Tag Archives: christmas

Wines for Christmas

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Wines for Christmas

It’s about time to start thinking about wines for Christmas! If I’m being honest, it’s a little late to start thinking about it, so hopefully you’re way ahead of me! The options are endless, but if you’ve been following me for a while, you know I tend to stick to certain areas. Since we don’t have a ton of time, I’m diving right in!

We should touch on wine pairing quickly, because it’s important when choosing wine for your Christmas (or holiday) dinner. In Norway we tend to eat very fatty, salty, heavy foods like pinnekjøtt and ribbe, and for me the obvious choice would be a Barbera. Here you could go for a mineral, fresh Barbera like the one from Emilio Vada or the one from La Vedetta. You could also up the ante and go for a little more structured Barbera. Good options include Ghiomo Lavai and Luigi Pira Barbera Superiore. These will also go well with any charcuterie board or cheese plate, as well as any ragu, or even your New Years Eve turkey, so feel free to stock up for after your Christmas celebration as well.

Now, if you don’t fall in the pinnekjøtt or ribbe category, but rather the juletorsk category, you might want to go for a Pinot Noir. Some of my favorites these days are the ones from Domaine Voillot, Domaine Joillot and Domaine de Bellene. You can of course also pair the cod with Barbera, but I’ve always thought it was good to have options! Since we’ve moved outside the borders of Piemonte, I might as well mention Champagne quickly. Oudiette released a new one this year, Les Sablonnieres, and although you have to order it by e-mailing or calling Vinmonopolet, it’s worth the extra 2 minutes! Just trust me on this. Seriously.

Here are some of the wines I’ve had the past few Christmases.

Wines for Christmas: Gifts

Stuck on what to get your in-laws for Christmas? Or perhaps you’re just tired of shopping? Relax, I’ve got you. You can just order wine online, from the comfort of your own home, or from your phone while you’re on the subway to work. And then you just pick it up at your local store. Since the options are endless, I’ll help you narrow it down!

In the 200-300 price range, the options aren’t that many. I’ve scoured Vinmonopolet and these are some of my favorites: Ghiomo Arneis Inprimis, Luigi Pira Dolcetto, Diego Morra Langhe Nebbiolo, Giovanni Corino Langhe Nebbiolo. If we go up a bracket, in the 300-400 price range, there are a few more to choose from. The fact that the Nadia Curto Langhe Nebbiolo isn’t sold out yet blows my mind! Talk about a great gift to give. Speaking of great gifts, the La Vedetta Freisa is a fun wine! As is the Cavallotto Pinner, a white Pinot Noir from Castiglione!

Hopefully you’ll find some good ideas in here, whether it’s a wine to pair with food or a wine to give to a good friend. And if you order it right now, you might even get it in time for the holidays!

Wine with Ribbe (Pork Belly)

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Ribbe – what to do?

Norwegians are getting ready to consume tons and tons of Ribbe next week, and many are wondering what wine to drink. And I have three words for you: Barbera, Barbera, Barbera!

If you look other places, you’ll see suggestions like Riesling, Pinot Noir or Beer. Champagne is another option. Or hard liquor. But if you ask me, Barbera is the way to go. Why? The acidity in the Barbera will help clean your palate after eating all that fatty, salty, heavy Christmas food. And Barbera just tastes good. So why not?

Which Barbera?

I would suggest a Barbera that has been in contact with some oak. The classic Barbera will also work, of course, so I’ll throw in some of those as well.

The one from Burlotto is always a winner. If you can, go for his Aves – it’s out of this world. This is unfortunately not available in Norway at the moment, but I’m crossing my fingers for 2020!

Vietti makes a wide range of Barbera (all good) but my favorite has to be the La Crena! On the spectrum, it’s on the expensive side, but the Tre Vigne or Vigna Scarrone would work great with Ribbe as well!

I don’t think I’ll ever mention Barbera without also mentioning Trediberri. And in Norway, it’s always my go to. I mean, talk about bang for your buck! Hopefully it’s also available in whatever country you’re in. If not, shoot him an email (info@trediberri.com) and let him know you’re interested!

Azelia’s wines just became available in Norway again! Woop woop! Another great wine to pair with your Ribbe this year.

For Thanksgiving this year we had the Barbera from Mauro Veglio, and it was perfect with the turkey! Try it with Ribbe as well.

Other Suggestions

If you are dead set on something other than Barbera, keep reading. Although I really don’t think you need to.

If you want Champagne, I would go for Pierre Peters Cuvée de Reserve Grand Cru or Bereche Brut Reserve. Both good value and good quality. You can also have this for your aperitivo, Christmas brunch or just because. It’s never a bad time to drink Champagne.

