Category Archives: holidays

Wine & Your Christmas Dinner

December 14, 2016

• Posted by Indiana Uplands Wine Trail
• holidays, pairings
• 0 Comment

As you prepare to celebrate with friends or sit down with family this holiday season, it’s good to know what kind of wine to serve on the right occasion with the right meal, right? Us at Indiana Uplands Wine Trail are here to share some of our favorite wines along with food pairing suggestions. Each of our wineries' selections include a variety of wines that pair well with anything from green bean casserole to mashed potatoes, to a nice cheese plate, and more.

Spiced Apple – Forget the pie.  Bring out the pretzels and enjoy a glass of Best Vineyards Spiced Apple wine.  It’s apple pie in a bottle; a perfect way to finish off that holiday meal.

Nouveau – Produced in the traditional French Nouveau style but with a unique Hoosier twist.  Bright fruity flavors pair with the holiday dinner.  Or serve it warmed with mulling spices on a brisk fall walk.

 

 

2015 estate-grown Chambourcin Rose for your holiday table. It is a semi-dry rose with a wonderful aroma and flavor of strawberries, kiwi, and cherries.  We suggest pairing it with pork or poultry.  Retail price is $15.95.

Our suggested white wine to cap your Holiday feast is our 2015 estate-grown Late Harvest Vignoles.  Aromas of ripe pears with a sweet tropical finish. Double Gold medal winner.

 

The bright and fruity characteristics of Autumn White Wine are a wonderful pairing for your Christmas dinner.  Add some of your homemade cranberry sauce on the side and it is a treat for the taste buds!
 

 

Heaven's View Vidal - Extended time on the vine in the warm autumn sun of our vineyard lends aromas of pineapple, mango and honey with a crips green apple flavor. Wonderful paired alongside the classic roasted turkey and all the fixings.

Cabernet Franc - Estate bottled dry red wine with berry and toasted oak flavors. Perfect complimenting the beef pot roast sure to grace your family’s table.

Looking for a new treat for your dessert table?  Try Laura's Crema Dolce Pumpkin Bread!

 

Crema Dolce Pumpkin Bread
Yields:  3 - 8x4 loaves

2 cups white sugar
1 1/4 cups light brown sugar
One 29-ounce can Libby’s pumpkin (not pie filling)
4 large eggs
1 cup walnut oil (can substitute other light oil if there is a nut allergy)
4 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp coriander
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup Crema Dolce

Preheat the oven to 350º.  Grease three 8in x 4in loaf pans.  In a large bowl, combine the sugars, pumpkin, eggs, and nut oil.  Beat with a large whisk or an electric mixer until smooth.

In another bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, spices, and salt, whisking lightly to remove any lumps.  Gently combine the wet and dry mixtures and beat until smooth.  Stir in the cream sherry.  Vigorously beat until thoroughly blended, about 1 to 2 minutes.  The batter will be thick.

Scoop batter into prepared pans, filling each no more than 3/4 full.  Bake immediately in the center of the preheated oven 65 to 75 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into each center comes out clean.  The top surfaces will be crusty and have a long center crack.  Let stand 5 minutes in the pans before turning the loaves out onto a rack to cool completely.

FOR BEST FLAVOR:  Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and let set at room temperature overnight or up to 4 days before serving.

 

 

Traminette – This semi-dry white is full of characteristic honeysuckle notes and a delicate fruitiness that pairs perfectly with your Christmas feast, from green bean casserole to turkey to cranberry sauce.

Barrel Aged Pinot Gris – A limited release wine, this one spends a short time aging in oak, which lends a softness to the usual high acid you get from this grape.  The oak smooths out the edges but the wine manages to maintain its crispness, making it an ideal selection for rich foods commonly served during the holidays, or as a pairing with a cheese course.

 

 

Creekbend Noir 2015 – A dry red that never undergoes barrel aging, allowing all the abundant fruit character of black cherries, blackberries, and currant notes to shine. With a light body and soft, lingering finish it is the perfect accompaniment to pork roast or vegetable dishes looking for a jammy pairing.

Creekbend Tawny 2013 – 50% Chambourcin and 50% Vidal Blanc grapes.  Both varietals are fermented and arrested by neutral grape spirits, blended and then aged to develop the wonderful tawny characteristics of the venerable Portuguese styles.  Fig, dates, caramel and butterscotch fill the warm mouth feel and make for the perfect dessert pairing with pumpkin or pecan pie.  Or skip the desserts altogether, and wrap up in a blanket and sip next to a roaring fire for the perfect after-dinner nightcap.

 

Persimmon Heritage is a perfect finish to your holiday meals, enjoy this vanilla and cinnamon infused dessert wine that screams holiday season. The men have options too with our Persimmon Bold, a semi-dry persimmon wine aged in a bourbon barrel for 6 months. space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space space

 
"With the Christmas Holiday fast approaching, we are asked often, "What wine would you recommend for Christmas turkey?"  My response, "Whatever wine you like.  If you like a sweeter wine, perhaps go with our estate grown and bottled, "Open My Mind 2016" made from our Diamond grapes.  A little drier, perhaps our estate-grown and bottled Vignoles 2016.  Both wines are lighter in alcohol so if you ever get that metallic taste in your mouth from drinking wine with food, both the sweetness and the lower alcohol should tamp that down.  Or for the more bold folks, perhaps some estate-grown and bottled Chambourcin NV, made from blending 2011 and 2013 barrel aged Chambourcin.  But most importantly, whatever wine you enjoy, enjoy it most with the family and friends you share this holiday with this year."

 

 

Winzerwald Gewürztraminer | This Semi-dry Gewürztraminer is a perfect turkey or roasted goose pairing.  It's fruit forward flavors and a touch of residual sugar and more complex floral notes can stand tall among all the competing holiday dinner foods including sweet potatoes & marshmallows, tangy cranberries, herbed gravies and savory dressing; whereas a super dry wine might pale amongst all that fruit, sugar and salt.  The acidity will also help cleanse the palate after the onslaught of flavors, too.  Dry enough for dry wine drinkers to enjoy, and paired with a meal is also enjoyed by sweet wine lovers, too.
 

 
Winzerwald Cranberry | Winzerwald has been producing Cranberry wine since 2004.   Cranberry juice was a breakfast favorite of Donna Adams, one of the owners who grew up in Wisconsin where cranberry bogs dot the northern landscape.  The Cranberry wine is a perfect sweet match to the sweet and fruity components on the Christmas table, and of course, a perfect companion to the cranberries themselves.  Its tartness holds up to the fattier dark meats and savory side dishes, too.  Winzerwald's Cranberry wine has a perfectly sweet and tart balance, that while a sweet wine, the tartness of the Cranberry itself makes the wine loved by dry wine lovers as well.  Its beautiful, cranberry color looks stunning in filled glasses around your family's table, too!  Winzerwald's Cranberry and red & white spiced wines can be purchased in a regular bottle or a tree-shaped holiday bottle.