Unfiltered, Unfined

Recent dinner party chez Paul

Holiday columns have become a rather obligatory part of my job, and to be honest, I rather enjoy writing them. Not because of any incredible insights I have into special-occasion wine-and-food pairings. On the contrary, most wines fare reasonably well with most foods, and pretty much all of the truly memorable combinations were charted out many years before I ever thought of, well, anything.

No, what I really like about writing holiday columns is the continuity, the repeating of lessons that have become a part of our shared heritage. Wine has been with us since the early days of civilization. In some ways wine is a shorthand for culture itself, and it is always a profitable use of time to review the tried-and-true. So I thought I’d put together a list of wines I’ve recently tried that will work with various elements of traditional holiday feasts.

SPARKLERS (APPETIZERS, MAIN COURSE, DESSERT)

Cheers!

As I’ve said many times before, bubbles match just about anything you’d want to put in your mouth. This includes Brut and other dry styles, as well as those that are only moderately sweet.

In a Brut Champagne (as dry as it gets) I find a lot to like in the delicately toasted Heidsieck Monopole Blue Top Premier Cru. This finely beaded beauty bursts with apples, pears, wheat and finely delineated minerals. This would be heaven with smoked fish, or even caviar, if anyone can still afford it.

As for sweet fizz, at a Rioja lunch with Australian winemaker Chris Ringland I was wowed by the R Winery Bitch Bubbles, an off-dry pink porch-pounder that Chris describes as “Something you can pop and quaff, great with almost any food and easy on the budget.” I found this 90/10 Chardonnay/Pinot Noir bubbly blend to be pure pink bubblegum alloyed with sweet red cherry and tropical fruit notes. Really a fun pour, and with enough acidity to hold the residual sugar in check and ease just about any food pairing.

WHITES (APPETIZERS, MAIN COURSE)

One of the secrets of the wine world is how well whites match with hearty holiday fare. Here I’m referring to dry white wines, although this mantra applies equally well to those that are only slightly sweet. Both of the following suggestions would pair well with most traditional dishes.

Chris Ringland at Rioja lunch

At that same Rioja lunch with Chris Ringland, I was impressed by his Darby and John’s Chardonnay. Chris explained how extended tank and no malolactic fermentation led to a wine that was like a great Macon Villages but, to my palate, perhaps even better. Lime zest melded with a slightly vegetal element at first, followed by slate, white flowers and banana cream pie on the tangy, very long finish.

Another bottle I recently enjoyed was Alois Lageder’s biodynamic Chardonnay-Pinot Grigio blend from Alto Adige. Pineapple, bitter lime and guava on the nose met juniper, quinine and green pear on the racy, pure palate. Well worth the tariff, and the well-rounded acidity makes it a natural with both pre-meal tidbits and the main course itself.

ROSÉS (APPETIZERS, MAIN COURSE)

When writing about rosé wine’s applicability to holiday dining on his Facebook page, Erik Quam of Magellan Imports said, “If you love red wine but your mother-in-law can’t handle the big stuff, consider … Rosés from Europe … (which are) some of the most delicious, food-friendly wines around.”

Volker Knipser sneaking a taste for us

I fully concur, and one such bottle that Erik imports is the Knipser Rosé. Made primarily of Cabernet Sauvignon by Volker Knipser (Germany’s 2009 Winegrower of the Year out of the Pfaltz region), it’s strawberry scented, both crisp and fruity, which is what one would expect of juice that’s been chill-matured in stainless steel tanks. This delicately pink showstopper would pair very gently with the star of the Thanksgiving show, that oh-so-tender turkey (especially the dark meat).

REDS (MAIN COURSE, DESSERT)

In the end, dry red wine will always rule the dinner table because of the ethereal combination of wine’s fruity flavors, tannins and acidity with meat’s essential savoriness.

For those who insist on pouring red with white turkey meat, I offer the spicy Patton Valley Vineyard Pinot Noir from the Willamette Valley in Oregon. Cedar, cinnamon and vanilla lead off the nose, and the finish is all raspberry candy. It’s light and clean, very well-made, and a joy with fowl of any feather.

Yet another show-stopper is the Marquis-Phillips Shiraz, a wine that would deal quite effectively with any of the other-than-turkey proteins. Black olive and five-spice vie for supremacy on the nose, and savory cinnamon, black cherry , mocha and dark chocolate flavors round out this purple, inky beast. As impressive as many other 2008s I’ve tried from Down-Under. No doubt 2008 is shaping up to be a beauty year!

Ben crushing grapes at Penley

One more tip - if you’re one of the lucky families that do prime rib during the holidays, grab some meaty Penley Merlot Gryphon. Meat juice and mocha stride through the attack, followed by luscious chocolate, dark raspberry and blackberry on the silky smooth finish. A serious wine for straight-ahead fare.

OVERTLY SWEET WINES (DESSERT)

Just as bubbles can rev the crowd in anticipation of the feast to come, and dry whites and reds can maintain the momentum through the bulk of the meal, so can drop-dead delicious dessert wines cool the house down after a showy holiday feast.

Wild horses in the Burgenland, Austria

Great stickies demand contemplation, and are often better without additional dessert. But there’s an obvious need for a pumpkin pie wine, and to fulfill this function I offer the non-vintage Weingut Kracher Trockenbeerenauslese (TBA) from the Burgenland region of Austria. Loads of apricot, smoke, cinnamon and allspice dominate at first, but it finishes with fruit cocktail syrup and a bit of a yeasty note. Most of Kracher’s award-winning lineup of late-harvest wines are vintage dated and thus significantly more expensive than this NV cuvee. It’s also available in 187ml bottles, which are great for an intimate evening for two. Really a tremendous value.

Most of us will be celebrating the season with various traditional foods accompanied by wines of all sorts of stripes. As I said at the beginning, most wines match most foods. But if you want to get the most of your holiday pairings, put some of these bottles on your table.

Recommended:

Sparkling

Heidsieck Monopole Blue Top Premier Cru NV (Champagne, France) $37

R Winery Bitch Bubbles NV (South Australia, Australia) $10

White

Darby & John’s Chardonnay 2008 (Southeast Australia, Australia) $10

Alois Lageder Chardonnay-Pinot Grigio Beta-Delta 2008 (Alto Adige, Italy) $24

Rosé

Weingut Knipser Rosé 2008 (Pfaltz, Germany) $20

Red

Patton Valley Vineyard Pinot Noir 2007 (Willamette Valley, Oregon) $35

Marquis Phillips Shiraz 2008 (McLaren Vale, Australia) $18

Penley Estate Merlot Gryphon 2007 (Coonawarra, Australia) $20

Dessert

Weingut Kracher TBA NV (Burgenland, Austria) $22/187ml