If you're cooking Californian this Christmas, my first piece of wine advice is seasonal and simple. Don't be a Scrooge. Ireland is awash with cheap and cheerless Californian wine - commercial, slightly sickly stuff that doesn't do justice to an omelette and chips, never mind a special festive dinner. Be prepared to pay a few pounds more and you'll find bottles of a different order altogether - wines that will definitely bring Californian sunshine to your festive table.
Lavish spenders may decide to skip the middle ground entirely and head straight for the heights - producers such as Ridge, Niebaum-Coppola, Kistler, Stag's Leap and Mondavi. But for a more modest outlay, it's possible to find wines with a distinctively Californian character which will harmonise beautifully with the fresh, assertive flavours of this West Coast food.
To generate a jolly mood, start with a relatively inexpensive, unserious sparkling wine such as Cuvee Napa by Mumm or the fizz from the Moet stable listed here. For the fennel salad with its punchy dressing, I suggest you avoid the obvious (Chardonnay) and instead try a Fume Blanc for a change. The Californian habit of treating Sauvignon Blanc to a bit of oak in its maturation produces a full-bodied, spicy white wine whose flavours will suit both the salad and the main course - a handy thing when you may have one or two white-only drinkers present.
For red devotees, a medium to full-bodied style with plenty of fruit and softish tannins is the answer - flexible enough to suit the vegetable dishes either on their own or with the turkey. Countless Cabernets would fit the bill perfectly; but I've also singled out a brilliantly stylish Merlot. As for the lemon-orange tart, what could match more precisely than a lighthearted orange muscat?
West coast wine list
Fun Fizz
Shadow Creek Blanc de Noirs Brut NV, Domaine Chandon (Oddbins Baggot Street, Blackrock and Clontarf, £13.99). Pour this into any relatives who complain champagne's too austere and watch them sparkle. Made by Moet's Californian arm, it's off-dry and amply fruity.
White
Fetzer Echo Ridge Fume Blanc, 1996 (widely available, usually £6.99). Ripe-grapefruit flavours, freshness and gentle spice combine in a pleasant, easy, smooth-textured white.
Beringer Napa Valley Fume Blanc, 1997 (many independent outlets countrywide, about £10). This one's much more extrovert in style - a fusion of tropical fruit flavours and massively spicy, gingery oak. Great with the kind of food outlined, but this heavyweight is not recommended for sipping on its own (unless you want to flatten the aunts and grannies early on. . .)
Red
Sebastiani Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon, 1994 (Superquinn, Mortons and Grogans Ranelagh, Dublin Wine Co Malahide, Noble Rot Navan and other outlets, usually £8.99). Modest in price but big enough in style to stand up to those exuberant main course flavours, this slightly minty red is chock full of vanilla, cassis and spice. Very tasty.
Gallo Sonoma Merlot, Northern Sonoma, 1993 (McCabes Merrion, Carvills Camden Street, Greenacres Wexford, usually about £16.49). One of a new-ish crop of wines via which the giants Gallo are proving they deserve to be taken seriously as quality winemakers. It's an absolute beauty - elegant, succulent, assured.
Dessert
Essencia Orange Muscat, Andrew Quady, 1995 (Redmonds Ranelagh, McCabes Merrion, Grapes of Mirth Rathmines, DeVine Wine Shop Castleknock, Mill Maynooth, Geraghty's Fine Wines Carlow and other outlets, half bottle usually about £7.50). Maybe not to the taste of Sauternes-drinking purists - but this zesty, orangey dessert wine will suit your American pie and your pocket.