A really great time was had by all at our December meeting in Lochaber Hall.
A fabulous WI finish to 2022!
Celebrating our 10th anniversary in 2022, Carolyn featured ten tips for matching food and wine and ten ‘resolutions’ for better drinking in 2023. So for those of you who couldn’t make it to the meeting here are her tips.
Ten food and wine matching tips for Christmas
- Nibbles, crisps, nuts, cheese straws and finger food The key here is salt and greasiness/oiliness. Best matches are Champagne, Dry/Brut style, Sparkling wine – preferably Cava not Prosecco. Try Cremant de Jura (Aldi £8.99). Dealcoholized Sparkling wine Thomson & Scott Noughty (Waitrose £9.00).
- Smoked salmon and seafood Lemon requires dry acidic wines such as Sauvignon, Manzanilla or Fino Sherry. With crème fraiche you can go to less acidic whites. Pinot Blanc or Chardonnay. Or Malt Whisky with oak smoked salmon.
- Turkey White Burgundy if you are focussing on the bird. Or try Viognier, aromatic, fleshy and round, the wine’s juicy stone fruit flavours and floral, honeyed undertones are ideal with tender turkey meat. Try Yalumba Y Series Viognier (Sainsburys £8.50). However, if red is the order of the day, the trimmings are robust and need to be matched. Rhone, Syrah/Shiraz or Lebanese Beeka Valley Red (Aldi £8.99). Goose is fatty. It needs something fruity and with acidity to match it like a Pinot Noir or Riesling. For Beef a red Bordeaux/Claret or New World Bordeaux Blend.
- Boxing Day/Left overs: Gammon. Beaujolais is perfect – fruity and gluggable or a fruity Italian like Valpolicella.
- Christmas Pudding It is rich and then you have the cream to consider! Dessert wines must be sweeter than the pud. Hungarian Tokaj, Orange Muscat, Moscatel de Setubal or Sauternes. Try Tesco Finest Dessert Botrytis Semillon 37.5cl (£6.25) Morrison has one from the same producer De Bortoli (£6.00) or Waitrose Cellar Samos Vin Doux (£8.99).
- Mince Pies Sweet Oloroso or Pedro Ximenez sherry. Morrisons have an excellent range of half bottles including the PX at £6.50. Or be adventurous and go for Bual or Malvasia Madeira (Waitrose/Majestic). For Panetone, Asti Spumante or Moscato sparkling wine or Prosecco, ideally demi sec. Nozecco from Sainsburys (£3.50) is a non-alcoholic alternative which is widely available.
- Stilton Classically Port. Ruby and Vintage can be overwhelming but the nuttier 10 or 20 year Tawny ports are sublime, and go better with other cheeses too. Goat cheese likes Sauvignon Blanc.
- Chocolate Again sweetness and texture needs attention. Best is Ruby Port, a Late Bottled Vintage or a Maury from the South of France. And in between Christmas & New Year…
- Curry IPA beer – avoid lager. Aromatic white wines, rose or fruity reds like Zinfandel/ Primitivo. Or dark rose wines.
- Fish & Chips Champagne – vintage preferably. Yes seriously! Fizz goes with almost everything and for any occasion. When in doubt it is the best choice whatever you are eating!
Ten resolutions for ‘better’ drinking in 2023!
- Drink less but better Remember the tax on a bottle of wine is the same if it costs £5.00 or £50.00. So proportionately the more you spend the more you are paying for better wine.
- Low Alcohol wines are getting better BUT they are still not as nice or exciting (a personal view!) But look for wines that have lower abvs, below 12%.
- Support English Vineyards especially those that are local. www.winegardenofengland.co.uk or if travelling around the country search on the Great British Vineyard Guide www.gbvg.uk or www.winegb.co.uk. Plus buy gift vouchers for friends and family.
- Buy from Independents Resist the supermarket offers and widen your wine buying to online. Best investment for yourself is a membership to The Wine Society. Great for a gift and ideal as a wedding gift. https://www.thewinesociety.com/become-a-member/gift-membership It costs £40.00 and you get £20.00 off your first order.
- Think big Buy magnums. They make super presents as they look so impressive and generous. Good for red wines in particular as the wines age more gracefully in big bottles. Majestic Wines at this time of year have a good selection. https://www.majestic.co.uk/magnums-of-wine.
- Be adventurous Buy wines from unusual grapes and less well known countries and regions. Waitrose, M&S and Aldi have ranges that can help you. Look out for the Found, and Lost and Found Ranges in their stores that promote such wines that maybe out of your comfort zone and usually are all under £10.00. The Sainsburys offering is called Taste the Difference Discovery Range.
- Think Green Bottles are not at all carbon neutral. It is the best container for wine that needs to be cellared but as 98% of wine is consumed within 48 hours of purchase, bottles going forward will need to be replaced by Tetrapak, Cans, Pouches or Bag in the Boxes. Watch this space for recommendations. Hopefully the quality of the wine in these more eco-friendly containers will soon improve too!!
- Educate yourself Best no nonsense website for food and wine matching is Fiona Beckett who writes for the Guardian and in a host of other publications. https://www.matchingfoodandwine.com/content/about_me You can subscribe to her newsletter or alternatively if you google Wine with… and then put Fiona Beckett you will be directed to past postings.
- 2023 Be Fortified! Hopefully it will not be as hard a year as we fear, but Port, Madeira and Sherry are the best value fortified wines based on their history, sheer versatility and ageing, compared with most regular wines and spirits. For me sherry is the best and if you want to learn more about it I am happy to do a sherry tasting in the New Year. In the meantime do look at the excellent https://www.sherrynotes.com/ for its latest blog and reviews and so much more. And Lastly…
- Look out for my monthly tips on the Make do and Meet Whats App group to find out about the latest wine news, best buys and discounts from supermarkets and independents.
Wishing you all a Happy Christmas and New Year!