December is a month of holidays with Christmas and the New Year festivities. Christmas is celebrated throughout the Christian world, but is also celebrated by many non-Christians as a secular, cultural festival. The word Christmas originated as a contraction of “Christ’s mass”, a phrase first recorded in 1038 compounded from Old English derivatives of the Greek “Christos” and the Latin “missa”. No one knows the exact date of Christ’s birth, but in the 4th century, Pope Julius I chose December 25th as the day of celebration. It’s a holiday that’s celebrated in a variety of ways around the world.
Thanks to holidays like Christmas, December stays packed out with parties and festive get-togethers. Christmas is one of the most inspiring celebrations of the year, a time of hope, joy and love for the whole family to share. The chilly winter months and the warm Christmas spirit create the mixture of fun, merriment and excitement! First and foremost, Christmas is a tradition involving family and friends. For wine-lovers, the festive season is also the time for experimentation, and never was there a better time to share for those special bottles you’ve been saving.
In the run-up to Christmas, making lists and checking them twice seems to become everyone’s pastime. If you’ll be having a large number of guests coming and going, or if you have a party or two planned, it makes sense to have a ready supply of decent, everyday drinking wine around that tastes good but is affordable. For the sort of wine that people will be sipping with canapés or on its own, versatility is the key.
In planning for your wine selection, keep in mind the following two rules:
1. Wine and Food Pairing Rule – Be Flexible. It is better to be flexible rather than rigid in pairing food and wine. The key is balance and the wise approach is to rely on contrasts and similarities.
2. Identify a dominant flavour in a dish. Once you have determined the dominant flavour, try to match that with a wine – or the other way around. Match the weight of the wine to the food as well – delicate to delicate, bold to bold, simple to simple, great to great.
More complications arise because Christmas dinner often includes many dishes. So, in a multi-course dinner, the tradition is to build from a light to heavy progression and from dry to sweet. The sweet is the finale as a dessert wine or a post-mortem commemoration after dinner.
Grape varieties that make good, all-round party wines include Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz (Syrah). Blends from these varieties can be very good, too. Save your best reds for the main meal, whether this is lunch or dinner on Christmas Day. Keep the lighter, fruitier wines for Boxing Day.
For white wines, choose crisp, dry varieties. Avoid ones that have had lengthy ageing periods in oak barrels. Lots of people enjoy the resulting vanilla notes, but the flavour can quickly become cloying and can clash with food. Bottles that cost €10 and under should offer a fresh, pleasant, short and crisp flavour. It’s not impossible to find a really good sparkling wine or Champagne on any budget, but depending on how much you’re spending, you should have certain expectations.
Matching food and wine isn’t about the wine making the food taste good or vice versa: the combination should taste better than either of the component parts. Offer your guests one or two favourites – generally a red and a white.
Ideally, leave your wines to rest upright for 24 hours before opening or decanting them. Room temperature can be a little high for the more delicate reds, so leave your bottles to rest in a cool corner of the house. A bottle gives six glasses and you are advised to pull the corks well ahead and or decant the red wines before serving. Decanting is when you pour wine from one vessel to another, usually a bottle to a decanter. This is done to move a wine off sediment which has been thrown during the wine’s ageing.
There is a lot of confusion over whether or not to decant wines. As a rule, any wine that has thrown a deposit – older vintages of fine wine, young but big-bodied reds and vintage port – should be decanted. When you decant a wine, air gets into the container and the wine’s aromas are allowed to develop. Serve fine wine immediately after decanting so the aromas are not lost by the time you serve it. Full-bodied reds get better if you aerate them by pouring them into a decanter and leaving them for a while, at least half an hour. Young tannic wines could also benefit from breathing, softening and opening up as they mingle with the air.
Whatever food traditions your family follows over the festive period, there’s always a wine to match. Just so long as you remember to match the flavour and intensity of the wine with that of the food, you can’t go wrong. Most important of all, remember the old saying: “The enemy of a good wine is a greater wine”. Serve your lighter and less impressive wines first, and work up to the grand finale of that special bottle.
