The holiday season is in full swing and chances are, you’re serving lots of wine and good cheer to friends, family, and business associates. So what’s the proper pairing for a Partridge in a Pear Tree? Do you worry about buying the right wines for your holiday table? You’re not alone.
Wine often makes people nervous. No one wants to be exposed as a wine dilettante. It’s easy to be intimidated by what appears to be a rarified and somewhat exclusive club, made up of highly educated snobs who effortlessly mix French words into casual conversation and seem to innately understand esoteric wine terms like minerality and autolytic complexity.
As a result, people usually stick to the same old boring wines they’ve been drinking for decades, or go out on a limb and purchase terrifyingly expensive wines that they don’t know, in the hopes that their guests will be impressed with the labels, if not the wines. Take heart! There’s no need to break the bank this year and you’ll be the toast of the town.
The bottom line is, there are no “right” wines. Beauty is in the palate of the taster. Delicious wines sometimes have very little to do with the wines themselves. The best wine professionals always keep a handful of tricks conveniently up their sleeves to ensure successful holiday soirées.
Before you even consider buying wine, take a good look at your stemware. If you’re serving your guests in cheap glasses with the names of the various vineyards you’ve visited in the past 10 years, it’s time to make a change. Wine tastes better in crystal. Even a cheap wine will somehow become elevated when sipped from a crystal goblet.
Crystal is elegant and beautiful. It will make your table sparkle in the candlelight and raise the quality of the dining experience in your home from so-so to truly divine. There are many fine makers of crystal glasses in all shapes and sizes. Buy the best you can afford. Your stemware is a reflection of you. Be fabulous.
While you’re buying that new crystal stemware, go ahead and purchase a crystal decanter as well. Pouring a bottle of wine into a decanter exposes the wine to oxygen and opens up the flavors and aromas. Most wines improve markedly from decanting, the exception being very old wines, which are sometimes too fragile to be decanted.
In addition, if you are on a strict budget and have purchased inexpensive wines or wines in larger format bottles, decanting is a great way to hide the bottles from your guests. No one will consider the price of a wine being served from a stunning crystal decanter.
Seek out wines from different parts of the world. The professionals in your favorite wine shop likely have a few favorites they can share with you. Generally, the more unusual the wine, the lower the price, as demand tends to be fairly low. Look for Furmint from Hungary, Txakoli from Spain, Morellino di Scansano from Italy, or Xinomavro from Greece. You’ll find new flavors and terrific quality for a fraction of the price of a fancy brand.
Wine served too warm or too cold loses most of its endearing qualities. Many red wines are excellent served at room temperature…as long as your room is about 68 degrees Fahrenheit. As we tend to keep our homes much warmer than that, always lightly chill your reds before serving. The wine may eventually rise to the ambient temperature of the dining room but by then, your guests will already be enjoying it.
Whites, rosés, and sparkling wines are meant to be served chilled. However, if you serve them straight out ofthe fridge, they will be too cold and the delicate scents and flavors the winemaker worked so hard to achieve will be subdued. Chill your bottles lightly 15 minutes before serving in a bath of ice and water. Never put bottles in the freezer as subzero temperatures can damage wine.
Let the holidays be filled will good wine and good cheer this year. May all the joy ofthe season be yours.
Cheers!
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