December is the month of year when we devote more of our time to eating and drinking. Parties usually start early in December and go on until the New Year. The chilly winter months and the warm festive season spirit create the concoction of fun, merriment and excitement! It’s time to celebrate this holiday season, and no celebration is complete without good food and excellent wine.
In fact, one of the greatest pleasures of wine is the act of sharing it. Most people love to cook meals for close friends. Then all sit and eat together and discuss various issues. The conversation could be enriched by tasting different bottles of wine and sharing opinions and experiences. At our family feast, we serve a wide variety of wines, red and white, brought by different members of the family. We taste while we cook, we taste while we eat, we taste while we digest and we discuss and debate the merits of what we are drinking. That process has become almost as much fun as the feast itself. There are innumerable varieties of excellent wines to enhance the spirit of your Christmas celebrations.
Drinking wine is supposed to be one of the greatest pleasures in life. Knowing how to pair wine and food is essential to enjoying your meal. If a wine is chosen properly, it will enhance the tastefulness of the food and you will appreciate your dining experience more. Simple rules, such as choosing white wine for white meat, are not that difficult to grasp. However, knowing which white wine to select from that long list you are presented with is an art.
Sparkling wines
Let us start with the sparkling wines.
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Most white sparkling wines are great cocktail wines, either alone or mixed with fruit juice or liqueurs to make holiday parties even more festive. And they can be wonderful dinner wines, surprisingly food-friendly with dishes from caviar to glazed ham or roast pork to pasta.
Whites
Whites have their place. When people discuss the revolution in wine that has happened over the last 30 years, they must emphasize the astounding leap white wine has taken to reach the highest standards of its red wine counterparts. Today, there are world-class white wines to match any occasion – and they are available at almost any price. There is a move towards wine that states reds work well in autumn and winter, while rose and white wines are a refreshing choice for a spring or summer event. A full-bodied white offers a perfect year-round choice. White wines with 12% or above are called “heavy”. A new white wine with low levels of acidity and characterized by light floral flavours, often surrounded by delicate touches of fruits such as tropical fruits, peaches and pears, is particularly refreshing and a widely popular choice.
With its diverse range of varieties and flavours, quality wine can complement the spirit of any celebration, whether guests are gathering for a
Roses
Roses are generally made from red grapes and have a little more body. They also have a lovely festive colour that matches special occasions well. Rose wines are becoming increasingly popular. Most roses start off being produced like a red wine and are in contact with the grape skins for a certain length of time. This period determines the depth of colour of the wine.
Roses are fresh and fruity and can be dry or medium. They are good served well chilled as a refreshing drink, or to accompany Chinese, Japanese and Thai food, especially seafood. There are also sparkling rose wines.
Reds
Red meat usually demands a dry red wine. A good beef or lamb dish, provided that it is not highly seasoned, justifies a bottle or two of the best red wine available. If the meat itself is highly flavoured, such as liver, kidneys or sausages, a full-bodied, medium quality red wine is usually most suitable. The finesse of a great wine would be difficult to appreciate with dishes of this kind.
Cabernet Sauvignon grapes do, indeed, serve as the primary ingredient in some of the world’s greatest wines. They are a lovely deep red in colour and often exhibit cedar, violet and dark berry aromas. The flavours are rich and deeply fruity but restrained. You will find hundreds of different “Cabs” in a big store, including wines from countries you didn’t even know existed. An astonishing number of these bottles sell for more than £20. Except at the very high end of the market where the wines are consistently outstanding, even if ridiculously expensive, there is shockingly little correlation between price and quality. It is quite possible today to find £10 Cabernets that are better than £50 Cabernets.
One suggestion: Most full-bodied red wines will improve with an hour or two of “breathing.” Either pour into a decanter, or into glasses and let them sit for a while.
Sweet Rich Wines
Sweet dishes are best accompanied by sweet, rich wine, the contrast of such food with dry wine being rather unpleasant. Heavy, sweet, fortified wines are suitable companions for the sweetest dishes.