The Christmas lunch is the perfect time to splurge on the good stuff. “Good” doesn’t necessarily mean “expensive”, but spending a few extra euros tends to make a marked difference to the quality. Choose wines that will go with the kind of food you’re serving. Here are a few quick guidelines for some favourite Christmas dishes:
Turkey has the benefit of matching with a wide array of wines, including aged Cabernet and Shiraz , and as with most of the aromatic wines, it is wise to avoid anything with too much tannin or the turkey will taste very dry. If you prefer white wine, go for something with plenty of fruit and body. A nice change, particularly if you are serving your turkey with cranberry sauce, is a sparkling wine. A slightly sweeter sparkling rose (Monolithos Santa Monica) would work well too.
If the main Christmas dish is roast beef, a good red claret or Monolithos Cabernet Sauvignon could be a perfect match. With lamb dishes, use Merlot, light red wines (Monolithos Mavro 2007) or rose.
Roast chicken or pork loin can work with a variety of white (Ayios Stephanos White), rose and medium-bodied red wines such as Ayios Stephanos Red. However, try to avoid any full-bodied and beefy Cabernets.
In the case of duck or other richly flavoured birds, a Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot or Shiraz would all work well.
Cold meats and salads, being the lighter nature of the meal, has a natural affinity to lighter wines such as Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Monolithos Xynisteri, rose or a light red (Mavro).
Crab fish, shellfish and smoked salmon go well with sparkling wines (Santa Monica White).
Good cheese deserves an intelligent wine choice. Good suggestions could include blends of Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz and a Monolithos Mavro or Ayios Stephanos White.
There are also the traditional vegetables such as asparagus or artichokes that are usually at odds with wine, often giving off a metallic taste. The best thing to do is to match the dressing or sauce. Celery doesn’t go with anything. If applying oddball reverse logic, any wine works just fine.
Christmas cake is served with a sweet red wine. You can usually buy dessert or sweet wines in 750ml or 375 ml. If you serve it in small glasses, you should have enough for 15-20 people.
Christmas pudding should preferably be accompanied with Muscat or any kind of dessert wine such as Cyprus “Commandaria”, but you have to be careful with dessert wines. A sweet dessert wine may be overwhelmed by a sweeter dessert.
Some information and tips in wine selection
Tip 1: Red wines get lighter with age, white wines get darker. As a general rule, white wines – which are lighter in character than their heavy red counterparts – are served with lighter foods. Due to their heaviness, red wines are generally not served with an opening course, such as an appetizer – although there are exceptions. Instead, these tend to do much better with heavier foods, and are often found in combination with a weightier entrée, such as pasta with red sauce or beef dishes.
Tip 2: Tannins are bitter tasting, mouth-drying plant chemicals that are mainly found in red wines and in Cabernet Sauvignon especially. Wines with high tannin content are best drunk with food, especially red meat.
Tip 3: Grapes can be blended together in wine; frequently, Merlot is used to soften the Cabernet Sauvignon. However, be wary of buying very cheap blended wines, as it is not unheard of for grapes that are incompatible to be married.
Tip 4: Don’t be a fashion victim. Large, well-known factories have been known to buy up grapes from large areas and mix together some bland concoction which they then sell as grape juice. The reason many brands sound familiar is that vast amounts of money are spent on advertising, resulting in special offers like “Buy One, Get One Free”. As with clothing for instance, this probably means they were vastly overpriced to start with or they want to get rid of old stock.
Tip 5: Look out for smaller producers which you may not have heard of before who will probably have invested their money in making better wine, rather than on advertising. They are more likely to make wines which reflect the true nature of the grape varietals in question and excel in bringing out its best qualities. If you’re buying wine for a party or a gift, go for something a little unique, new or unknown. It’s always more exciting to try something new and this way, it’s less likely that people will recognize the name and know that you only spent €5 to €10 on the bottle.
Tip 6: Vintage essentially means “year” – if a wine says Vintage 1997, it means all the grapes in that bottle come from the 1997 harvest. With port, expensive bottles of French red wine and fine champagne, the vintage (i.e. year) is especially important. This is because some years have had bad weather and that makes bad wine (a particular problem in northern Europe ).
Tip 7: A sparkling wine or Champagne bottle should be handled with care. If the bottle is warm, it is too volatile and could be dangerous. Make sure the bottle has been sufficiently chilled, at least 30 minutes in an ice bucket with ice and water or at least three hours in the refrigerator, before safely opening a bottle of bubbly.
