Relief from
Holiday Stress
‘Tis
the season, so, our November tasting is geared toward helping you with your
Holiday planning. For an American Wine
Society member, getting ready for “Sparkle Season” means more than just
putting together gift lists for loved ones and family, it also means stocking
up on the wines that you’ll be taking along to holiday parties, family events,
and festive occasions. Among
other things, that means the rules of wine buying are rewritten: We're not just
buying for ourselves, which is difficult enough, but we're buying for friends
and family.
Somehow,
during this holiday chaos, we're supposed to be able to choose something fantastic.
With that in mind, here are some wines for the winter holidays.
Thanksgiving Dinner: Pinot Noir
Thanksgiving calls for a special red
wine that will pair well with turkey and the traditional side dishes of the
season, including cranberry sauce. A great option would be Pinot Noir,
especially one from Oregon or Sonoma. While there are plenty of great Pinot
Noir options from France, this is an American holiday! So, bring a real
crowd-pleaser that everyone can enjoy. There’s always time to enjoy a glass of
Beaujolais Nouveau over the next few days when you and your family are enjoying
Turkey Day leftovers.
Friendsgiving Dinner: Shiraz
Unlike Thanksgiving, which is more
of a formal affair, Friendsgiving is a low-key event. You want an understated
wine that’s nice enough to share with friends, but not too fancy. So why not
bring along a bottle of Shiraz from Australia? Look for bottles from Barossa
Valley, one of the most renowned winemaking regions of Australia when it comes
to Shiraz.
Holiday
party with the family: Barbera
If you’re like most people, you’ll
be traveling during the holidays in order to get together with relatives, close
family, and friends. And you’ll want to have a go-to bottle of wine for the
occasion. This is a wine that should pair well with any of the big holiday
feasts, such as Thanksgiving or Christmas, and offer enough of a compromise so
that it appeals to as many people in your family as possible. With that in
mind, the perfect choice for a holiday party with the family is an affordable,
versatile Barbera. For good reason, Barbera has been called “the ultimate party
wine.” It offers the right mix of fruit and spice notes to pair well with
traditional holiday meals.
Holiday
party with co-workers: Etna Rosso
Sicily’s Etna Rosso has been experiencing
a real surge in popularity, so one way of showing your co-workers that AWS members
are completely on-trend is by bringing a bottle of Etna Rosso to your next
corporate office party. Etna Rosso is very similar to Pinot Noir, in that it
has flavors and aromas of ripe red fruit. And the very drinkable Etna Rosso has
a bright and refreshing finish, which makes it suitable for any festive
occasion. Best of all, Etna Rosso comes with a very compelling backstory that
you can share with co-workers: the vineyards used to produce Etna Rosso are
aligned along the sides of an active volcano in northeastern Sicily!
Holiday dessert: Port
Sweet dessert wines may be an
acquired taste for many, but one classic that pairs extremely well with
everything from blue cheese to chocolate is Port from (where else?) Portugal.
If you’re looking for a more complex flavor, look for bottles marked LBV (for
Late Bottled Vintage).
Holiday
gift idea: Cabernet Sauvignon
When it comes to giving gifts around
the holidays, it’s always best to go for the classics. You can’t go wrong with
a Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Even casual wine lovers will appreciate the
extra care that goes into selecting a wine from California’s most famous wine
region.
Holiday
gift idea: Moscato
Moscato is one wine varietal that is
trending bigly right now, as sweet wines are experiencing a surge in
popularity. So why not opt for the very best Moscato wines in the world? Those
are the ones produced in Italy’s exclusive Asti wine region. In comparison with
the typical under $10 Moscato wines available for sale in “beverage wine”
section of the State Store, a Moscato D’Asti wine is richer and nuanced, but
still sweet, fresh and low in alcohol.
Feast
of the Seven Fishes: Chardonnay
During the holidays, red wines tend
to outsell white wines, and for good reason: many of the traditional holiday
meals pair best with a bottle of red. But there is one festive occasion when it
is possible to bring along a bottle of white, and that’s the Feast of the Seven
Fishes. To accompany all the seafood dishes, you’ll want to choose a versatile
white such as Chardonnay, which is a proven crowd-pleaser.
The Festivus Dinner: Cabernet
Sauvignon or Merlot
Everyone is invited to Festivus
dinner! The modest meal traditionally consists of sliced meatloaf on a bed of
lettuce, with a dish of peas on the side. Our favorite choice would either be a
medium-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon, or Merlot with a bit of spiciness to
it. Meatloaf tends to
be a little dry and sometimes bland, so these two wines will add a bit of flavor and depth. Remember: Don’t eat
anything that ever wore feathers!
Christmas Dinner: Valpolicella
Choosing a great Christmas wine is
different than choosing a great Thanksgiving wine. The weather is colder, the
meals are getting heavier, and people naturally gravitate to big red wines. One
option is Valpolicella, which stands up well to most holiday meals, thanks to
its structure. But it won’t overpower any of the dishes that Grandma has spread
out on the table. The Valpolicella DOC wines have notes of plums, cherries,
dark chocolate, black fruit, and spices.
Kwanzaa: Rosé
During Kwanzaa dinners, many eat
soul food from the American south, or African dishes. If you’re enjoying soul food, consider a
sparkling rose wine, Gewurztraminer, or something with a little acidity to cut
through the gravy. For spicy African foods, try a sweet wine to
balance out the savory flavors in the meal. Whatever you do, stay away from
high tannin reds if your Kwanzaa meal will include greens. You don’t want to
match bitter with bitter, it just never works
New
Year’s Eve: Champagne
Ok, this one is a no-brainer. You
simply can’t go wrong with a bottle of Champagne for New Year’s. But just keep
in mind that, if you are planning on enjoying a sparkling wine throughout a
long holiday meal, then you might also want to consider Cava (from Spain) or
Prosecco (from Italy). You can then save the champagne for a celebratory toast
at midnight.
Of course, these are just suggested
wines. With any of them, there are plenty of substitutes. For example, you
could easily swap out a bottle of Chardonnay for a bottle of Viognier, or a
bottle of Barbera for a Rhône GSM (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre) blend. In many
ways, that’s what makes wine so interesting. As soon as you think you know the
“perfect wine” for a particular occasion, along comes a wine from a completely
different part of the world that tastes even better.
So, as you start to put together
your gift lists for the holiday season, take some time to consider which wines
it might be worth stocking up on in advance. You won’t have to worry about
picking out a great wine at the last minute, and you might just impress your
family members (or significant other) with your knowledge of wine.
