I am tired of the same old wine pairings for the traditional Christmas Dinner. So this year I am looking to try something different.
Shiraz before dinner, Cabernet Sauvignon with Turkey Dinner and Muscat after dinner (which is probably not that unusual). And for Christmas morning, at the suggestion of Tony from Yalumba, I will enjoy Viognier for breakfast!
The details:
Before I leave for work in the morning (around 7:30am) I will put a bottle of 2006 Marquis Phillips, Shiraz 9 in the decanter. I’ve had it before, and it weighs in at 16% alcohol. It is MASSIVE. It’s not a fruit bomb either. I brought it over to a friends for a dinner party and the quote of the evening from my friend who generally likes Pinot Noir: “This wine is hurting my mouth!” I laughed mercilessly at him. I’m interested to see what 12 months has done to the wine.
I’ll probably get home from work around 3 in the afternoon, and by then that Shiraz 9 will be ready for conspicuous consumption. I might have to share a little bit of it with the other Christmas dinner guests when they arrive at around 6pm. I am choosing this wine because of its sheer intensity, but also, from what I remember last year, it tasted really good. Sorry, I’m also a bit tired of the same old wine descriptions so I’m not going to elaborate on the taste in this post
At around 4pm I will open up the remaining two bottles of Chalone Vineyard Cabernet that I bought recently. If you read my review of it, you’ll know that I recommended about 3 hours in the decanter for this wine to truly open up.
Christmas Dinner will consist of Turkey, ham, stuffing, scalloped potatoes, green bean casserole, salad, and probably something else. It’s always a potluck dinner so I never know exactly what to expect. I will gorge myself on Christmas dinner and wine, and then for dessert I will open up a little bottle of Yalumba Museum Reserve Muscat. I pour myself a tiny glass and also drizzle this on Hagen Daz vanilla bean ice cream. This wine tastes like strong black tea and sweet dried apricots. It’s enough to leave you twitching in a diabetic coma by the end of the night. Yum!
Christmas morning I might be feeling a little rough, and so that’s when I will pop and pour some Yalumba Viognier, and have it with a toasted bagel and plain cream cheese.
Tim
Links:
Weekly Wine Journal 