The wines that keep on giving

Wine with Hillary: Wine suggestions for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is drawing near. According to empirical evidence, holidays cause more stress than anything else (with the possible exceptions of standardized tests and the words "we need to talk"). How can you survive the stress? While I would not condone going on a heavy drinking binge that permits you to stumble through the holiday in an apathetic stupor, I do have some wine-related suggestions.

Wine with Hillary: Tips for a romantic Valen-wines Day

Ah February, month of the Superbowl, Olympics, Groundhog Day, Presidents Day, Black History Month and . . . what's that last one? Right, Valentine's Day. Rah (shakes pseudo-pom-pom apathetically). Bitter, moi? Au contraire, in the spirit of Hallmark I'm reviewing three wines for the grape-hearted, 11 days early.

Wine with Hillary

This piece represents the opinion of the author:

Hillary Matlin

Columnist

December 2, 2005

Greetings, dear readers, and a toast to my final wine column of the semester.

I would like to make a few notes on giving wine as a gift as we enter the holiday season. A bottle of wine makes a wonderful gift for several reasons. It's something that can keep for a long time (at least several months if stored properly). You can buy something really special for relatively little money, as $20.00 gets you a much better bottle of wine than bouquet of flowers. A bottle of wine can save the day of a host who didn't buy enough (or any) libations for the holiday party. Finally, bringing a bottle of wine ensures that your holiday gathering will have a (sometimes necessary) social lubricant available.

There are only two instances where a bottle of wine is not a good choice for a gift. The first is if your "giftee" is a teetotaler. If you're unsure you can always bring some tasty nibbles (sweet or savory) which would go with wine. The other instance is the very wealthy wine snob. You'll never be able to afford something that would impress such a person. Again, I suggest comestibles geared toward wine.

If you're not really confident about what you want to buy, we, here in Brunswick, are in luck. There are literally dozens of small wine shops all with very unique and affordable wines within a half hour's drive and at least two in walking distance of campus. This is definitely the time to take advantage of the staffers' knowledge. These ladies and gentlemen are delighted to help you pick out the perfect gift for your parents, friends, or random acquaintance. Below are my two favorite picks for the holiday season.

Enrique Foster 2002 Reserva Malbec (Approximately $20.00 at The Clown in Portland)

This may be the best red wine I've had all year. In accord, my tasters and I adored it. It has a "warm, subtle" taste that blends rich dried fruit flavors with a moderately spicy finish. We enjoyed our bottle with pizza, but it would be a wonderful meal pairing with any rich meat dish or with warm hors d'oeuvres. The woman who sold me the bottle said that while the regular (and cheaper) Malbec was very good, the reserva was "really special." I wholeheartedly agree and urge anyone who likes reds to buy this.

Chateau Ste. Michelle 2000 Semillon (Priced to impress at $8.99 at Shaw's in Brunswick)

The Semillion is a traditional wine of Washington; one of the hottest wine regions in the States. This particular Semillion delighted my tasters, although we did not agree as to the taste. My tasters mostly felt that the wine tasted "like some kind of Christmas tree, blue spruce?" While they debated what kind of tree the wine tasted like, I found it to be sweet and leafy rather than woodsy. It is heavier than other whites I've had, but this does not make it unpleasant as with some whites. I would definitely enjoy this with shellfish, pasta or noodle dishes.

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