip best. In Rioja the choice fell on Marqués de Riscal, which stands next door to the bodega that has aged wine since 1858.
Our first choice in Rioja
Hotel Marqués de Riscal
Hotel Marqués de Riscal stands among the vines at Elciego, and its rippling titanium roof in pink, gold and silver is visible long before you arrive. The bodega next door has been ageing wine since 1858, so the cellar tour begins a few minutes from your room. After the tasting there is the spa, where treatments are built around grapes and wine. Dinner comes with a view over the vineyards and the village church.
Frequently asked questions about wine with ribbe
What wine goes best with ribbe?
A fresh, fruity white wine works best, and riesling from Germany or Alsace is the safest choice. The acidity cuts through the fat, and the fruit holds up against the sweet red cabbage and prunes. If you prefer red, choose a mature Rioja Reserva or a juicy, low-tannin pinot noir.
What do Norwegians eat for Christmas dinner?
Most Norwegians eat ribbe, roast pork belly with crackling, on Christmas Eve, 24 December. The second favourite is pinnekjøtt, salted and dried lamb ribs, popular in western Norway. Both come with sweet and sour side dishes, and both are served in many Oslo restaurants through December.
Can you drink red wine with ribbe?
Yes, but choose carefully. Heavy, oaky reds often turn hard and bitter next to sauerkraut and red cabbage. A mature Rioja Reserva or Gran Reserva, with soft tannins and dried-fruit flavours, works better, as does a pinot noir with plenty of fruit and little tannin.
Where can you visit Rioja wineries?
Rioja lies along the River Ebro in northern Spain and is easiest to reach by flying to Bilbao and hiring a car. The villages of Elciego, Laguardia and Haro have bodegas offering tours and tastings, most by reservation. Our Rioja wine guide shows where to begin.
Sources
The pairing advice draws on Vinmonopolet's guide to drinks with ribbe. Details on Marqués de Riscal come from the estate's website and the hotel's own pages. The photograph of the vineyards at Samaniego is by Daniel563 and the one of Elciego by Imamon, both via Wikimedia Commons. Hotel photographs are from Hotels.com (Expedia Group). Last checked November 2026.
Salud from Rioja
Picolo Editorial