I don’t think I went all that mad this Christmas just gone. When you work with wine all year round it’s not really a big release or anything. It’s your job, it’s your passion, and when it comes to celebration times I find myself picking other vices to go nuts with instead (chocolate!). Still had a couple though…
I really enjoyed working my way through a selection of dessert wines that the kind folks at Lidl sent me to try out. I’ve spoken before about the Pillitteri Ice Wine they sell for £15, which gave a great lift to a Norwegian creamy rice pudding. I also loved their Tokaji, the famous Hungarian sweet wine. We knocked that one back with some magnum ice creams!
Talking of magnums…we cracked open a couple of bottles I had knocking around. On Christmas Eve, with a Scandinavian meat feast, we opened up the Ramon Bilbao Rioja Crianza. That’s a red wine from the Rioja region of Spain with a bit, but not too much ageing. Leaves plenty of acidity (so refreshing) and fruit flavours. Great with the (sometimes stodgy) food.
We also nailed a magnum of Crozes-Hermitage (red wine from the Northern Rhone in France) with a beef and bacon stew on New Year’s Eve. I’d somehow ended up with this bottle at the end of a quiz night with the guys and girls from the Rhone Wines marketing board. Started the New Year off pretty well I can tell you! Such a rich wine, with a thick body that goes great with heavy stews.
We’re also running seriously low on our Crémant and Champagne stocks. Can’t beat a bit of bubbly with mates can you?
Cheers
