The holiday season is the perfect time to break out and enjoy those special bottles that have been patiently resting in your pantry, closet, wine cellar, or, heaven forbid, atop your fridge! We often buy these special bottles with the intent to open them on some future “monumental” occasion, but then hide them away as opportunity after opportunity goes waltzing by. Many times when we do get around to opening them we find the ravages of old age have taken their toll; with the wines being a shadow of their former glory.
The lesson here is: use it or lose it. Use this time of year with family and friends to break out the “good stuff”; making memories and sharing your vinous treasures is what life is all about. Instead of; “Oh no, not Christmas dinner at Bob’s again; remember that awful wine”, let’s shoot for being the person with the wine that everyone remembers for years. You will be remembered as the “Wine Master”, the “Vino Guru”, the “King of Cabernet”, the “Man of Merlot”, the “Zen Master of Zinfandel”. Ok, that last one might be a bit over the top, but, creating wonderful experiences and memories is the point. If you don’t have any “special” bottles, no time like the present to go out and get some.
For Christmas Eve, my brother- in- law traditionally makes Caesar Salad, and a wonderfully rich and savory Soupe à l’Oignon Gratinée, aka French Onion Soup. With the Caesar salad we will drink a 2006 Auteur Hyde Vineyard Carneros Chardonnay ($44.99). This wine exhibits a crisp, refined, almost aristocratic side of California chardonnay; with aromatic hints of tropical and citrus fruit, white peach, lychee, pineapple and lemon.
In the past we’ve enjoyed Red Burgundy, or Beaujolais with the soup course, but this year it will be a 2007 Prager Gruner Veltliner Toni Bodenstein ($53.99), with its pungent orange zest, rhubarb, tobacco, wood smoke, and toasted nuts aromas, and a creamy, off- dry, invigoratingly juicy palate.
After Christmas, New Year’s is the last big bang of the year, so pull out your best Sparkling wine or Champagne. This year’s bubbly of choice will be a Grand Cru from a grand vintage, the 1996 Lenoble Blanc de Blanc ($74.99); intense, concentrated and refined, with peach, honeysuckle, toast and mineral aromas and flavors that meld beautifully with a vibrant structure and supple texture. The perfect wine to toast to your good fortune, family and friends! Happy Holidays!
