Christmas and wine

As the malls are getting busier, the line at Starbucks longer, the air colder, and the days shorter, people tend to get a little stressed this time of year. Luckily for me I finished my shopping in November (first time ever so I'm really proud of myself) so I get to just relax and enjoy the next month leading up to Christmas. We have our flights booked to Vancouver and are counting down the days.

Since my husband and I moved to Saskatoon, I've looked forward to Christmas even more than I did when I lived in Vancouver (which believe me, if you know me, you would think that was impossible). I've been listening to Christmas music and finding cookie recipes online so I can make tasty treats for friends and family back home. I've handmade beeswax candles and have purchased and packed about 15 cookie tins as well as ingredients to make some very special gift baskets. Needless to say, I'm feeling pretty good about Christmas this year.

The thing I look forward to most about Christmas is the amazing quality time spent with family. I look forward all year to having a blueberry tea with my mom after turkey dinner when we're all sitting around chatting and reminiscing. I also really look forward to having the perfectly paired glass of wine with my turkey dinner. Rob and I are pretty spoiled at Christmas time because we get three turkey dinners. One with my mom and her sweet boyfriend, another with my dad and his wonderful wife, and another with Rob's mom and dad.

When I'm selecting wine for turkey dinner, I usually go with two bottles, a red and a white. I've found the perfect white wine pairing is riesling. You can choose the level of sweetness with a riesling because most liquor and specialty wine stores will have everything from dry to very sweet in this grape varietal. I really enjoy Mission Hill 5 Vineyards dry riesling from B.C. which is a little off-dry, and has subtle but very nice tastes of pineapple but if you want to go with something sweeter, try Dienhard Riesling for an off dry white, or Dienhard Piesporter Riesling for those of you with a bit of a sweet tooth.

For a red I would go with pinot noir for sure, A little pricier than a riesling but well worth it. The reason for the higher price tag is because pinot noir is a very delicate grape. To produce a quality pinot noir the grapes need a climate that's warm enough to ripen the grapes but also cool enough to keep the thin skins from shrivelling up like raisins. Not only is it difficult to grow, it is also very difficult to ferment. If this grape were a person, it would be a very high maintenance diva. One of my favourite bottles to drink over the holidays is Inniskillin Reserve Pinot Noir. It's got a hint of vanilla and cherries with nice smoky tannins. It would go very well with your turkey dinner.

I'm going to close this post with a cheesy Christmas joke for your amusement.

Where do Snowmen go to dance?

Snowballs!

P.S. the glass shown to the left is a pinot noir glass.