Time to Let That Belt Out One More Notch

It’s the holidays. That time of year where we unconsciously say “Screw It” to all manner of diet and start washing down deliciously fattening foods with gallons of booze. What better time to learn about what wines go well with cookies? After all, cookies are enjoyed during the holidays more than any other time, as is vino. We’re going to give you 3 common cookies and suggest 3 wines that you can pair with them this holiday season. Oh, and if you aren’t having any of these types of cookies, it’s safe to say that our holiday will be better than yours.

Chocolate Chip Cookies and Port

The grand poo-bah of cookies works well with pretty much any dessert wine as well as some less-sweet wines. However this year we are going to suggest pairing your chocolate chip beauty with a vintage character port. Vintage character port is a style of port that is more sweet, fruity and ready to drink immediately than more traditional ruby or tawny ports. To learn more about what the hell port is, read this.

The Graham’s Six Grapes port is an amazing wine for the price. Deep, rich red fruit mixes with chocolate fudge, raspberry reduction and cream. Matches especially well with homemade chocolate chip cookies because most are made with semi-sweet chocolate chips and retain a bit of their saltiness, unlike their storebought counterparts.

Graham’s Six Grapes Port – $15.99 at WineLibrary.com!

Gingerbread Cookies and Gewurtztraminer

Nothing says “Holidays” more than making a beautiful, hand-crafted gingerbread house, and then tearing it to shreds, putting on five pounds in the process. We’re pairing a brilliant Gewurtztraminer with gingerbread cookies, thanks to the spicy, caramel-like nature of this varietal.

The Malivoire Gewurtztraminer explodes with ginger and citrus. The finish leaves a pleasing mineral taste on your tongue and the sugar stays with you long after you’ve mixed it with the gingerbread. Nearly impossible to find this wine anywhere, so take advantage at this price!

Malivoire Gewurtztraminer 2006 – $15.96 at WineLibrary.com!

Peanut Butter Blossoms and Tawny Port

This cookie is quickly growing in popularity and threatens to soon dethrone our beloved chocolate chip cookie as the go-to holiday cookie of choice. While we prefer a warm homemade chocolate chip cookie, we can’t fly in the face of the popular vote, so the peanut butter blossom must be recognized. We’re pairing this usurper with a delicious Tawny Port that is the stuff of legends.

The Warre’s 10 year Tawny Port Otima is a mind-blowing wine experience. This is toffee in a snifter (glass you’re SUPPOSED to drink port out of; requires a pinkie to be raised like a snob). Tawny port pairs surprisingly well with peanut flavors and chocolate. This wine is traditionally served with fruit, nuts, and a cheese called Stilton (more popular in the UK, kind of like a STRONG bleu cheese, delicious, smells like John Madden’s feet after calling a Thanksgiving Day NFL game), but it works well with the blossom. Delicious caramel and a slight spice.

Warre’s 10 Year Tawny Port Otima – $16.99 at WineLibrary

We hope some of these wines (and cookies, of course) find their way to your table this holiday season because you will not be disappointed. If you do try some of the pairings, or any pairing for that matter, let us know how it went in the comments section below.

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Not Quite Cheap, Not Quite Expensive

Fetzer has always been a solid producer of bargain-priced wines. Their Gewurtztraminer is no exception and is a real crowd-pleaser at this price.

Color

Clarified maple syrup. Amber, apple juice.

Nose

Pretty tight nose with no explosions or overtly obvious scents. We detect the alcohol, of course, along with some faint white-flesh fruit like apple and pear.

Taste

Super, super sweet. Gewurtztraminers are supposed to be, but this one overdoes it. Most wine newbies prefer sweet whites, so this might be one for them, but for a more discerning palate, this is a pass. It’s sugar water with a bit of apricot, minerality and acid, but at the end of the day, it’s really just sweet sweet white wine. Buy it in bulk for a party wine.

With Food

Desserts. Not too good for much else. The acidity we expect out of this grape as well as Rieslings help out with spicy foods, but the acidity is absent here. Ice creams or citrus-flavored cakes would work best.

$6.79 at BevMo!

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Color

Pale straw with silver. Richer than Sauvignon Blanc, but still very light.

Nose

Stinky stinky stinky. For a California Gewurtztraminer, this has great depth, with apricot, pear, tart apple, and stinky manure.

Taste

Great white fruits. Good sweetness without overdoing it. The tart aspects of green apple come through strong. Apricot and pear still there, but rhubarb comes into play. In fact, rhubarb coated in sugar. Very pleasing, not to unctious, good acid, long long finish. Floral elements too; look for flower petals.

With Food

Good dessert wine. Cheeses (sharp would even work), dried fruits, cake and pie.

Query Gewurtztraminer 2007 – $8.99 at BevMo!

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Bad News First: Not much of a finish, but we’re talking affordable, sweet wine here, so what you really want is the flavor, the sugar and low alcohol heat.

Now The Good: This stuff was only about $9 bucks, but it was wonderful. Slightly dry in the Mosel-style with enough sweetness to warrant nothing but desserts. There was some light orange on the nose, but be warned, this should really only be enjoyed with dessert or at the end of a drunken evening, of course. I have yet to find it anywhere else or see it online so if you can find it at BevMo, grab some. A great deal.

With Food: Mild white cheese, fruit desserts or a light chocolate cake.

$8.99 at BevMo

Alexander Valley Vineyards

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