155 State Street, Newburyport, MA 01950 Phone: (867) 462-2131 • Fax: (978) 462-5266
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Don't look now but the Holidays are about to ring our collective bells...
W
ithin the next month we will be celebrating Hanukah, Christmas and a New Year (Thank you!). We will be getting together with family and friends, who this year especially, we are glad to see. The events of the last three months remind us of our fragile existence on the blue marble and the holidays provide us a great opportunity to renew our commitments to our family and closee friends. If your family is anything like ours, getting together involves catering to everyone's whims. Our table is a hodg-podge of flavors providing something for everyone. The conundrum here is what wine accompanies hodgepodge? This isn't as perplexing as it seems. At our house we offer different wines. Each family brings two bottles to share. Mom and Dad are the exception since they supply the food. We each concentrate on a different stage of the meal. We start with a clean crisp white wine such as Sauvignon Blanc or Sancerre. The acidity in these wines wakes up the palate, stimulates the appetite and pairs well with light appetizers. Champagne and sparkling wines fit into this category too, and set a festive mood with their pure, hedonistic pleasures. The "foodies" (people who enjoy food and wine as an art form), in our family prefer the Alsatian whites, Gewurz (ga-vertz), Riesling and Pinot Bianco. Red wine drinkers lean towards soft Merlots and Pinot Noir or
the Syrahs. These wines match well with a Christmas dinner where turkey, ham or duck is served. If the menu centers around lamb, a larger red wine such as Zinfandel is more appealing. Ultimately red wines suit a holiday meal better as they hold up to the complexity of flavors that prevail. If after all of this you are capable of dessert, (don't irritate Mom by not eating at least one slice of the six pies she took the time to make!) then reach for a dessert wine. Here you can really impress. A great dessert wine wakes up the crowd. Try a nice Port with apple pie and cheddar, or a slice of cake or pie with a Mumm’s Cuvee dollop of whipped Napa Winetasting cream laced with Muscat Beaume de Saturday, December 22 Venise. If chocolate 3:00 to 7:00 PM is on the menu, don't forget that your red wine will Christmas Eve still taste yummy or for you could go back Fine Wine, Food to the hedonistic champagne you & Fun were drinking beSunday, December 23 fore dinner.
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