Food + Dining

Holiday Spirits

Well, the holidays have undeniably arrived. The stores (and their parking lots) are packed, lights and trees are going up, and the annual month of feasting has officially begun. And really, what’s a good feast without wine?

A few weeks ago, I had a chance to pay a visit to Cream Ridge Winery, in the tiny but adorably picturesque Victorian town of Cream Ridge, NJ. This particular winery’s specialty seems to be fruit wines: there were 10 available to try, all made with Jersey-grown produce. I usually see fruit wines as more of a spring/summer treat, but they did have two available that would be lovely to enjoy around the holidays.

First up: Cranberry Wine. Made with dry-harvested New Jersey cranberries, this wine was quite refreshing. Tart without being painful, with a nice sweetness that wasn’t overblown. I’ll admit, I tend to be wary of fruit wines, since a lot of them lean in a syrupy direction, but this one was quite lovely.

Next up: Holiday Spice Wine. This blush wine was also very nice, with excellent spice flavors of cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg. It can be served chilled or warm—great for cold winter nights trimming the tree, when you don’t feel like putting a lot of effort into making your own mulled wine.

Speaking of…

Big bowls of punch and punch-like mixtures have made a major comeback lately, especially around the holiday party season. Why not warm up your guests with a warm, spicy glass of mulled wine? Nothing says holiday nostalgia like something that’s been drunk since the Middle Ages.

Mulled Wine

10 servings
2 bottles dry red wine
4 oz port or brandy
12 whole cloves
4 cinnamon sticks
½ cup brown sugar
1 large orange, zested

Combine ingredients in a large pot and bring to a simmer. Do not boil. Heat for 20 minutes and serve, garnished with cinnamon sticks or freshly ground nutmeg.

From The Cookworks, foodnetwork.com

Holiday Gifting

Looking for something a little different for the wine lover in your life? Some of New Jersey’s best wine shops have just the thing…

Wine Clubs CoolVines in Westfield and Princeton, the Wine Library in Springfield, 56 Degree Wine in Bernardsville, Amanti Vino in Montclair, Englewood Wine Merchants, Vigneto in Weehawken, and the Garden State Wine Club all have wine or wine-of-the-month clubs. For a fee, you can receive wines hand-selected by each store’s knowledgeable staff. (Amanti Vino has also recently launched a Simply Beer Club). See their websites for more information.

Theme Packs/Collections Both CoolVines and Englewood Wine Merchants have special theme packs or collections you can pick up. Grab a mix of reds or whites from CoolVines, or a pack of their most popular bottles, as voted on by CoolVines customers. Know someone who loves a good Oregon Pinot or a bit of bubbly? Englewood has it covered—as many as 12 specially selected wines are beautifully packaged in a branded wooden crate.

Gift Baskets Great for a hostess gift—these can be made to suit any taste and pretty much any budget. You can find a wide variety at Gary’s Wine in Madison, Bernardsville, and Wayne; and at Vigneto.

Your Very Own Vintage Have you (or a much-loved friend or family member) always wanted to make your own wine? Now you can, thanks to the Grape Escape in Dayton, NJ. Crush grapes that are brought in from California and Chile, extract the wine, fill a barrel, and, when the fermentation process is complete, design your own labels for the bottles. Grape Escape also offers classes in making your own mozzarella cheese and bottling olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Gift certificates for all the classes are available.

Fun Stuff Busted Grapes in Lanoka Harbor has some great ideas for stocking stuffers, like the “I Gotta Buzz” wine charms, funky bottle openers, and the Wine Knowledge Magnet Set. Slightly larger but also fun: the charming Smiley Face Cheese Knife Set, a Wine Tasting Kit and Vitivini—the Wine Game. You can also grab Winerd, a board game that combines wine trivia and blind tasting, from Gary’s Wine