Monolithos Wines for the Festive Season
To pick the perfect wines for your next event, offer a range of options to suit guests’ tastes. On average, approximately 30% to 50% of guests will drink white wine, 30% to 50% will drink red wine and 10% to 20% will drink blush wine. In addition, women tend to be white wine drinkers, while men more often prefer red wine. When hosting a dinner party, consider what entree you are serving and select wines that will enhance the food. Most wines of the world are best when consumed young, and that is true of most Monolithos Wines as well.
Monolithos produces and bottles two semi-sparkling wines under the
Santa Monica White has a lovely light yellow green colour with a delicate, light floral nose and medium-sized bubbles. You can sense flavours of pineapple, tropical fruit and apple and is in perfect balance with the bit of sweetness. This is a lovely wine to mix for cocktails, to accompany a dessert or simply as a welcoming drink for newly arriving guests.
Santa Monica Rose has a strong pink colour with a light touch of fresh berries on the nose and raspberry flavours. If you like a touch of sweetness in your sparkling wine, this could be the one for you.
Both are not wines to put in a cellar and age for years and the labels won’t impress your snobby neighbour. But for drinking with people you love, these wines will delight you.
If soup is included in the menu, a dry white wine with chicken or fish soup and a fortified wine is satisfactory with most meat soups. In most cases, the wine to be served with the main course can be confidently served with the soup too.
Monolithos Wines with Main Courses
Monolithos White Dry and Ayios Stephanos White wine can be enjoyed with white meats such as chicken, pork or veal. If white wine is served, it should be dry or medium-dry, and full-flavoured. A light red wine (Monolithos Red or Ayios Stephanos Red) is particularly suited to the more strongly flavoured white meat dishes.
Fish, including shellfish, almost always tastes best with dry white wine. White wine with a slightly sharp, acid flavour can be used to offset the oiliness that is characteristic of some fish dishes. Fish with an extremely delicate flavour needs to be accompanied by a very light white wine (Monolithos White or Santa Monica White). A fuller bodied white wine (Ayios Stephanos) can be served with the more flavourful fish dishes. If lemon or a strong sauce is provided with the fish, a cheaper variety of wine can be served. Ayios Stephanos is a versatile white wine that pairs well with poultry dishes, but also goes well with pork, veal, seafood and recipes featuring a cream base.
The Christmas turkey presents a dilemma in the food and wine matching stakes. If your meal is a simple turkey dish, a young red or white will make a great match. However, if you have stuffing and sauces such as cranberry sauce etc. then a more complex red would be a better option. Thus either Monolithos Red or Ayios Stephanos Red will make great matches. Monolithos Red wines complement beef dishes or pastas with red sauces. They look and smell delicious, and they are. They are fresh, soft and gentle wines with rich flavours of strawberries and dry fruits with a touch of cinnamon. These are all nice wines, hard to dislike.
Monolithos wines with cheese
The relatively strong flavour of most cheeses demands a full- bodied red table wine such as Monolithos Cabernet Sauvignon or Ayios Stephanos Red. The latter is a blend of Cabernet,
White wine (Monolithos White Dry and Ayios Stephanos White) complements milder cheeses.
Ayios Stephanos White with a pale yellow colour leads to soft tropical fruit flavours on the nose. It’s lightly floral with tastes of melon and a squeeze of citrus. It’s more gentle than aggressive, but has a little bite at the back of the throat to let you know you are alive. It is perfect with light-flavoured chicken, veal or simple seafood dishes.
Festive Season Tips
Holidays bring with them parties and gatherings, along with more opportunities than usual to drink alcohol with family and friends. Here are some tips to see you through the festive season.
. Drink some water or a diet soft drink before drinking any alcohol, so that you are not thirsty when you start.
. Sip your alcoholic drink slowly and drink something non-alcoholic (water or a soft drink) between each alcoholic drink.
. Avoid salty foods, as this will only make you thirsty.
. When it comes to choosing the right wine, most of the age-old rules still apply. Drink white wine with starters, pale meat and fish, and red wine with red meat and game.
. White wine is generally best served lightly chilled – put it in the fridge for at least half an hour before serving to allow it to cool sufficiently.