Tip 8: The proper glass is crucial to wine enjoyment. Wine does not taste the same out of a plastic cup, so if you can, try to invest in some proper glassware. Your guests will be more impressed with whatever wine you decide to serve. Whatever glass you choose, remember never to fill it more than half way so that you leave room for the drinker to swirl the wine and fully enjoy its aroma.
Tip 9: Decant older wines. If you’re serving the wine yourself, you can help it out by pouring it into a decanter an hour or so before you plan to drink it. Decanters are designed to let air flow over the wine. A little breathing time can work wonders (particularly on older wines) and investing in a glass decanter can add value to an indefinite number of bottles for years to come. Decanting is generally considered only necessary for older wines with sediment, but it can also have positive effects on the flavour of younger wines, plus it just looks classy!
Tip 10: Serve your wine at the correct temperature. Make sure that you’re serving the wine at the recommended temperature, details of which are usually indicated on the back label. You can purchase special wine thermometers, otherwise simply approximate.
Sparkling wine: Serve very well chilled around 42º Fahrenheit (5º Celsius).
Light, acidic white wine: Serve well chilled around 45º Fahrenheit (7º Celsius).
Rose: Served well chilled, around 45º Fahrenheit (7º Celsius).
Light, fruity reds (such as Beaujolais ): Serve at cellar temperature, around 55º Fahrenheit (12º Celsius).
Medium bodied reds (such as Shiraz ): Serve around 61º Fahrenheit (16º Celsius).
Full-bodied, mature, tannic reds (such as Cabernet Sauvignon): Serve at a cool room temperature, around 64º Fahrenheit (17º Celsius).
Dessert Wines: Serve at around 55º Fahrenheit (12º Celsius).
The giving of presents is one of the key attractions of Christmas. They are more about the sentiment than the price tag. You don’t have to spend a fortune. Generally speaking, it goes without saying that some of the best gifts are those that people can use! And what can be put to better use during the holiday season than wine?
No matter where you go, wine is always a welcome gift. And it’s easy. You don’t have to rack your brain to come up something new. Not only that, you can add some cheese, crackers, nuts, biscotti, chocolates, or anything else that strikes your fancy, and you have a wonderful gift basket. A lot of these gift baskets are already prepared in local wine stores. 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.
Always remember to personalise your gifts with a message. Whether you’ve opted for a case of wine or a gift pack, a short message will make it meaningful for the lucky recipient.
Finally, make sure you buy early, particularly if you are ordering online. Whilst online retailers will often promise delivery of an order within a few days, there’s nothing worse than a present arriving late. Make sure you don’t disappoint and place your order with a couple of extra days’ notice, particularly at Christmas, which is always a busy time.
Wine News and Information
In Cyprus , where the reservoirs are almost dry and the taps often cease to flow, wine may also become scarce. Parched by a chronic drought, the island’s wine industry, among the oldest in the world, is under threat. Production was already very low in 2007. In 2008, accentuating the trend of the past 20 years, rainfall in Cyprus has been 50% below average, and temperatures climbed to 30º Celsius (86º Fahrenheit) and above from April, before easing off in mid-September. According to Government figures, last year the 15,000 hectares (37,000 acres) of vines produced 191,000 hectolitres (five million gallons) of wine, down from 218,000 in 2006. This year, the grapes were smaller with less juice and more sugar. Weather conditions in the months of February and March are vital for grape growth. Having gone through two bad years of rainfall, the worst worry is what’s going to happen next year. If there is another year of drought, it could damage the survival of the vines, even though the vines of southern Europe like heat and are resistant to tough conditions.
UK wine drinkers are cutting the amount they spend on a bottle, with price now the most important factor in buying wine, according to a new survey. The study, commissioned by the Wine & Spirits Trade Association (WSTA), found that grape variety had been overtaken by price promotions as the most important factor for consumers in choosing wines. A poll of 1,000 wine drinkers found that the number of people willing to spend £5–£6 on a bottle of wine had dropped by 5% in the past three months. There has been a corresponding increase in those paying less than £5 for a bottle. Pubs and restaurants have also registered a downturn in sales of more expensive wines. According to the survey, customers are buying more and more wines under £12 which supports the findings that there was a corresponding drop in the higher price levels. These figures testify to the harsh reality facing millions of consumers with budgets squeezed and increasing pressure to reduce spending where possible. The Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) has calculated that the average spend on “everyday wine” has fallen from £4.85 to £4.73 between July and September. Spend on “special occasion” wines has fallen from £6.01 to £5.80.
