Growing up my family always cherished the holidays and the time spend around the dinner table. With the majority of our extended family still in Canada, it was rare that we could spend the holidays with the full onslaught of relatives all converging for a holiday meal. Given this, it made the holidays and traditions associated with them, that much more special to our celebrations.
From a very early age, my sister and I were the ones responsible for setting the table. Understanding the importance of this special holiday meal, we finagled to get the special, one-time-a-year silver wear and holiday china lined up just so and gingerly arranging the napkins in a manner that if we looked back would look very much like a squashed piece of Japanese origami.
I still look back on these memories with fond admiration and for many of you, the holidays represent an opportunity to take time to celebrate, family, loved ones, and religious joys of the season and for that reason wish to create something truly special.
In setting the table, I find selecting the wines for your holiday meal are just as important if not more, as deciding dishes to be served, linens to be used, or centerpiece to be displayed. If selected just right, these wines can create the perfect nuances of holiday magic.
Remember the rule of 30. For white wines, take bottles out of the fridge 30 minutes before serving. If the white wine is too cold, you will lose some of the aromas and bouquet in the wine and it will seem rather flat. For red wines, open or decant the wine 30 minutes before serving. After red wines have been in a bottle for three or more years they need a little bit of love before the flavors emerge and develop in your guests’ glasses.
