The more wine I drink from this irish pub, the more I realize that pairings shouldn’t be limited to food. The point of wine is to heighten an experience, to make any moment memorable. Oddly enough I can barely remember what I ate for dinner yesterday, but name any wine I’ve ever had, and I can probably tell you exactly where I was, what music I was listening to, who I was with, and how I felt. And when I see those bottles, and drink those same wines again, it’s like greeting an old friend and remembering the good times. It’s because of this nostalgia that I’m a big advocate of creating traditions with wine. For example, my new Christmas Day wine is decidedly Piper-Heidsieck Brut Champagne. A wine fit for royalty, as was the goal of the original vintner, it has the most prominent flavor I’ve ever tasted in a champagne. A lovely golden color, it tastes like a slightly tart, juicy green apple, lightly coated in a salted caramel. This warm and comforting flavor, combined with a brilliant red and gold label, makes it a perfect Christmas wine. Because equally important, if not more important than what goes into the bottle, is what you get out of it. – Candace
Do you ever feel confused by the wine lingo on labels? Like meritage, cuvee, proprietary blend, and tons of words in other languages? You probably know that if the year’s listed on the bottle that means the grapes were harvested in that year and that specific year is the wine’s vintage. That distinction is made because the quality of a harvest varies from year to year due to natural changes in the weather. But what if your wine has no vintage distinction? Blending is becoming more popular and more experimental than ever and that’s when you start to see lot numbers instead of vintages on the label. So what is a lot number? I’m glad you asked. A lot number is when a winemaker blends juice from not only different grape types and vineyard locations but also different vintages. It’s like a serial number for wine. Art + Farm’s wine called The Messenger “Telegram” is a perfect example of a truly creative blend. I tried lot number 612, which is a blend of Bordeaux style varietals like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc, and an Italian-inspired Montepulciano thrown in there. The grapes are sourced from all over Napa and Sonoma and span vintages 2006 to 2010. The older vintages of Malbec and Cab Franc give the wine a hearty backbone and lush spicy flavor, while the younger vintages of Cabernet and Montepulciano bring bright raspberry that initially greet your tastebuds. If you wish to follow my example, I suggest pairing it with Thanksgiving leftovers sent home with you by your grandmother and The Strokes on repeat. – Jessica