Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Perfect Wines for Christmas

I know that many of you are fretting your little hearts out about what wines to serve with Christmas dinner and/or lunch. Worry no more, help is at hand, we at Bliss not only know our onions but our wines as well.

To start with a blindingly obvious choice for those of you who live in colder climates:
a nice Glühwein or mulled wine which should be served the moment your guests arrive. You serve it hot and it's very nice for those who are in danger of freezing one or more body parts off. It works a bit like anti-freeze but is suitable for human consumption, unlike the real deal.
If you live in hotter climes or your guests have been totally thawed out at long last after imbibing vast quantities of mulled wine, you could serve them a nice glass of bubbly. Champagne is served cold, so put it in the fridge a couple of hours before you serve it.
What's that I hear you moan? But, but YE there's a credit crisis going on, I can't afford champagne. Not to worry my dears, have I ever let you down? You don't have to buy the real thing, as champagne may only be called champagne when it's from the Champagne area in France and the good ones cost a small fortune, simply buy a nice fizzy wine from Italy, Spain, Germany or even from a non-Champagne area in France and pay less than half the price. And steer clear from the sweet stuff, try the dry, very dry or, if you must the semi dry (semi secco, halb trocken) ones. They taste really great and go well with all kinds of finger food.
Personally I like the Italian Spumante very well, but it's very dry so perhaps not the one to buy if so far you've only tasted the sweet fizzy wines.

Enough of fizzy wines let's progress to the real stuff; the non fizzy wines. As a rule of thumb you serve dry white wine with fish and chicken, dry red wine with meat and cheese and a dry rose with lamb. That was generally speaking of course, but personal taste comes into it too and some wines are more suitable for a certain type of guest than others. What if you had some very special guests for dinner, like gardeners for instance, what kind of wine would you serve them? Well, how about this one?
A lovely bordeau from France, made from the Merlot grape. It's a dry red wine.

Or, if you had Poppins, Dee, Barbara, Katarina or yours truly to dinner you couldn't go wrong with a wine like this:
A lovely Italian wine.
With dessert you could serve your guests a sweet wine like this one for instance. What gardener could say no to a drop of Passion flower wine?And although it looks very oriental it's actually made in Germany.There is a suitable wine for every occasion, for every dish and every kind of guest, even for guests you do not like all that much. If, in the unlikely event, you'll find yourself having guests for dinner who are less than simpatico, do not worry, I have the right wine for them as well and here it is; a remarkably full bodied dry red wine from Australia:
Make sure that the label is very visible and hopefully they will take the hint and make themselves scarce, pronto!

Cheers!

copyrigth 2008 Y.E.W. Heuzen

31 comments:

Arabella Sock said...

I'll go with a couple of bottles of Fat Bastard I think!

How is Jeeves by the way?

Yolanda Elizabet Heuzen said...

Cheers Arabella! ;-) Jeeves is fine now that I've removed 6 ticks from his poor widdle head this morning. If everything goes according to plan then he will move to Belgium in the New Year to live with a nice couple who would love to provide Jeeves with the best possible home a kittycat could ask for. But I will miss him, badly.

Anonymous said...

Hi YE, thanks for this tutorial. Someone posted the recipe for the warm spiced wine and it sounds delightful. Guests not so nice? What are they doing at your home? HA

Frances

the word verification was fibracat!

garden girl said...

Wonderful wine suggestions Yolanda. I recognize many of the wines you featured.

Fat Bastard always makes me chuckle when I see it on the store shelves here.

Jan said...

Hey there! I wonder if I can get any of these wines, besides Fat Bastard (which I already have!!) here in the US? Virginia, specifically? I haven't looked yet...so perhaps they are easily obtained. Many of them look wonderful, and with your recommendation behind them, they probably ARE wonderful! I'll look for them, or at least ONE of them, next time I'm out! Now, as for the Fat Bastard, I saved my bottle after I had it this summer, for posterity, but honestly, that wine isn't very tasty. It's name lives up to its flavor. Yes, I would serve it to someone I'd like never to come back!! Jan

Libby said...

I'm coming to yours as you seem to have all the bst wines lol!!!

Anonymous said...

I'm not a wine drinker so I'll stick with a cup of tea thanks!
Cheers! xx

Ruth Welter said...

Hi Yolanda....sounds like you know your wine lady. : )

Happy holidays to you and your family.

ruth

Victoria Summerley said...

Yolanda, you're a genius, thank you for making me laugh. (And your Russian Blues are so pweedy! Just like my Pushkin)
Best wishes (hic, 'scuse me), Victoria

Poppins said...

Yes, it is true! I love Italian wines!
The Fat Bastard - haha! I have to have a bottle of that!
love
Poppis

PS I wish I could write something in Dutch! You surprise me with your knowledge in Swedish.

Anonymous said...

