Miscellaneous Sips for the Holiday Season

Thanksgiving has come and gone. Our sights are now set on Hanukkah and Christmas, with New Year’s lurking in the background.

It’s holiday season boys and girls...one of the busiest, most enjoyable and sometimes stressful times of the year. We all have a lot on our minds and your favorite wine columnist is no different. So, with that in mind, here are some miscellaneous sips (and thoughts) for the season.

Drink sparkling wine for Christmas and/or Hanukkah. Everyone drinks bubbly for New Year’s, but the fizzy stuff is a great way to celebrate any occasion. Plus, with racy acidity and freshness, it’s great with a wide range of foods. Drink Lieb Family Cellars’ Blanc de Blanc with appetizers and then move on to bottles of Wolffer Estate or The Old Field bubbly with dinner.

Drink it again on New Year’s Eve. Drink it just because there’s no better way to ring in the New Year. My choice: Lenz Winery 1991 Cuvee RD, the boldest and most interesting local sparkler.

Don’t depend on “expert” lists for wine pairing. Every year wine and food magazines bombard us with lists of “perfect” matches for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner – both of which usually involve a vast array of menu items. Use these lists only as a guide. It’s nearly impossible to find a wine that goes with everything on your holiday table. Try a variety of wines with your celebratory meals and see what you like best. That’s the best way to go.

Take wine every where you go. No matter what holiday party you’re attending, wine is always a welcome gift, especially a local wine. Sadly, most people have little experience with Long Island wine, so take the opportunity to introduce them. Plus, if you take a bottle you know you like (always a good idea) you can tell your host, “Hey, let’s open this bottle and see if you like it.” This will also rescue you from drinking the plonk served at many parties.

Let’s welcome Leucadia National Corporation to our backyard. You probably heard that Napa’s Pine Ridge Winery bought Broadfields Cellars and Charles John Vineyard, but Pine Ridge is just another of Leucadia’s holdings. Regardless, their presence here just proves the promise our region holds. They could have bought a vineyard anywhere in the world, but chose the North Fork.

Diliberto Winery 2003 Chardonnay is worth seeking out. You probably won’t find it in your local wine shop, but Sal Diliberto’s elegant, Burgundian-style Chardonnay offers deliciously balanced acidity layered with citrus, butterscotch and toasted almond flavors. It is a real charmer. Call 722-3416 or email Sal directly to order.

Instead of a lump coal, give California chardonnay. We all have people in our lives who have been bad boys and girls, but you can't hand out lumps of coal to adults (can you?). Instead, buy some excessively manipulated Chardonnay from our friends on the West Coast. Tasting like butter smeared on a two by four, having to drink it is punishment enough. At least I think so. (NOTE: This item was pulled from the printed version, but I'm putting it back in for publication here)

(This column appeared in the 12/2 issue of Dan's Papers )

Comments

[Terry Hughes]

How much is the Diliberto, Lenn?

[Jared]

Funny you should mention the Lenz 1991 RD. We had this a few months ago at one of their oysters and bubbly events and absolutely fell in love. At $50 a bottle, it isn't cheap - but you can't easily find anything this good at that price point either. It rivals many $100 bottles from, dare I say, France. It's only downside is that it is not as "elegant" as some of those. What I am referring to is in the bubbles themselves. My favorites have those teeny-tiny bubbles. The Lenz has larger bubbles, like Perrier. But it completely makes up for this fault in flavor!

We bought two bottles last week specifically for our New Years celebration!

[Lenn]

Terry...I still haven't heard from the winemaker how much the chard is...when I find out, I'll let you know.

Jarde...Yeah...the bubbles certainly don't fall into the "fine bead" range (like Lieb's bubbly for instance) but I love the 91 RD. One of my favorites for sure.