You face enough stress over the holidays, so you don’t need to be worrying about wine.

Here’s a guide to choosing a great wine to complement any holiday meal — a rib roast, lamb, turkey, or even lobster.

And we’ve got good news: Picking wines this time of year is easy, because most holiday meals lack the extreme acidity or fiery spice that make it tricky to choose the right wine. This is a “wine friendly” season.

So let’s look at some classic holiday dishes and then choose some traditional and not-so-traditional wines to complement them.

It doesn’t get any more classic than a standing rib roast. It’s big and beefy, and it deserves a big wine. And by big, I mean a sturdy red wine with a touch of tannin to break down the meat’s richness. If you’re lucky enough to have Bordeaux sitting around from the 2000 vintage, bring it out now. If not, the 2001 Mondorian ($25) would do well. Still in Europe, look to Spain, especially Rioja and Ribera de Duero, for bottles such as Atteca ($18) and Abadia Retuerta Salon del Duero ($20).

If you feel like splurging, Barolos pair wonderfully with beef, especially if mushrooms are in the sauce or accompany the dish. The 2001 Batasiolo Briccolina ($75) is drinking beautifully right now, as are most Barolos from the 2001 vintage. In both price point and tannic contrast, a fine complement to the roast would be Clos Los Siete ($15), a blend heavy with Malbec tinged with Cabernet, Merlot and Syrah from Argentina

Gamier than the rib roast, and most often a dish laced with garlic and rosemary, any of the above-mentioned wines would do well with the lamb. But the adventurous at heart should head to Southern France or the American west for something special. Go for something with Grenache and/or Syrah in the mix from the Rhone Valley like the Guigal or Jaboulet Gigondas ($28) and you’ll find that the slightly sweet and just a bit jammy notes will work beautifully with the lamb. Head west and grab some Zinfandel, a wine whose exuberance, high alcohol and fruity taste will gracefully accent the lamb and its attendant spices. The current market offers a bevy of great Zinfandels. Climbing the price ladder, they’re Bogle Old Vines ($15), Ridge Geyserville ($25) and Rombauer ($50), each a fine choice for lamb.

If you hold fast to Charles Dickens, Christmas means turkey. It’s the first food choice of the newly transformed Scrooge. And probably no main course provides more wine flexibility than turkey.

For those who love white wine, bring out a Chardonnay like the Macrostie ($22), Lolonis ($20) or splurge on a bottle of Patz & Hall ($45), a butterscotch-laced beauty from Sonoma County. Want to wrinkle it up with a funky white? Then try a Spanish Albarino such as Martin Codax ($17), a slightly offbeat choice that would be like delivering the culinary equivalent of a Tim Wakefield knuckleball. The wine is dry, but not bracingly so, and holds a pleasant, peachy flavor behind a sweet stone fruit nose.

Turkey also gives you the chance to carry on the “Sideways” debate. Begin with Pinot Noir, maybe a Patton Valley ($29) from Oregon or something Burgundian from either Vincent Girardin or Louis Jadot ($20-$75) and follow it with the knockout Swanson Merlot ($32) or more moderately-priced Oberon Merlot ($20). See which grape suits you.

Far from traditional, lobster, or for that matter, big fat sea scallops, can also be the centerpiece of a Christmas table that follows the beat of a different drummer boy. And while I know that the bromide “white wine with fish, red wine with meat” is as dated as “Sex and the City,” lobster and simply prepared scallops suit my inner post-War palate.

But here’s where I mix old school with new. While the traditionalist calls for white wine, the renegade eschews Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc in favor of Riesling.

The Riesling grape is the source of some of the most sublime white wines made and, yes, they are often fairly sweet. But to me, sweet isn’t a sin, but rather a divine match with rich seafood. Rieslings offer a delicious fruity flavor and low alcohol. Or look to Germany and pair your lobster with something like the Dr. Loosen Urziger Wurzgarten Spatlese ($32) or Robert Weil Riesling Kabinett Halbtrocken ($28). These wines are delicious, and the most challenging thing about them is their names and exceptionally busy labels.

We hope these suggestions take you one step closer to a happy holiday, with no stress at your dinner party, and no plonk on your table.

Al Stankus is a wine steward at Davio’s in Park Square, in Boston. He can be reached at al@davios.com