Deck the tables with reds and whites
Nothing helps soothe a potentially fractious holiday dinner like a fine vintage. Agree? So do we, which is why we asked Natalie MacLean, author of Red, White, and Drunk All Over: A Wine-Soaked Journey from Grape to Glass, for her selections.
Christmas: The bird is in the oven
Of course, holiday turkey dinner is much more than just turkey: It’s stuffing, cranberry sauce, spicy sage and thyme stuffing, mashed potatoes, creamed onions, sweet potatoes, squash, gravy and a host of traditional family recipes. Finding one wine to accompany all of these hearty flavours is enough to make even diehard oenophiles throw up their hands.
Whites: Try the 2006 Jackson Triggs Proprietors’ Grand Reserve Riesling Niagara ($17), with refreshing aromas of grapefuit and lime, or the 2005 Conundrum Napa Valley ($29), an alluring white with stunning aromas of white flowers, orange blossom, lychee and honeysuckle.
Reds: The 2003 Patriarche Pinot Noir, Burgundy ($16), is a simple, silky, refreshing wine with pleasant aromas of cherries; another good choice is the 2005 Artezin Zinfandel Napa Valley ($25), a full-bodied red with notes of blackberry, raspberry, pepper and currants.
Hanukkah: Shalom shiraz
Potato latkes and applesauce also have some sweetness, but there’s an element of buttery roundness that you can have within your wines.
Whites: Try the 2005 Beringer Napa Valley Chardonnay ($28), a rich, buttery chardonnay with aromatic notes of pear and apple, or the 2004 Flat Rock Cellars Chardonnay V.Q.A. Niagara Peninsula ($17), a lovely, round, oaky chardonnay. <Reds: Try the Shiraz 2005 Domaine des Ondines Gabriel Liogier Montpezat Vacqueyras, Rhône Valley, France ($21), a solid wine with good balance and robust, dark red fruit aromas.
Thanksgiving: Smashing pumpkins
MacLean’s favourite wines for pumpkin pie are Canadian icewines, in the $40-$60 range. Try those from either Inniskillin or Jackson Triggs. For doughnuts — a Hanukkah tradition — look for late harvest rieslings from Cave Springs or Vineland Estates, both from Niagara, each about $15-$20. Chocolate goes best with framboise liqueur from Ontario’s Southbrook Farms ($16).
New Year's Eve: As for the bubblies…
Try some terrific non-vintage champagnes from France, such as Veuve Clicquot, Pol Roger and Louis Roderer, in the $60-$70 range. Happy New Year!
This article originally appeared in the December 2007 issue of More
