Pick your wines for this festive season

Giovanni Morelli has some tips on wines to drink during the Christmas holidays, and a few wine books you might like to send him as gifts

Can’t we just get rid of wine lists? Do we really have to be reminded every time we go out to a nice restaurant that we have no idea what we are doing? Why don’t they just give us a trigonometry quiz with the menu? — Jerry Seinfeld.
I don’t know about you but I enjoy going into a wine shop and snooping around or perusing a wine list in a restaurant. I rarely go to restaurants with a real sommelier so I don’t have to suffer the embarrassment that Eric Pfanner in the International Herald Tribune seems to undergo when this variety of human being descends upon him.
It seems the dreaded web- site for wine has emerged from Bordeaux, of all places. Yes, apparently you can ask questions from a group of sommeliers, who answer through a video chat, whatever that is! (www.enjoybordeaux.com).
I think it’s much more fun to try to learn a little about grape varieties and wines from different countries and then drink them, and you’ll be surprised how quickly you can pick wines that are appropriate to your taste and wallet.
At the end of the day, wine drinking is supposed to be enjoyable, and if choosing induces stress then perhaps the protective effect of red wine on heart disease might be negated!
The festive season is upon us and hopefully it will be an enjoyable experience. I know wine shops have been adversely affected by the economic downturn, especially the corporate sector. There are still bargains to be had, so start looking now for what you would like to drink on the day.
I remain traditional and like to have a glass of sparkling wine with my smoked salmon (plenty of pepper, lemon juice and brown bread). M&S are currently offering champagne for €21.50 that normally sells for over €40, Guillaume de Gand, Brut Reserve, a blend of chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier. It is tasty with nice biscuit flavours and lots of bubbles.
Super value
Graham Beck’s brut NV Méthode Cap Classique, made from chardonnay and pinot noir in South Africa is still super value and widely available at about €21.
Prosecco, a grape virtually unheard of in Ireland until five or six years ago, is a good substitute. This grape is used to make sparkling wine in and around Valdobbiadene, north of Treviso. Nowadays these wines are fairly dry and very pleasant. The secondary fermentation takes place in a tank, not in the bottle as in champagne, thus less labour and a cheaper price. These wines are available for less than €20 and are very widely available now.
As I’ll be in Italy I’ll probably have a prosecco or a sparkling franciacorta.
Treat yourself to a decent champagne glass if you don’t have one. The champagne glasses from Patrick Guillebaud are really nice to drink from (available from Brown Thomas). Don’t wash them until the next day as they are quite fine and liable to break if dried at the end of a long night!
For the turkey and ham I would stick to the Rhône Valley. The Côtes du Rhône Classic collection 2008 in Superquinn at €7 per bottle is fantastic value.
Move up a little
If you want to move up a little, the Belleruche from M. Chaputier (Grenache and Syrah) and the Parallèle 45 from Paul Jaboulet Ainé (same grape varieties) are both excellent. Sold at about €13 they are both widely available. I have a case of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, ‘La Crau’, Vieux Télégraphe 2005, so I might take a few bottles to Italy.
This wine can be drunk now but will keep for another 10 or 15 years if you have the patience! It is available from the Corkscrew in Chatham Street and retails at about €35 – €40 per bottle. It should be available from good wine shops.
With my cheese or pudding I’ll have a delightful naturally botrytised semillion from Chile, Valdivieso Eclat at €19.95 for 500 cls. As this wine is newly imported into Ireland it is only available from The Corkscrew, Chatham Street, and Thomas Woodburys in Galway so far. Hopefully over time it will be more widely available, so keep a look-out.
Wine books always make a nice present. Hugh Johnson’s pocket book remains the best value. Oz Clarke has one of similar size but wines are listed alphabetically and not by region or country. Very irritating. Cahors and California on the same page!
Hugh Johnson’s wine companion has been updated to 2009 by Stephen Brook, and one I have not seen before is Wine 2008 by André Dominé at about €35.00.
I drink therefore I am
These last two are handsome large volumes. The most intriguing title I have seen is I drink therefore I am: A philosophical guide to wine by Roger Scruton. Perhaps someone will buy it for me for Christmas.
Thanks for reading me this year and have a wonderful Christmas and New Year.
Don’t drink too much.
Buon Natale.
Giovanni.