Contents
Dinners with friends, family meals, large events and ultimately endless Christmas celebrations in which food becomes the main protagonist of the event. A good pairing It will be essential to achieve success in your meetings and become the expert host.
Woody, fruity, aging, reserve, great reserve … The world of oenology is as wide as we can imagine, as well as the offer that is often presented to us and that at this time is increased by limited editions, special bottles and even wines designed for each moment.
We would all like to be expert winemakers and get it right by choosing the wine that we are going to serve at a special dinner, but until we reach that level we will help ourselves with the opinion of great experts such as Francisco Hurtado de Amézaga, winemaker of the Herederos de Marqués de Riscal wineries so that our choice has no margin for error. Fifth generation of one of the most important wine families in our country, in addition to being a great professional and expert in the sector, he explains to us how to get it right and make wine become another protagonist of this Christmas.
The chose
Whether we are hosting the dinner or if we are guests and we have decided to bring a wine as a token of appreciation, the ideal thing will be know the dishes that we are going to taste. When selecting a wine, it is very important to take into account the aromatic intensity with respect to the accompanying dish.
There are wines that could accompany a whole dinner, «A white Chirel could be a example of white wine that could accompany an entire menu«Francisco Hurtado tells us.
The time of purchase
Spain undoubtedly has a wide range of quality national wines from which to choose the option that best suits our taste and needs.
When buying a special bottle, it is best to visit one of the many specialized stores in this product in which the offer will be more varied. The first thing that we will find ourselves in this situation will be the label reading: a certain type of grape, a selected region, a Denomination of Origin … How to interpret it? Francisco Hurtado tells us: “on many occasions the label says very little about what is inside […] If you don’t know about wine and you don’t know brands, you have to ask the expert and get advice”. Specialty stores like Lavinia They can be a good option both at the level of variety for the choice and for the advice from its experts.
The price, an indication
At a dinner such as Christmas dinner in which we take for granted that there is a level meal, the expert of Marquis de Riscal He does not propose “to choose wines more serious and with structure” and he sentences that for him: “The price is undoubtedly an indication of the quality of the product”.
“The one who goes over the price and does not meet expectations will soon have to lower it.” A price? “Between 25 and 30 euros is the usual for a wine to be good considering that we are on special dates”.
Goodbye to the classic pairing
The classic “White for fish and red for meat has already gone down in history”, says Francisco Hurtado.
With this premise we choose several dishes common at dinners and lunches on these special dates for which the expert proposes: «Starters such as foie go ideal with sweet whites; for seafood we will choose whites with a certain power and structure that have wood, such as a Montico; while for meat dishes such as some game, a more powerful wine such as Chirel will be needed ”, explains the expert.
“For dessert, the most normal thing is a sweet Moscatel or Pedro Ximénez type wine.”
The order of the factors
Often, different types of wine will be served throughout the evening. In these cases, the expert recommends us:
«It is a good idea to start the aperitif with Sherry or sparkling wines, the latter being able to be served throughout dinner. It continues with the rosés, the whites and, later, the reds. Always from youngest to oldest. For dessert, sweet wines will finish perfectly. ‘
The order of the factors can influence the final result.
The importance of time
How long before should we open a bottle? «There are wines that require opening them even 8 hours before tasting them. They are very small and very intense wines, lacking in oxygen and coming into contact with that oxygen is great for them ”, explains Francisco Hurtado.
You cannot generalize, you have to see each type of wine specifically. «Very old wines do not have to be decanted. We talk about wines from more than 25 years. When we slaughter the bottle, we serve the glass and with that slight aeration it is enough ».
The right temperature
El ice It alone does not cool, to maintain temperatures it is necessary to add water to the ice bucket so that it embraces the entire bottle. For the wine to reach its maximum splendor, it must be at the right temperature. Always follow the recommendation that the manufacturer leaves indicated on the label.
In general, «the thermal fringe It begins at 8 or 9 degrees for a white with little body, which increases with the latter, until it reaches 13-14ºC. The red wine, with somewhat higher consumption temperatures, must be served fresh so that it is intoned in the glass “, he explains. Francisco Hurtado.
The ideal cup
El cup size it is not as important as the type of glass and the quality of the glass. “We will use a suitable glass for each wine, the white one being smaller.”
A fail common is to put colored glasses. “The glass has to be fine to perceive all the nuances and we must avoid colors. The cups they have to be transparent to appreciate all the visual nuances of the wine. ‘
Important: Always dry with cotton cloths, never with paper. We will avoid finding unpleasant traces.
Conservation
These are days of great celebrations and wine cannot be absent from any of them. “In case any of the dinner bottles still contain wine, there are special plugs that make the vacuum, we must close it well and keep it lying down in the fridge ».
“Although it is best to always finish the bottle”, says the director of Maqués de Riscal.
The expert’s recommendation
If I had to choose a bottle …
“A bottle in a magnum format will help to preserve the wine well since the amount of oxygen per bottle is lower, as well as having greater thermal or contrast inertia”.
Among the successes guaranteed:
– A white: A white Chirel
– A red wine: A Chirel or 150 anniversary
– A rosé: Old vineyards from Marqués de Riscal
– A champagne: Laurent-Perrier, Grand Siècle
«As a tip, since Christmas is only celebrated once a year you have to bet on a variety of wines that are in line with the dishes we are going to have, ”says Hurtado.