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Holiday Treats Making your list, checking it twice: Wine, Food, Family, Friends, Fun. It’s that time of the year to plan and host your holiday party. To make your event the party of the season, do it in a wine-driven way. Sequentially treat guests’ palates to Champagne, then port, sweet wines and desserts accompanied by an amazing array of complementary foods. Here are some recommendations for sparkling wines that will pop your cork, plus ports and dessert wines sure to warm your heart -- all harmoniously paired with savory foods. Champagne Pairings Champagne Nicolas Feuillantte Brut Rosé ($38/bottle) is the leading brand of the largest Champagne cooperative in France. Inspired by tradition, modern-day practices and a passion for the finer things in life, the coop creates wines "with the sensual power to remind us that our pleasures and emotions need not age." A pampering example: smoked salmon served carpacio style (thinly sliced) with crème fresh. Saint-Hilaire ($17/bottle) is a name that honors monks who created a sparkling wine in Limoux in 1554, predating the order’s producing the revered Dom Pérignon by a hundred years. A perfect Saint-Hailaire match: Seared duke breast canapé served thinly sliced on crusty bread topped with a drizzle of cherry demi-glas sauce and green caviar. Roederer Estate Brut, Mendocino, NV, ($20/ bottle) from Anderson Valley, a hundred miles north of San Francisco. It was the valley’s terroir that attracted this French wine producer to our West Coast to make classic Champanoise Methode sparkling wines. Simply excellent with shrimp tempura with dipped in Ginger Soy Sauce. Mirabelle NV Brut ($16/bottle) is also produced in the traditional Champanoise Methode style in Napa and Sonoma by Schramsberg. A lovely match with lobster or crab quiche. Kluge Champagne ($38/bottle) from Kluge Estates is one of the few Virginian sparkling wines produced using Champanoise Methode. Pair it with pork tenderloin and caramelized green apple. Ports, Sweet Wines and Desserts Your guests are now ready for wine-driven desserts. Serve 10-year-old Tawny Port ($25/ bottle) from Churchill’s with a selection of chocolate truffles from Godiva . The assortment can include truffles with a milk-chocolate center surrounded by bitter chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate truffles, or truffles stuffed with raspberry jelly. (prices/lb.) Virginia sweet wines such as Encore from Oakencroft Winery ($14 /bottle) and Solitere ($15/bottle) from White Hall Vineyards match wondrously with these select cheeses (listed from milder to stronger): Bluberry Stilton Cheese ($6/lb.); Orange Stilton Cheese ($6/lb.); Banon ($6/4-oz. piece.), a creamy, tangy goat cheese from the Pyrenees in France; Tete- des- Moins ($7 /lb.), a semi-hard cheese from Switzerland; and American Gorgonzola blue cheese ($4 /lb.). Important: Start with the milder cheese first. Half way through the cheese, sip the wine…Mmmmm!!!! To finish the evening, Espresso is the best treat! Use an Espresso brand such as ILLY. Serve a small lemon wedge with each espresso cup so guests can rub cups’ edges before drinking -- so they experience the oily, zesty-lemon flavor with every sip. Season’s Greetings! |
