I will be hosting the December Wine Pairing Weekend event. And I opted to offer the group two directions for choosing their wines.
December is always a chaotic time of year. So I wanted to make the topic as easy as possible for people to join in. As I am a huge fan of bubbly, especially during the holidays, I am inviting the group to explore the sparkling wines of America. Many of the writers participate in several of the wine blogging groups during the month. We are already looking at the sparkling wines of South America in the #WorldWineTravel group on the fourth Saturday of the month and Champagne in the #Winophiles group on the third Saturday.
American Sparklers
While there are many, many sparkling wines made in the States, I tend to learn towards 'Pét-Nat', short for Pétillant-Naturel, is an ancient method of making sparkling wine. In contrast with the méthode champenoise in which a finished wine undergoes a secondary fermentation in the bottle with additional yeasts and sugars, Pét-Nats are bottled before the primary fermentation is finished. This produces a much more rustic sparkling wine that is often cloudy and bottled with a crown cap - like a beer - instead of a cork.
Do you have a favorite sparkling wine from an American winery? Share it with us. Or, if you prefer, you can dive deeper into any of topics we have already tackled this year.
The 2023 Themes So Far
Here's a round-up of all the previous themes. If you visit the links to my posts, you'll see all of the published articles for the month. Get inspired! There are some amazing wines and pairings that have been shared this year.
I kicked off 2023 with new-to-us wines. I paired A Little-Cultivated Sicilian Grape Along with a Perennial Favorite - Polpette al Forno. In February, our group's founder, David of Cooking Chat, had us looking at BIPOC winemakers for the third year. There is so much to explore and learn in that vein. I wrote From Tehran to McMinnville: Maysara's 2015 Jamsheed Pinot Noir + Joojeh Kabab with Mast-o Khiar. The last month of the first quarter had us diving into Petit Sirah with Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm. I made Meaty Matches: Petite Sirah from Monterey with Merguez Sausage and Saucy Ribs.
In April Gwendolyn of Wine Predator...Gwendolyn Alley had us looking matching local foods and wines. I shared Localish: Some Bay Area Love for Pizza from Oakland and a Wine from Livermore. David of Cooking Chat hosted us in May with a look at the wines of Livermore Valley when I posted From California's Oldest Wine Region: 2019 L'Autre Côte Cabernet Franc + Chimichurri Lamb Lollipops.
In June, we went back to the basics - wine and cheese pairings - when I offered A Grenache Mutant and a Grilled Halloumi Salad.
Deanna at Wineivore kicked off our summer with Cava pairings; I shared Huevos Rotos (Broken Eggs) + Juvé & Camps Reserva de la Familia Gran Reserva Brut. In July, Robin of Crushed Grape Chronicles encouraged us to share unexpected white wine pairings. Mine was Pecorino Times Three: Two Cheeses and a Wine with a Lamb Burger. September's theme was all about going back to school. I hosted and asked the writers to dive into something they wanted to learn...or teach. I asked Wine from North Carolina? You Betcha! A Hand-Carried Bottle and Some North Carolina Eats.
As in the previous seven Octobers, we looked at Merlot. I posted A Redwoods Ride, a Merlot from Santa Cruz, and Pacific Cod Soft Tacos. This month - November - Andrea of The Quirky Cork invited us to learn more about heirloom or heritage varieties. Though the event isn't live just yet, I'll be sharing: A Geography Lesson + a Taste of Bulgaria: Bob Chorba and a Blend of Mavrud and Rubin from Thrace. And, now, here we are, preparing for the final month of the year.
How to Participate
Are you ready to jump in and participate in the December #WinePW event? Here are the details…
Send an email - culinarycami[at]gmail[dot]com - to tell me you're in or post in the Facebook event group. Send your post title to me by Monday, December 4th (at noon, Pacific time), to be included in the preview post. When your post goes live, the published title should include "#WinePW" but it doesn't need to be included for the title list.
Publish your post by 9am Saturday, December 9th at the latest. You can always schedule your post in advance if you will be tied up around then or publish on Friday.
Include a link to the other #WinePW participants in your post, and a description of what the event is about. I'll provide the html code you can easily put in your initial post--which will link to people's general blog url--then updated code for the permanent links to everyone's #WinePW posts.
Get social! After the posts go live, please visit your fellow bloggers' posts to comment and share. Sponsored posts OK if clearly disclosed. Please be sure to disclose if your post is sponsored or if you are describing wine or other products for which you have received a free sample.
That's it! Hope you can join the Wine Pairing Weekend group to celebrate wrap up 2023. Cheers!