Christmas Wine

Christmas is almost here, and people are starting to crack.  I say that having observed families in the mall on one of the last weekend shopping days before the holiday.  Yesterday was a day of great learning.

Not least of which, I learned with several intrepid readers all about the mini-hot-dogs of the Capital Region.  Let me just tell you, ten of those little buggers are harder to put away than you might imagine.  Even over the course of a few hours.

I also visited a new espresso bar in town that could be quite promising.

Anyhow, time is running out.  Not just for you, but for me.  There are really two things I want to make sure people know about Christmas and wine, so I’m going to try to squeeze them both in today.  One is about an incredible gift for the wine lover in your life.  The other is some thoughts on the challenge of a Christmas wine pairing.

It’s like two posts in one.

Christmas Dinner Wines
This will be short and sweet, because I want to get on to the other thing, which is about something short and sweet.

I wish I knew more about people’s traditional Christmas dinners.  As a Jew, I just kind of assume everyone has ham.  But I would like to know what happened to the tradition of a Christmas goose.  Once Raf made a goose for Christmas, and it was stunning.

Given that I don’t see a lot of geese in the markets, I can only assume this joint of meat has fallen out of favor. 

If you do serve ham, its saltiness and its sweetness are difficult to pair well with wines.  But I’ve found that a good gewürztraminer will knock it out of the park.  Should you want help in choosing wines for your meal, just drop me a line and let me know what you are having.  I love playing around with these kinds of questions.

The Best Wine Gift Ever
I was thinking about the best gift I ever received.  And the things that made it special.  But admittedly not everyone would enjoy caviar.  Also, not everyone would be comfortable sending something of such value given its perishability.

While the world’s best caviar can be had for a couple hundred dollars, the world’s best wines can cost in the thousands of dollars.  Chasing down top-tier wine experiences can get very expensive.  It’s one reason why I actively tried to steer away from wine as a hobby for so many years.

But there is one wine that stands right there on top of the list of stunning prestige bottles, that any wine lover would be absolutely thrilled to receive as a gift, which can be had for just a bit north of a c-note.

I’m not pretending this is cheap.  This is not intended to be a stocking stuffer.  Rather, instead of buying your loved one just another thing that will sit on a shelf, go in a drawer, or otherwise be unloved after the newness fades, you can get them a wine experience they will remember forever.

A taste of Chateau D’Yquem Sauternes.  And by that I mean a 375ml bottle.

Yes, this is a wine that ages beautifully, and older vintages can be purchased.  But the idea isn’t to give this to someone to collect.  If this is a gift you give, one should strongly encourage the consumption of the wine before New Year’s Eve.

Bottles like this have a way of sticking around, and being considered too special to drink.  Perhaps if your recipient misses the January 1 drink-by date, they can open that bottle on Open That Bottle Night in February, before it turns into another statistic.

Happy shopping.