Are
you worried what to drink with the big meal this Christmas? Well don’t
be as a huge range of wines will work well enough with your
turkey/duck/goose/beef/nut cutlet or whatever else you are having this
year as Martin discusses on Newstalk 106FM’s Dublin Life show today
(17/12/2003) after the 3pm news.
The
turkey in particular is a forgiving beast and so too are its smaller
cousins the duck and goose. If anything jars it will be something sweet or
sharp such as cranberry or apple. In
general reds seem to suit best (obviously really – just look at Santa)
and on the fruitier side of dry so give that austere claret from a less
generous year like 1999 or 2001 a miss.
The
choice is pretty wide and we all have our favourites from the following
list of softer, fruity rich reds. Australian shiraz is good, indeed New
World shiraz from any quarter would be good.
From California try a zinfandel or merlot, from Chile a reserve
merlot or carmenère and from Argentina a malbec, but be careful with
South African reds as they can sometimes be a bit sharp. A notable
exception is the Fairview / Goats do Roam range.
French
choices have to begin with the pinot noir based wines of Burgundy and
gamay based wines of Beaujolais. Give these a miss though if money is
tight as the basic models will be light and poor value. The Rhône has
plenty of winners, especially if you’re having a gamey goose, as does
the ever improving Languedoc with its spicy herbal wines like Corbiere or
Minervois.
Spanish
wine has always tended to the rich and soft in style so most Spanish reds
will do the trick but neighbour Portugal’s wine’s can be more hit and
miss. But even so, if your have a favourite from their then go with it.
Wines
to be tasted on today’s show include a Sicilian, Villa
Tonino Nero d’Avola 2002 ‘Baglio Curatolo, 91/100, €13.99 (imported
by Liberty wines, sold by O’Donovans of Cork)
a rich ripe spicy beauty and a fine example of the kind of new wave
Southern Italian styles that are a perfect choice and one I’ll be
drinking myself.
The other wine tasted was an Aussie, Brown
Brothers Shiraz, Mondeuse and Cabernet 1997, 89/100,
€9.99 at the Next Door chain, reduced from €14.99
and a real steal at this price. It has a whopping 15% alcohol, but
thankfully a lot of rich spicy flavour – cherry, raisin and blackcurrant
dominate. Check out too the partner white, a semillon, also at the same
reduced price.
If
you must drink white try a biggish style such as a white Burgundy or oak
aged chardonnay or be radical and have a white Rhône or oaked white Rioja.
If
you want to make a mulled wine, there’s
recipe on last week’s wine of the week page.
Finally
Don’t worry too much about the wines it’s about family and friends,
wine should just lubricate the event and not cause too much comment aside
from “mmm, nice’’.
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