Wat een heerlijke wijnadviezen....de prosecco is hier ook goed gevallen en zo'n merlootje gaat er ook wel in...;-)) Als binnenkomertje is een egg-nogje ook niet te versmaden......pff lijk wel een drankorgel...;-)))

Lisa at Greenbow said...

This post is great Yolanda. Just the right thing for the season. I wish I could get each and every wine you have shown here. Cheers..

Gail said...

I could have used your advice this past weekend! On wines, not onions! Instead we asked the friendly and knowledgeable owner our favorite wine shop! Fat Bastard always makes smile...We like Prosecco when we serve Thai food...it's a nice match! At least no one has complained!

Thanks YE! gail

emmat said...

I started laughing hysterically when i saw the first line of this post in Google reader... honestly that has really made me laugh.
I can't believe you didn't manage to find a way to fit some Blue Nun in there

emmat said...

PS I've had this before and it's delicious... and entirely suitable for gardeners
http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/P-5119.aspx

marga said...

Kijk.......daar heeft een mens nou wat aan, aan die wijnadviezen.
Die Fat bastard....dat lijkt me wel wat, waar is die te krijgen!!!!!

Anonymous said...

"If, in the unlikely event, you'll find yourself having guests for dinner who are less than simpatico, do not worry, I have the right wine for them as well and here it is; a remarkably full bodied dry red wine from Australia:
"

great, keep it up!!

Monica the Garden Faerie said...

I wish I liked wine, but I don't, even after trying many many kinds. Even at a winery! I do like Gluehwein, but that's about it. I don't suppose you have a post about beers in mind, also? ;-)
~ Monica

Anonymous said...

YE: You have a very complete wine cellar! I will have to try to find some of those suggestions at the liquor store. I know I have had Fat Bastard! Wonder who set that on the table for me? LOL :)

Anonymous said...

We fret no more after your excellent advice! The Passionflower wine looks interesting - not seen that one before.

Anonymous said...

My grandparents had vineyards and I grew up around it, so I am very peticular when it comes to wine. Anyhow, my dear, very refreshing post and fun to read while we are enjoying a glass of Bordeaux. ;-) Take care, Andrea

Karin said...

Lovely wine tips! I would love to try that Fat bastard. *lol*

We don't have wine on Christmas except for mulled wine or Swedish glögg.

Have a nice Sunday! Kram Karin :)

Barbara said...

With a big smile I (daughter of a viniculturer) was reading this amusing post. I'd like to drink a glass of wine with you sometimes, dear Yolanda, but there is no need to buy a special "rose" wine ;-) !! But I'd like to have a go!
I wish you a merry Christmas and a happy and nice holiday season (with a very good glass of wine!). Take care and have a good time!
Barbara

VP said...

Tee hee hic!

I love Gluhwein and a crisp Cava is the way to go in these credit crunchy times.

Have a great Christmas Yolanda - I hope you'll going to have some help getting through that little lot - it strikes me as one area where the Bliss team won't be much help?

Matron said...

I make mulled wine in the slow cooker or crockpot over Christmas. Just keep topping it up with wine, spices and sugar and the whole house smells divine! Merry Christmas to you Yolanda, and Tara and everyone else!!

Aiyana said...

I don't care for wine, but love looking at the labels and names. That last one is quite humorous!
Hope you have a wonderful holiday season, and thanks for visiting my blog over the past year.
Aiyana

Anonymous said...

Nounou, jij zal niet droog staan de komende feestdagen ;-)
Ik hoop in het nieuwe jaar eindelijk weer de tijd te krijgen om eens even "bij te lezen" bij jou, de achterstand wordt steeds groter :-(
Kun je niet even logpauze nemen? (hahaha)
In ieder geval wens ik je sfeervolle feestdagen toe en dat zal wel lukken met de nodige spiritualiën.
Groeten, Marian

lisa said...

Thank you for the entertaining tutorial! I used to be more of a wine drinker, but my sulpher allergy makes it difficult due to sulfites in many wines. (But I'll help drink a bottle of Dom Perignon anytime! :) I'd like to sign up for the "gardener's" wine-tasting too...such pretty bottles. BTW..."Fat Bastard" wine...LOL!!

Angela @ Cottage Magpie said...

Yummmity yum yum those all look delicious. Especially the passionflower wine. I love dessert wine. I admit the dry stuff I'm not that excited about (I know, I know).

Anyway, I just stopped by to say Merry Christmas. I hope you have a wonderful holiday!
~Angela :-)

Naturegirl said...

Yolanda! Lots of Christmas Cheer in this post!In my world with the freezing temps. and snow I certainly need a bit of the Gluhwien,followed by my fav. Champagne..had lots of that while visiting Paris in the fall and I will try the La Tulip !!
May the Spirit of Christmas leave its blessings on the hearts of you and yours! hugs NG

HappyMouffetard said...

Best wishes for Christmas and the New Year to you and your ever ncreasing pride of little lions.