Roasted turkey with rosé. Cheeses with Champagne, prosecco or sparkling wine. Prime rib with cabernet sauvignon. Desserts with syrah or port — or more bubbles.
The holidays embrace the foodie and wine geek in all of us, and for those eager to mix and match, the time is nigh. For my Christmas meal, I’ve collected a selection of tempranillos to pair with barbecued tri-tip, mashed potatoes and assorted vegetable dishes.
I asked five wine and/or food aficionados — three of whom grew up in Italian, Swedish and English households, respectively — for memories of the foods and bottles that they treasure and might include in their holiday gatherings.
To each, I posed three questions:
» What will you cook with family/friends for your “main” holiday meal? Is the food you will prepare a holiday tradition, or do you have something new-to-you in mind this year? What wine will you pair with the meal and/or the dessert?
» Were you raised in a family that leaned toward tradition regarding holiday meals?
» What is the best thing, in your opinion, about both the wine and the foods you serve during the holidays?
Antonio and Jeni Moretti of Lompoc’s Taste of Santa Rita Hills and Moretti Wine Co. both come from families with strong holiday traditions.
“As a rule, our Moretti Prosecco from Valdobbiadene, Italy, is flowing freely during all the holiday festivities. What style of wine says holidays better than bubbly?’’ the duo noted.
For holiday food, “we generally follow Antonio’s Italian tradition on Christmas Eve and cook seafood,” Jeni Moretti said. “Tradition is to cook seven courses of seafood, but we cheat. We use seven different seafoods to make a brodetto, which is similar to cacciucco or cioppino but in the style of his region — Le Marche.”
The wine they pair with the brodetto is their own Moretti vermentino, which winemaker Steve Clifton crafts from grapes sourced from Walker Vineyard in the Los Olivos District AVA.
Come Christmas Day, the couple switch gears and honor Jeni Moretti’s Swedish roots with a smorgasbord of homemade gravlax and Swedish rye bread, herring and a potato dish.
“Depending on our mood, we will either drink our Moretti sauvignon blanc or a vodka drink,” she said.
Like the rest of us, Antonio and Jeni Moretti savor holiday food and wine because they “bring together friends and family … it’s a celebration of life.”
Louise Smith of Solvang, chef and owner of Louise’s Kitchen Table catering and the Solvang sandwich shop of the same name, said she typically sets her sights on a beef tenderloin with au jus and homemade beef gravy, roasted brussels sprouts with pine nuts and shallots, mashed potatoes and an onion soufflé.
“That’s a little heavy on the carbs, but it’s Christmas, right?” she joked.
Before dinner, bubbles are in order. “This year will start with the 2014 Longoria Blanc de Blanc — a rarity, as Rick Longoria only made a few cases,” Smith said.
With dinner, Smith pulls no punches: “I will serve a selection of Ken Brown pinot noirs as well as some Longoria and Ken Brown syrahs, and a few cabernet sauvignons and GSM blends from Paso Robles.”
If Smith’s dinner sounds exquisite, it could be that she’s making up for her childhood.
“My family is from England, and we would have turkey and a disgusting apple-, raisin-based dressing, which was awful,” Smith said. “We would have boxed mashed potatoes and rolls. No gravy, and canned vegetables, if any! Mincemeat pies were for treats — no meat, just a mixture of dried fruit and spices.
“Honestly, I think my family’s lack of culinary skills is one of the main reasons I became a chef.”
Will Henry is co-owner with his wife, Kali Kopley, and chef Drew Terp of Pico at the Los Alamos General Store and The Wine Shepherd in Santa Barbara. He also co-owns Lumen Wines with fellow winemaker Lane Tanner.
When he was a child, Henry’s family followed holiday norms: turkey. In recent years, he has become hooked on a new Christmas locale: Mexico.
“The last few years, my family has been gathering south of the border for the holidays. The only white in our Christmas has been sea spray and the sand on the beach,” he said.
That means focusing on a more Mexican-influenced holiday meal. This year will be tacos, made from the best fresh meat and fish and stuffed with avocado, pico de gallo, handmade tortillas, jalapeños, cilantro, beans, cheese and tomatoes, Henry said.
And bubbles. “We usually kick it off with a bottle or two of Champagne — the real stuff,” he said. This year, he has a bottle of Henri Billiot Grand Reserve Brut grower Champagne to share.
Following that treat will be the reds — Burgundies, Barolos and Lumen pinot noir, he said.
The best part? “Sharing prized bottles with family members. We are all wine geeks, so we all bring different wines to share at our holiday gatherings.”
Amber Wilson, president/CEO of the Lompoc Valley Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau, said she is all about prime rib — a family tradition.
“As I’ve expanded my culinary expertise, the appetizer and side dishes continue to evolve (and taste better), but the protein remains consistently prime rib,” she said.
Over the years, Wilson has expanded the tradition into some amazing “leftover” dishes that have house staples, she said. “I make a turkey pot pie the day after Thanksgiving using leftover gravy, stuffing and turkey.”
While it’s a rare occasion to have leftover prime rib, if she does, Wilson said she repurposes it into a hearty chili.
Her wine of choice is a robust red, such as cabernet sauvignon.
Devoted home cooks such as Wilson find “no greater pleasure” than preparing a meal for loved ones and sharing a bottle of wine “over laughter and fellowship,” she said. “The experiences we share that are created through food and wine are what make the holidays most special.”
— Laurie Jervis blogs about wine at www.centralcoastwinepress.com, tweets at @lauriejervis and can be reached via winecountrywriter@gmail.com. The opinions expressed are her own.