Few big holiday meats are as easy and versatile as a big, smokey, salty glazed ham. Generous in servings, not to mention leftover friendly, a ham can be easily tailored to your taste preferences and what you want to drink alongside it. There’s no getting around the savory more-ishness of the meat, but you bring an accent to it through the glaze.
What Wine Goes with Ham?
Recipe: Bourbon- and Brown Sugar–Glazed Ham
The flavor profile of this glaze goes dark and sweet. To ramp up the wine matching in the recipe below, replace the Bourbon with cider vinegar, which shares its origins with wine and so works better than big, burly Bourbon. And do have your butcher score the ham before you pierce the skin with cloves.
Winning Red Wine Pairing: Zinfandel
If you’re serving red wines, you need to bring in the big guns. Rich, fruity, fairly direct Zins—a signature grape variety—are companionable to the meat and the glaze.
Our Editors' Recommended Red Zinfandel Wines
• Ridge Three Valleys Sonoma County 2021 (92 points, $35) is an expressive Zinfandel-based blend featuring dark fruit and a white pepper accent.
• Dry Creek Zinfandel Sonoma County Heritage Vines 2021 (91 points, $28) is a hearty, berry-packed red with a smoky black pepper note.
• Carol Shelton Zinfandel Mendocino County Wild Thing Old Vine 2020 (90 points, $20) is a zesty, briary red with flavors of herb and green peppercorn.
• Find more recently rated Zins in our Wine Ratings Search.
Recipe: Honey-Glazed Ham
If you'd rather serve your meal with a white wine, this honey glaze is still sweet, but with a fragrant German profile. The recipe below also uses cider vinegar, but substitutes honey for the sugar.
Winning White Wine Pairing: Riesling
For whites, go to just about the opposite end of the spectrum with a drier-style Riesling. Germany is the heartland of Riesling, but you can also find excellent examples from around the world, including Australia, Austria, France's Alsace region and New York's Finger Lakes. Its fruit and floral aromatics play a delicate foil to the meat. Serve both a Zin and a Riesling, and I bet the favorites will share a 50-50 split.
Our Editors' Recommended Dry Rieslings
• From the Finger Lakes, Forge Riesling Seneca Lake Dry Classique 2021 (90 points, $20) is a focused white with a mix of yuzu, yellow apple, fennel and bitter almond notes.
• From Germany, Villa Wolf Riesling Pfalz 2022 (90 points, $13) is a silky white combining orchard and melon fruit, a mineral note and savory elements of earth and herbs.
• From Australia, Pewsey Vale Riesling Eden Valley Single Vineyard 2023 (89 points, $20) is a crisp white mingling prominent citrus flavors with notes of yuzu, apple, herbs and flowers.
• Find more recently rated Rieslings in our Wine Ratings Search.
How to Make Bourbon-Glazed Ham
Ingredients
- 1 whole cooked ham (about 15 pounds)
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 1 cup Dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup Bourbon (can be replaced with cider vinegar)
- Optional: 1/4 heaping cup of whole cloves, or more as needed for the size of the ham
Preparation
1. Preheat the oven to 300° F. If you're scoring the ham, use a sharp knife to cut across the surface in lines about 1 inch apart and 1/4 inch deep. Create a diagonal pattern by repeating the process while cutting in the opposite direction. Stud the ham evenly with whole cloves, if using.
2. Wrap the ham completely in aluminum foil, place in a roasting pan and cook in the oven for about 3 hours. The ham should reach an internal temperature of 140° F.
3. While the ham cooks, whisk together the brown sugar, mustard and Bourbon (or vinegar). With 20 minutes of cooking left, remove the foil from the ham and brush it with half of the glaze. Increase the oven temperature to 450° F and return the ham, uncovered, to the oven until the glaze sets (about 10 minutes). Apply a second coating and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until the glaze caramelizes nicely. Remove from the oven, carve and serve.
How to Make Honey-Glazed Ham
Ingredients
- Fully cooked uncured 1/4 ham (4 pounds)
- 1 cup cider vinegar
- 1/4 coarse-ground mustard
- 1/2 cup honey
- Dash of cayenne
- Dash of pepper
- Optional: 1/8 scant cup of whole cloves, or as needed for the size of the ham
Preparation
1. Adjust the racks in your oven, if needed, to provide enough space for the ham on the lower shelf. Preheat the oven to 325° F and pour a thin coating of water over the bottom of a roasting pan to retain moisture as the meat cooks.
2. While the oven preheats, mix cider vinegar, brown sugar, mustard, honey and spices thoroughly with a whisk—making sure the honey does not gather at the bottom of the bowl—to produce a thin, sticky glaze. To score the ham, use a sharp knife to cut across the surface in lines about 1 inch apart and 1/4 inch deep. Create a diagonal pattern by repeating the process while cutting in the opposite direction. Stud the ham evenly with whole cloves, if using.
3. Place the ham cut-side down on a plate and generously coat the exterior with the glaze, making sure some glaze seeps into the scored cuts. Place on a roasting pan cut-side down and cook for a total of 60 to 80 minutes, taking out the ham every 20 minutes to apply more glaze. (The rule of thumb is 15 to 20 minutes in the oven per pound, skewing longer if the ham is bone-in.) If you’re using a meat thermometer, the ideal internal temperature to reach is 140° F. At the end of cook time, turn the oven to broil and let the ham cook for an additional 10 minutes.
4. Remove from the oven, drizzle some additional glaze over the ham and let sit a few minutes. Serves 4.
Additional Ham and Wine Pairing Ideas
• Our advice expert, Dr. Vinny, suggests Grenache and Pinot Noir as good red wine matches for ham, and Gewürztraminer as another aromatic white alternative to Riesling. Sparkling wine is also a great choice!
• For additional pairings similar to Zinfandel and Riesling in body and flavor profile, we have a list of wines by weight here.
• We asked 11 sommeliers for their favorite pairings for holiday roasts and hams, and they suggested everything from Oregon Chardonnay to an unusual Burgundy-style blend. Check out their picks!
• Find more ham and pork recipes, with wine pairings, in our Recipe Search.
