So tomorrow is Christmas Eve. Christmas, so to speak. When I was a child, I was put off: "Just one more sleep, then..." Yes, then Father Christmas would come. No, in my day he was still a child, the "Christ Child" who put his presents under the Christmas tree. I quickly discovered that it was never exactly what I had wished for, written down in shaky letters and placed in front of the window. My experience: Father Christmas, the Christ Child or whoever, they can't read well or they don't understand children's wishes. This "primal experience", so to speak, has remained until today. I want a good wine that suits me and Christmas as I celebrate it.
|
| Christmas dinner. And now a wine to go with it! A Christmas wine? (Photo: P. Züllig) |
What am I being offered? I look it up, first on the Internet, of course. "The perfect Christmas wine". Wow! "A totally sexy Rosso of the highest level", 92 points. Comment: "For 20 euros you have a perfect Christmas wine here..." But I don't want a Rosso di Montalcino, and it doesn't have to be perfect either. So I keep looking. The perfect Christmas wine comes from the "cult regions of Italy: Tuscany and Piedmont", of course. Those who live in F. "can taste the wine with us". It's accompanied by "again the artisan salamis from..." Sounds like pure advertising. So go on! "When roast goose is served, the stomach works hard, so the good wine should be quite strong, and in general: if dark meat is on the table, then the Knights Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 from Beringer in Napa Valley (California) is particularly suitable."But I don't serve "traditional goose, crispy roast duck or roast beef". Tradition or not. New search. A wine "with a Christmas artist's label, including a Christmas card in "Franconian". A Silvaner with its typical original Franconian character - dry and fruity."
|
| The Merry Christmas Wine (Photo: Weinwerk% Austria) |
The offer on the internet is far from exhausted. But I am. Shouldn't I rather reach for the wine catalogue that pours into letterboxes in droves at this time of year? Voilà! Headline: "Christmas wine", not virtual, black on white, even with discount: "23.50 instead of 29.90". Father Christmas is really coming, or is it the Christ Child after all? "...delicate aromas with notes of bitter almonds. Strong attack on the palate..." I hear an inner voice singing: "Süßer die Glocken nie klingen". No, it can't be an Amarone with bitter almond notes either. What then? On the opposite page of the catalogue, a wine with "notes of flowers and various berry aromas". Sounds much more Christmassy to me, but the bold headline "Strong Italian personality" makes me wonder. Italian politicians appear before me, and at Christmas, in my living room. No, grazie. There, a lifeline: "Music on the palate". That's just what I need. Not only "sweet bells" and "silent night", but also something musical on the palate. A great wine must "radiate something like a sound in addition to colour, bouquet and taste.... a cello sonata with soft, full, profound tones". So more like violoncello, but which composer? Chopin, Mendelssohn, Bach? Bach would probably fit best: "...supple body with balanced tannins, juicy texture, carried by a fine acidity". A Barbaresco can sound like that, but never Bach. Have I misunderstood something?
|
| Which wine suits which mood? Banquet in the banquet hall. (Photo: P. Züllig) |
As always in such cases, I seek help from the wine glossary, the most comprehensive Wine lexicon on the internet. There I am enlightened: "...designation for a wine whose grapes were harvested on one of the two Christmas days, 24 December (Christmas Eve) or 25 December (Christmas Day). Naturally, it is usually an ice wine or a Trockenbeerenauslese..." At this moment, I feel as I did when I was shocked to learn that there is no Father Christmas and no Christ Child, at least none that buzzes through Christmas Eve with presents. Is there perhaps no Christmas wine either, is that just a wine legal term? I'm not beaten yet. A gloss comes to mind, written by Dirk Würtz in his blog, title: "Terrassenkaminspargelwein". Dirk writes: "The term 'asparagus wine' is as empty of content as the term 'terrace wine' or the term 'chimney wine'. Buzzwords that are supposed to say something specific but in the end are only misleading." Right! You can also add the term "Weinachtswein" (wine at Christmas).
|
| Christmas dinner in a restaurant. (Photo: P. Züllig) |
What is a Christmas wine? A wine that you drink at Christmas? A wine made from grapes harvested on Christmas Day? A wine that reflects the Christmas spirit? A wine that goes with Christmas dinner? Dirk's comment - as is so often the case - stirred up the bloggers. Long discussions. Everyone has their opinion, tries to explain themselves: "I think your contribution to asparagus wine is, if I may say so, rubbish" - "Your statement misses the point. Asparagus wine, patio wine, fireside wine, meditation wine, etc. associate pleasure, romance, relaxation, i.e. positive feelings" - "In my opinion, it's about a completely wrong and not very purposeful typification of products.... I can drink any wine comfortably by the fireplace or on the terrace," or Christmas wine at Christmas. But that - Dirk Würtz is absolutely right - is just as little meant by the term "Christmas wine" as it is by asparagus or terrace wine. A "Christmas wine" - as the term is used in advertising - is supposed to be something particularly precious, something unique, something special. "Once a year the Christ Child comes", I was told as a child. Something of this message has remained, even if you celebrate Christmas differently as an adult or even as an old person: the uniqueness. Once a year, unique, but certainly repeatable, at best 90, 100 times in a lifetime.
|
| So which of the many wines is the right Christmas wine? (Photo: P. Züllig) |
Doesn't this - at least if you are a wine lover - also include a very special wine? But no little note outside on the window sill - no longer with shaky, but perhaps shaky writing - will help. Father Christmas - or whoever - still can't read it and certainly can't interpret it. A Christmas wine is any wine that brings joy, contentment, pleasure, contemplation at Christmas. Grape variety, country of origin, price and style are completely irrelevant. In this sense, I wish all those who like wine a real Christmas wine - as once under the tree in childhood - or even - factual worldliness - on the table.
Yours sincerely