" />" />

Holiday Food & Wine Pairing: It’s all about the GPS!

car gps
That’s right! The GPS is the key to successful holiday food and wine pairings.

car gps

Nooo, not THAT kind of GPS!  … Unless of course you are using THAT kind of GPS to navigate yourself to our wine shop :P

The GPS that I am talking about is an acronym for Gamay, Pinot, and Sparkling. If you can remember those names long enough to get to our wine shop (or another if you absolutely have to :P) than you are well on your way to having the perfect wines to gulp down with the foods at all those holiday parties, gatherings, and meals you have planned this season :) Let me explain why.

Remembering GPS  will keep you clear of any holiday food and wine pairing dilemmas!

Let’s start with “G”. The “G” stands for Gamay (gam-may). Gamay is a grape variety that is used in the production of wines from the southern Burgundy wine region known as Beaujolais. It is a  light, fruity red wine that’s a nice middle ground for expert wine drinkers and newbies, alike. Gamay is as close to a white wine as a red wine can get, making it a great catch all pairing for all that variety of holiday foods you will find. It can stand up to meats, but balance out with veggies and herbs. It can pair with many different cheeses and can even stick around for the sweet desserts. You can go for the lightest of the Beaujolais wines by asking for Beaujolais Nouveau, or if you want to move up in quality level than ask for a Beaujolais Villages or one of the ten Beaujolais Crus. Gamay wines are also nice because both red, white, and sweet wine drinkers can find a middle ground and will all enjoy this wines from the Gamay grape.

Moving along to “P”, which is anything with pinot in front of it, i.e. Pinot Noir, Pinot Grigio/Gris, Pinot Bianco/Blanc,  The red pinot, aka Pinot Noir is like the vinous version of cranberry sauce for your holiday meal. It is great with the turkey, the ham, and the stuffing. It also is a great pairing for earthy dishes with mushrooms and/or various dried herbs. The white pinots, aka Pinot Bianco/Blanc and Pinot Grigio/Gris, with their fresh acidity are fantastic pairings for all the seafood dishes, veggie dishes, creamy dishes, fresh herb dishes, and salads.

Lastly is the “S”, which stands for sparkling. This can be Champagne if you are feeling fancy pants, or a Spanish Cava, French Cremant, or an Italian Prosecco if you are wanting an inexpensive value sparkling wine. Sparkling wines can go with just about anything from start to finish on our holiday menu, and you know the sound of the bursting cork is always the beginning of a party! Sparkling wines are especially great with odd texture foods like smoked salmon, oysters, artichoke cream dishes, sushi, etc. If you really want to impress your guests, set up a few fruity liqueurs that you guests can add a splash of to their sparkling wines for a European treat known as a “Kir Royal“. And any sparkling wine leftovers make a great mimosa for the late morning-afters! (My secret to a killer mimosa is an almond infused sparkling wine, which we carry in our shop!).

The above GPS can fit any budget, wine drinking personalities, and holiday festivities! You are now a holiday food and wine pairing pro, not to mention you will be THE hit at all those holiday parties!

 

1 thought on “Holiday Food & Wine Pairing: It’s all about the GPS!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.