VINOMECUM - How to handle wine for Christmas

A small survival manual for those grappling with 'for Christmas, you take care of the wine ...' Episode 1.

And you find yourself in front of your mother and mother-in-law who, ready to sauté and plate without interruption, in a mixture of smugness (so much for those who pay attention to wine, between a fried artichoke and marinated fish!) and admonishment ( so you do something useful since you don't help cooking!) they stare at you saying 'of the wines, you take care', with a defiant air, from the series: and now let us see if it is more useful to know how to fry or uncork a bottle.

And you, dilated pupil, feel invested by the responsibility of pleasing your great-grandmother who dilutes red wine so much with water, your uncle who drinks only sparkling white wine and your sister who prefers a numbered bottle of aromatic white wine.

All those who have had the bad luck of 'flaunting' their enrollment in a course on wine are and will be hostages of this ordeal. Because you automatically become responsible for the cellar at home, for the shopping lists, for the bottles to give as gifts or to take to a dinner, and you will be bombarded with WhatsApp messages from those at the shop who ask if 'this or that?' and…above all, at the restaurant you will choose, always you. It doesn't matter that you are in the Middle East and have never tasted a local wine: it is as if you have received an 'infusion' of knowledge on command, like Neo in the Matrix.

It goes without saying that you have only enrolled in an amateur course: unlike the gym (where you enrol and do not instantly become Yuri Chechi), the leap from 'enrolled' to a super expert is in the range of 'nanoseconds!'.

And at this point, with a defiant air, all that remains is ... to fulfil one's role! The first tip: read this guide and get ready for the challenge.

Let's start by thinking about how to face the evening if you are guest, unaware of what awaits you.

What comes to mind when it comes to holidays? …bubbles. Always. If they invited you, and they know you've passion for wine, show up with a bottle and you'll know how to handle it. They'll expect.

If you were to think that bubbles are taken for granted...perhaps, but if they were missing it wouldn't be a party (a bit like the lady in paillettes at a New Year's Eve party), and grandma would give you an evil look! At best, defend yourself by objecting that tradition is everything during the holidays. Moreover, the bubbles go well on their own, they go well with ethnic dishes and with the multitude of Christmas Eve proposals. They could also be good for the whole meal... but if you want to fully take possession of your role, if you were kicked out of the kitchen, you would have the right, indeed 'duty', to nibble! If you don't know what will be served, it will be difficult to do your job (so you can also nibble on the first hot fry of the evening and understand the order in which the bottles are opened;)).

Whether you have already purchased them or are about to do so, think about how to manage them in anticipation of the opening.

Remember to put them in a cool place and, at Christmas, it might be enough to keep them for a few hours on the balcony (or in the trunk of the car) away from the light (perhaps not in Sicily, but on the rest of Europe it could be fine). Because let's face it, the fridge will be overflowing with food! So warn the cooks of your needs and devise an alternative solution if needed. You could arrive at your mother-in-law's house with a bottle and give her a thermal mask for bottles as a present, or a basket (better!) which, however, brings the temperature of the wine to that of the water-ice mixture, i.e. 0°C!

Keep in mind that it's a holiday for us too (too much stress!) and that the "serving temperature" is theoretical, a necessarily inaccurate value because the temperature of the wine in the glass changes quickly (especially in warm environments, such as family dinners). However, a wine served colder than necessary is better (this also applies to reds), because it always has the possibility of reaching the right temperature, rather than one that is too hot, for which the situation can only get worse.

Before moving on to the next episode, or 'smart buying guide', we remind you that if you have an aged wine in your cellar, it is worth serving it from a decanter and letting it oxygenate (but not on the balcony!, in fact too much oxygen can ruin a good wine and over-decanted white wines can lose their fruity aromas, while sparkling wines could 'soften' so they don't decant - and here we return to sparkling wine as the 'easier and more appropriate' choice). To make sure you decant properly, start by standing the bottle upright for at least 24 hours before decanting, especially if storing wines horizontally, and decanter a couple of hours before planning to drink it.

So far, if you choose bubbles, you don't even need your guest to have a corkscrew :)