I don’t know about you, but I am always happy to discover a great new wine that I love. With the holidays quickly approaching, a special splurge is definitely on the menu, but what to pick that will be perfectly suited to your holiday celebration? Who better to ask than, Somelier and French Wine Expert, Lauriann Greene, of Terroir Wine for advice? Lauriann has been operating and leading wine tours in the French wine regions for over fifteen years, and her tours have been cited in Food & Wine Magazine as some of the “best wine tours in the world.”
Lauriann’s Recommendations
Lauriann lets us in on a few of her favorite luxe wine selections that would pair very well with your Provence holiday meals and celebrations from a meaty red and a perfect bubbly.
A Wonderful Red wine pairing with Beef:
“Often when we have a hearty beef dish for dinner, we break out a red Bordeaux. Wines from Bordeaux are great food wines, but the reds overpower a lot of dishes. So we take advantage of serving beef to indulge in a great wine from the region. Everyone knows the top chateaux, but the prices for those classified growths are prohibitive. Instead, I like to recommend chateaux in another classification system, the Cru Bourgeois, which offer some great wines at an excellent value to price ratio. I particularly like Chateau Haut Marbuzet in the St. Estèphe appellation. 2010 was an excellent year, and the 2010 Haut Marbuzet demonstrates power and intensity while remaining suave and elegant. It has fragrant aromas of black currants, spice, leather and graphite that will match well with a roast beef or rib eye steak. Still a young wine, it will benefit from being carafed an hour before serving. At 49 to 50 Euros ($50-60 in the U.S.), it’s an accessible Bordeaux that will bring affordable prestige and finesse to your holiday table!”
Holiday Champagne
“I almost always recommend small grower champagnes over the big houses like Moet et Chandon or Veuve Cliquot. There are over 5000 small champagne producers, and the best are comparable in quality to the big houses but at a much more affordable price. The lower price means you can splurge on a vintage Champagne from one of the top recent vintages like the Pierre Péters Grand Cru Esprit de 2009 Blanc de Blancs. With a price tag of about US$67 (around 53Euros in France) for a Grand Cru vintage Champagne, you can indulge without guilt! Its stone fruit aromas and creamy texture make this great champagne a lovely match for elegant fish dishes in sauce, and provide an interesting match with the foie gras that’s part of the classic holiday meal in France. “
To round out Lauriann’s great personal recommendations, the Wall Street Journal recently published this great article on great French Holiday wine and Champagne picks. Read More…
More About Terroir Wine Services:
Terroir Wine Services works with an international clientele of wine professionals and wine connoisseurs, providing expertise in a number of areas, including: wine tourism, wine events, and commercial services in the wine industry. From study trips for professionals and wine students with the French Wine Society, to day trips in the vineyards, to wine tourism development consulting.
Lauriann Greene, Somelier and French Wine Expert of Terroir Wine Services, contact@terroirwineservices.com
