Choosing appealing and delicious wines for the holidays is the easy part. Getting the most out of them requires attention to a few small but important details.
First and foremost, there is the temperature factor. Do not keep your wines prior to the holiday feast in the kitchen, or on the counter next to an oven that’s roasting a 20-pound turkey. Red wine served too warm will taste flat, and in some cases tannic or acidic. And if you live in a cold climate and have the heat cranked up, it wouldn’t hurt to invest in a plastic party bucket so you can keep both your red and white wines cool while resting on a bed of ice.
In fact, it is often recommended that Beaujolais, the wine of choice for many at the holiday table, be served slightly chilled. This is especially true of less expensive Beaujolais-Villages.
The second most important detail, in my humble opinion, is the decanter. With an emphasis on fruit-driven wines during holiday feasting, the decanter is an invaluable tool in the quest to enhance the wine component, and thus the overall experience, as you entertain.
Decanting your wines — both red and white — provides aeration, which brightens the fruit and smoothes the rough edges. It is not necessary to possess fine crystal to decant. Most department stores sell inexpensive glass decanters that work every bit as well as crystal, albeit without the elegance.
If you are so proud of a special bottle or bottles of wine being presented at the feast, do what many sommeliers do: Decant the wine, rinse the bottle, and then funnel the decanted wine back into the original bottle. That way you won’t lose the "wow" factor of an impressive wine selection.
Finally, there is the matter of the stemware used for your wine service. I am fond of the quaint practice of "seasoning" the glasses before the wine is served. This is mostly for show, a stylistic twist that calls attention to the festiveness of the occasion. But if you haven’t had time to polish your stemware and it’s been sitting in the cabinet for any length of time, seasoning the glasses will help remove any off aromas that have accumulated in the cabinet.
To season the glasses around your dining table, simply pour a small amount of wine in a single glass and swirl it about, coating the inside of the glass with the wine about to be served. Then pour the wine from the first glass into a second glass and repeat the process. Continue until you have seasoned every glass.
For the greatest impact, this gesture of showmanship should be done with everyone seated at the table, each person seasoning his or her own glass before passing the wine to the next person’s glass. This is a festive custom and certain to kick off any holiday occasion with a burst of flair.
8