If Riesling is your thing, you could try Kruger-Rumpf Phyllit Riesling Feinherb or Dönnhoff Schlossbockelheimer Felsenberg GG. I hear GG is the way to go, but some less expensive options should work as well.

Riesling with Ribbe

Piemontegirl Gift Guide

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Do you have a wine lover in your family? Or maybe one of your friends love all things wine? I’ve put together some of my favorite “wine related” gift ideas.

Wineglass writer

There are many gadgets around that help you keep track of your wine glass. Colorful rubber “bracelets” or “stickers” in different varieties to put on your glass. Problem with that? You have to remember if you were the red fish or the orange fish? Or maybe it was the blue grape?

Wineglasswriter

With a wineglass writer, all you have to do is write your name. And if you’ve had so much wine that you can’t remember your name, maybe it’s time to leave the party.

You don’t have to use this magical marker to keep track of your glasses. You can use them as place cards at a dinner. Or to keep track of your spices in the spice cabinet. Or just to decorate. So easy to use. Comes right off in the wash. A perfect gift for anyone, really. You can get them from me (you ncan also send me a message) or if you’re located in the US you can get them here.

Blindtasting sleeves

This might be mostly for wine geeks, but if you know someone who loves blind tasting, this is the gift for them! Instead of using aluminum foil to cover the bottles, these reusable sleeves are a great alternative. You can buy them here.

Riedel Vinum Bordeaux glasses

If you’re looking for a universal wine glass, I highly recommend this one. In my opinion, it’s the most versatile glass. Personally, I use it for red, white and champagne. I know many like to have specific glasses for specific wines. But if you are just starting out, or honestly can’t afford 32 different glasses right now, the Riedel Vinum Bordeaux glass is the one to go for!

If you have a higher budget, Zalto is another great alternative! Again, I would go for the Bordeayx but the Zalto Universal is also a good alternative.

Barolo MGA Vol 1

Yet another gift for the wine geek. Or wine nerd. The Barolo MGA books from Alessandro Masnaghetti are legendary. His books dig deep into the different cru’s of barolo, the different winemakers, the terroir and the history. An encyclopedia for the wine lover. And his level of detail is extraordinary! You can buy the Barolo MGA Vol 1 here.

Vinmonopolet gift card

Unsure of what wine to buy your extra picky wine lover friend? Vinmonopolet sells gift cards! That way you don’t have to worry about buying the “wrong” wine for your friend.

Piemontegirl Gingerbread Cookies

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I love gingerbread cookies. And it always puts me in the holiday mood when making them. This year, for the first time, I decided to try and make the dough from scratch. Turns out it is quite easy!

Here’s what you need:

  • 300g butter
  • 2 dl syrup 
  • 4 dl sugar
  • 1 ts cloves
  • 2 dl cream
  • 1 ts ginger
  • 4 ts cinnamon
  • 2 ts baking soda
  • 900g flour

Follow these easy steps to make the dough:

  1. Mix butter, syrup, sugar and cream in a pot. Heat up until it is all mixed. Remove from heat.
  2. When the mixture has cooled down a little, sift the spices, baking soda and most of the flour into the mixture. 
  3. Continue to add flour until the dough has a good consistency
  4. Set in the fridge to cool for a couple of hours. Remember to take the dough out a little while before cutting the cookies

I’ve been making quite a few treats this holiday season. Check out my Panettone recipe here.

Philipponnat for NYE

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New Years Eve is fast approaching, and as it is a holiday often associated with champagne, I have another recommendation for you! Champagne is not my forte, but there are a few that make it onto my list. 

We all know I love Philipponnat – if you haven’t heard the story, let me know and I’ll tell you! 

Anyways, here are a few that are available at Vinmonopolet:

Philipponnat Blanc de Noirs 2011 599,- 

Philipponnat Grand Blanc Brut 2007 599,-

Philipponnat Royale Réserve Non-Dosé 415,-

Chocolatte Helsingborg

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Chocolatte Helsingborg

If you’re a chocolate person (like me) you have to try Chocolatte in Helsingborg! There is a reason they win Chocolate awards; their chocolates are incredible! For Christmas we had their Christmas chocolates, with flavors like ginger bread and salty licorice. Perfect as a small dessert after tons of fatty Christmas food!

It’s a little unfortunate that they are located in Helsingborg, but if you’re ever there you should visit them. You can also check out their website, maybe they will ship their chocolates? I hope so!

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Theatercafeen – Christmas Tradition

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Theatercafeen – Historic Place in Oslo

Every Christmas I go to Theatercafeen with the family. The pictures are not very good, but the food was! And the wine was even better. It’s always nice to have some traditions, and I am already looking forward to next year’s dinner.

 

You visit https://www.theatercafeen.no/ and have a look at their wine list, which in my opinion is pretty good!