Inhabitants of a tiny Italian town thought there had been a miraculous intervention recently when wine started flowing from the taps in their kitchens. The “miracle” occurred during the town’s annual harvest festival, the Sagra dell’ Uva, in Marino, south of Rome.
A huge crowd, gathered in the square to witness the annual spurting of 3,000 litres of the year’s newly pressed vintage from the Fountain of the Four Moors, became increasingly restless as the fountain continued to produce only the usual trickle of water. But then, a shout of “miracolo” rang out from a nearby house and a woman appeared at her balcony to announce that wine was flowing from her kitchen tap. It transpired that instead of connecting the wine to the 17th century fountain, plumbers had hooked the pipes from the local vineyard into Marino’s domestic water supply. One resident said, “I was in the kitchen to fill a bucket with water. I immediately noticed a sweet smell from the tap and recognised instantly it was wine. Word quickly spread and everyone filled up bottles and plastic containers with the wine”. Mayor of Marino, Adriano Palozzi said, “It was a surprise and completely unexpected. People were calling it a miracle which it wasn’t – it was a mistake”.
A daily glass (or two) of red wine may reduce the risk of lung cancer in men, particularly in smokers, according to research published in the October issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. Smokers suffer from an especially high risk of lung cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, 213,380 new cases of lung cancer were reported in the United States in 2007, with 160,390 deaths, making it a leading cause of cancer death in the country. Researchers selected 84,170 subjects from a pool of nearly 850,000 men, based on their alcohol preferences and patterns of smoking. The Men’s Health Study had conducted in-depth surveys on drinking habits, socioeconomic status, body mass index and history of chronic diseases. During that period, the study identified 210 cases of lung cancer.
The Kaiser scientists compared incidents of lung cancer to exposure to smoking, such as whether or not the person smoked or instead inhaled second hand smoke, as well as to their pattern of alcohol consumption. They found that men who drank red wine regularly, both smokers and non-smokers, had a lower chance of lung cancer. Moreover, the difference in risk between the two groups was large. The study found that non-smoking men who drank a glass or two of red wine a day were 4% less likely to get lung cancer. Yet, for smokers who drank a glass or two of red wine a day, the researchers reported a 60% reduced lung cancer risk. Despite the findings, the researchers stress that the best way to reduce lung cancer risk is to stop smoking. The fact that red wine drinkers showed the lowest risk of lung cancer, the study theorizes, may be due to dietary factors (red wine drinkers on average ate the highest amount of fruit and vegetables), but is more likely due to differences in the chemical makeup of red wine compared to other alcoholic beverages.
Monolithos Monthly News
Wine-lovers who participated in a fund raising function organised last month at “Fig Tree Villa” in Pachna were given the opportunity to taste the new Monolithos Merlot and Shiraz wines, vintage 2008. Our aim was to weigh up the response and generate product awareness. Though it’s too early to assess overall wine quality, most participants commented on the potentials of the new vintage which was characterised by a lot of finesse and roundness in the wines. It wouldn’t be exaggerating to say that we are excited by the first impressions on the quality and the potential of the 2008 vintage. We very much look forward to tasting the new wines when they are ready for bottling before summer 2009. We hope that with the two new additions to our range of wines, that we will have something for everybody.
Whether you’re buying large amounts of wine for a party or looking for the perfect match for the Christmas turkey, our promoters Martin Wood in Pachna (99165995) and Ian Blakeborough in Paralimni (99771021) can save you a lot of hard work. They will let you try before you buy and they will offer practical advice on matching wine with food, taking into account your personal tastes – and how much you want to spend.
The winery is always ready to welcome visitors. So if at any time you are passing near the village of Pachna and wish to visit the winery or purchase any of our products, Martin Wood will be pleased to meet and assist you at his “Fig Tree Villa” in Pachna, so do not hesitate to phone him at 25-816212 or 99-165995.
This is our last newsletter for 2008. We wish you true fun and joy this Christmas and a year of discovery, creation and fulfilment in 2009. May you always have love and wine to share, health to spare, and friends who care! However, drive safely or better still – don’t drive at all if you are drinking.
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