It was a complicated set of domestic circumstances which
meant that I was out walking the dog this morning whilst it was still
dark. I plugged in my ipod but in the
early morning gloom selected the wrong playlist and before I had made it as far
as the street outside I had Michael Bublé telling me that “It’s Beginning To
Look A Lot Like Christmas”. Actually, it
wasn’t. I decided to go with the flow
but not even Noddy Holder shouting at me made me feel remotely festive. In a way I’m not surprised by this because
it’s only mid November. The Halloween
pumpkins have only made it as far as the brown bin and there are still dead
fireworks in the streets.
News reports tell us that Christmas starts earlier every
year, sometime in August apparently so surely it’s OK to feel vaguely
Christmassy in November? We tasted the candidates for our Christmas Mixed Case Offers back in September though as is always the case other lines have emerged
since then which have equally grabbed our enthusiasm; suddenly there’s too much
to choose from!
As I continued my walk the opening bars of Mistletoe and
Wine by Sir Cliff set me thinking which various food and wine pairings might
work well based on our current selection.
I skipped forward to the next song… Ker-ching! There was Roy Wood
wishing it could be Christmas every day.
Now that’s a horrid thought, after all, if it really was Christmas every
day you’d be mighty tired of turkey pretty quickly. Turkey Burgundy maybe? BourgogneHautes Cotes de Beaune Rouge perhaps, or Francois Lumpp’s Givry which is something
we always seem to suggest, but it is so good and something we don’t think we
will ever tire of! Les Volets Chardonnay
might be a good option at a more modest level, or what about those fantastic
Grand Cru wines from Cave de Turckheim in Alsace
For years we only had one CD of Christmas music in our house
and the first song on it (played as the word “aperitif” drifted across the
kitchen) is Elton John’s “Step Into Christmas” so as the shuffle feature on my
playlist selected this track I immediately thought of Sherry (as you do…) and a
good one too. This year have we
unearthed that most rare creature, a dry amontillado that doesn’t cost a
fortune. Delgado Zuleta are based in
Sanlucar de Barrameda so their amontillado comes from Manzanilla base wine
making it lighter and nuttier than most.
When there’s a bottle in our house it lives in the fridge… but not for
long!
Next up was Wham! singing “Last Christmas” and I remembered
that somewhere amongst my music collection was a version of this labelled as
the “pudding mix” (child of the eighties? Who? Me?) which set off thoughts of
Christmas pud, cake and mince pies. Ah!
Several options here then, Campbells’ RutherglenMuscat, Lopez Hermanos’ Pedro Ximenez or even the plum infused sake ShiraumeUmeshu from Akashi-Tai in Japan
Abba’s Happy New Year set me thinking of fizz. Prosecco perhaps? Decent Cava? Even modest Champagne Champagne
from Furleigh Estate in Dorset , or even a
Sparkling Shiraz from down under?
It’s odd how these thought processes work, music can be very
emotive, and as Mud began to sing “Lonely This Christmas” I looked forward to a
Christmas with the family, but it did make me wonder, “OK, if it was just me,
what would I eat and what would I drink?”.
Beef, I decided. That would mean
a big red of some description. Domaine
de la Mordoree’s “La Remise” perhaps (while we still have some left – we were
only allowed to buy 6 cases). If that’s
all gone maybe the Pablo Y Walter Malbec?
If I fancied a “spoiler” it would have to be Coyam which probably is
nearly too good to be shared with all but the most appreciative of friends
anyway!
I’ve always been surprised that the Beach Boys made a
Christmas song. It seems wrong somehow
for them to be singing about “Little Saint Nick” with those harmonies so evocative
of summer. Ah yes, summer, I remember
that; my favourite season. I love
summer, it means rosé and Test Match Special, but then we reckon Boxing Day
means rosé too with a turkey, stuffing and cold bread sauce sandwich and what
could be better with that than a glass of cold pink! Chateau Montaud from Provence
perhaps, or if you fancy something bigger try Mediodia from Navarra or the
Santa Digna Rose from Chile
If summer is my favourite season winter probably comes
second. I like spring too as the days
lengthen and nature wakes up, but winter is lovely as long as you haven’t got
to go anywhere. It seems to me that
those short midwinter days (cue Jethro Tull singing “Ring Out Solstice Bells”)
provide the perfect excuse for what are known in our house as “Drawbridge Days”
namely the opportunity to shut the door, light the fire and open something rich
and warming. Garnacha del Fuego would be
perfect – it even has a fire on the label!
By the time I was approaching home, I still wasn’t feeling
particularly festive (though Steeleye Span’s splendid version of “Gaudete” came
closest) and I concluded that really only a high volume playing of John
Taverner’s “The Lamb” would do the trick and I really didn’t feel up to that
yet, though the word “lamb” set me thinking…
Guelbenzu Azul…? I could go on…
Too many wine merchants simply slap the tasting note “Great
with turkey” on wines that they want to shift at around Christmastime, though I
hope my random thoughts from this morning demonstrate that we really
do love thinking up great wine and food combinations (even on a pre-breakfast
dog walk). In fact, we can’t help
it! So whatever you’re planning for your
table this festive season we would love the opportunity to suggest something
suitable from our range for you to drink.
Any budget, any taste, you only have to ask. You might even get me feeling vaguely
festive….eventually.
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