It is that time of the year again! Frantic purchasing, crowds in the malls, everyone running at full speed and for a short period of time life is just plain hectic! We all get into the “holiday” spirit and then just like that it is over and the depression sets in! We tend to forget at times the reason for the holidays and to each of us they probably mean something different. To me the end of the year is a joyous time, full of celebrations, parties, presents, families, and love and, of course, wine is a natural part of the season.
Did you know that this time of year there are at least three different celebrations taking place? Yes, there are Christmas, Hannukah and Kwaanza. So which wines go with each? San Martiño wines are perfect for the first and last of these but can’t do much for Hannukah as this celebration requires kosher wine. Just as an fyi, do you know the difference between kosher wine and regular wine? Any grapes, wine styles, or techniques may be used in making a kosher wine. This means a kosher wine does not need to taste any different than a typical wine. What is different is that the equipment is specifically set aside for use on kosher wines only, the process must be done by Jewish people, and all components used in the making of the wine must themselves be kosher. This leaves us totally out!
There is another celebration at the end of the year that includes wine: Winter Solstice Day (Dec 21 at 8:04 am CST). This is the shortest day of the year, and for many cultures, the traditional beginning of a new year. This holiday originated in ancient cultures, as soon as people could measure lengths of days and the changing of the seasons, and realized what happened during the solstice and equinox. The winter solstice was a traditional year-end marker - where the old year ended and the new one began. It was first known as "Yule", from the Norse "Jul" meaning wheel. In Roman days, Emperor Aurelian chose December 25th as the "Invincible Sun" birthday for that reason. The Roman "Saturnalia" celebrations (originally Dec 17th) merged into this and lasted a week or more. The day was later Christianized, and many traditions that are now part of Christmas come from the various ancient celebrations.
Traditional winter celebrations involved enjoying the fruits of the summer ones. Dandelion wine, normally made on MayDay, was opened up at this point and drunk. Mead, the product of summer honeybees, was also enjoyed, both in warmed punches as well as chilled. Herbs of this celebration included holly, pinecones, and mistletoe. Want to hold a solstice celebration? If you don't have any dandelion wine waiting in your cellar it'll probably be hard to find some, but open a bottle of San Martiño wine, put out nuts, oranges, apples, rolls, and basic meats like turkey, chicken and venison. Throw a log on the fire, kiss under the mistletoe, and toast the start of a new year!
HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE
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