. Red wines will get much better if left in the glass or properly decanted for at least an hour.
. Try to eat a substantial meal to increase your tolerance if you are planning on drinking. Avoid eating salty party and snack foods which will encourage you to drink more quickly.
. Listen to your body – stop eating when you feel full.
. Have a positive attitude and try not to worry about things that are beyond your control.
. If you want a drink, stop and think. How will you get home – bus, taxi, lift? Plan your journey in advance and get home safely.
. Look after your friends. If you think someone has had too much to drink, arrange a lift home for them with someone who hasn’t been drinking, call them a cab, or let them stay for the night. Remember, it is the season of goodwill!
. Only spend what you know you can afford. If your finances are shaky, thoughtful and handmade gifts often offer more pleasure.
. Don’t try to lose weight over Christmas. With parties, families and all the special foods that go with Christmas, it’s going to be just about impossible! Your main aim should be to maintain your weight.
. Holidays are the perfect time to start off the exercise routine. Get out into the fresh air and find an exercise that you enjoy: as long as you are getting the heart rate up and starting to perspire, that’s all you need to work off the extra calories.
. Remember – Everything in moderation.
Wine News and Information
A new report from
In fact, while the study doesn’t go this far, the fact is that a screw top actually is less likely to cause any problem in the taste of wine. Just a tiny bit of bacteria in natural cork can actually cause a wine to taste a little “off”. However, another report from the same researchers suggests that, given a choice between a corked wine and a wine with a screw top, consumers almost always preferred the former and identified the latter as being lower in quality and therefore less expensive. Clearly, the wine industry has a lot of work to convince us (consumers) that a screw top on a bottle of wine isn’t a sign of lesser quality.
The supermarkets already have their Christmas decorations out in the hopes of putting the idea of early holiday shopping in the minds of those so inclined. And with that in mind, some of the best gifts are surely those that people can use! What can be put to better use during the holiday season than wine? No matter where you go, wine is always a welcome gift. When you go wine gift shopping, keep an open mind. Decide on a price point.
There are gift baskets which, apart from the wine, contain crackers, nuts, biscuits, chocolates, or anything else that strikes your fancy. Many of these gift baskets include local or foreign wines. Some of them are good, and some of them are terrible. Before you grab a basket and run, make sure you’re getting your money’s worth. A lot of items are thrown in that people eventually throw out. If wine is what you are interested in most, we strongly recommend Monolithos special gift boxes of one or two bottles of your choice.
Sparkling Wine Cocktail
Ingredients
6 ounces Sparkling Wine or
1 cube sugar
Angostura bitters
Directions
Soak a sugar cube with Angostura bitters. Place the cube in the bottom of a chilled
Italian Kiss Cocktail
Ingredients
5 oz sparkling wine
1 ounce orange juice
1 oz Amaretto
Orange slices
Directions
Pour Amaretto and orange juice into a tulip shaped glass.
Pour sparkling wine into the glass.
Garnish with half an orange slice.
English Christmas Punch
This recipe makes 27-30 individual drinks when served in white wine glasses, making it a perfect holiday party punch:
Ingredients:
750 ml bottle dark rum
750 ml bottle dry red wine
3 cups strong tea
1 lb superfine sugar
Juice of 1 large orange
Juice of 1 lemon
Preparation
Heat, but do not boil, the wine, tea, lemon and orange juice in a saucepan.
Pour the heated mix into a heat-proof punch bowl.
Place as much sugar as possible into a large ladle and any excess sugar into the punch bowl.
Saturate the sugar in the ladle with rum.
Ignite the rum and sugar in the ladle and pour it – carefully – while still aflame into the punch.
Stir well and extinguish the flames.
We thank you for your continued support. If at any time you are passing near the
Here’s a toast to the future, a toast to the past, and a toast to our friends, far and near.
May the future be pleasant; the past a bright dream; May our friends remain faithful and dear.
Anonymous
Take care, and always remember:
”New Year’s Day is every man’s birthday.”
Charles Lamb
