Don't Like Champagne? Here are Some Alternatives for New Year's Eve

Don’t like Champagne? You’re not alone. Just because it’s been a tradition since the 19th century does not mean it’s a tradition that you have to follow.  Start your own tradition!  Many enjoyable white wines are great for celebrating events, including New Year’s Eve.  If being handed a glass of Champagne isn’t something you are looking forward to, grab a nice glass of something like our Vin De Glaciére Riesling instead to prepare for that momentous toast to the New Year.  Ring in the New Year the way YOU want to. There are many delicious white wines to use instead of Champagne for this occasion.

• Riesling. Our home, Washington state is fast becoming a premier wine producer in the USA with superb quality wines, just one example being our 2021 J Riesling. The “J” means “Just Right” and, boy, oh, boy, is that ever true. It has just the right amount of sweetness and intricacy, with aromas of apricot, pear, and jasmine. It is made with the purest winemaking practices possible in the Columbia Valley. This is a great choice for those looking for Champagne alternatives for New Year’s Eve.
• Pinot Gris. Our Pinot Gris is crisp and bright with aromas of vanilla, ripe stone fruits, and white peach blossoms.  Its grapes are grown in the Willamette Valley, renowned for its harvesting by hand methods.  Pinot Gris is often used on celebratory occasions and would serve nicely on New Year’s Eve.  It is a very smooth wine.
• Ice Wine. If you do not like Champagne and still prefer a festive beverage, then you will not go wrong with our Vin De Glaciere. And the alcohol content is just 10%, so perfect for those looking to take it easy. This wine from Yakima Valley is a top-notch ice wine that is not only affordable but has excellent taste. This is our favorite choice among Champagne alternatives for New Year’s Eve.
• Chenin Blanc. If there is a wine for all seasons, then one should not forget Chenin Blanc. This light-bodied, versatile wine with a tinge of sweetness has the ability to adapt to all seasons and tastes. Our Chenin Blanc has flavors of toasted almond, ginger, mango, and dried persimmon. Chenin Blanc pairs with most meaty foods, including ham, lamb, pork, chicken, and salmon. It is another perfect wine to ring in the New Year with.
• Selenium Noble Wine.  A rare and remarkable Riesling, this wine was destined to be enjoyed at celebrations.  This wine was aged in stainless steel tanks for 10 months and then underwent two more years of aging to ensure its bouquet of apricot, caramel, and honey notes come out just right.

Enjoy the beverage of your choice on New Year’s Eve!  There are many white wines to use instead of Champagne for celebrations. Try Champagne alternatives for New Year’s Eve this year.  Try something different; go against the traditional grain.  Make that choice into one of your New Year’s resolutions to add excitement to the coming new year!  Have a good one!

Classic Christmas Movies for Wine Night

During the festive holiday season, millions of movie lovers turn their living rooms into Christmas Movie Theaters. This is usually a time of the year when friends, couples, and families get together to watch more movies at home than at any other time. These nights, you can find people streaming on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Disney, and anywhere that's hosting their favorite Christmas movies. The entire household's mood is bright and lively; although everyone is debating the next Christmas movie to be shown. Being that we love wine, in this article, we are going to look specifically into Christmas movies for wine night, and what Christmas movie and wine pairings you should try!

Thanks to all the streaming services, most Christmas movies, regardless of the decade of origin, are readily available. To sustain the holiday spirit, you'll be wanting plenty of food and wine! But with so many great movies, which ones should you choose? And, at the same time, what are the best Christmas movie wine pairings?  Is it possible that different wines go with different movies, just as they go differently with each course of a meal? While we wait on someone to do a scientific study on that, we decided to create some ourselves!

First of All: SHARE YOUR WINE

Especially during the holiday season, it is wonderful to share wine with friends and family. Try pairing your Christmas movie with a familiar wine, or try something new! If there is a wine you like, share it; it is bound to increase everyone's enjoyment. The holiday season is all about sharing and giving. Your friends and family will be pleased to receive a bottle of wine if it comes with a recommendation from you. Alright, now let's look at some movies and wines. Christmas movie wine pairings are all going to depend on genre!

CHRISTMAS MOVIES TO WATCH

Many, many Christmas movies are ready to be enjoyed at this time of year.  Christmas movies for wine night have particularly warm and fuzzy messages that encourage sharing special moments together. Here are some can't-miss Christmas movies if you haven't seen all of them over the course of your life yet:

• A Christmas Story 
• Charlie Brown Christmas
• Happiest Season
• National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
• Elf
• Home Alone (and Home Alone 2)
• Jack Frost
• Klaus
• Falling for Christmas 
• Christmas Wedding Planner
• Arthur Christmas
• Fred Claus
• Operation Christmas Drop
• It’s A Wonderful Life
• Miracle on 34th Street
• Four Christmases 
• The Santa Clause Trilogy 
• A Boy Called Christmas
• Disney’s A Christmas Carol
• The Knight Before Christmas
• The Christmas Chronicles

MOVIE AND WINE PAIRINGS

Now, as we said, it's all about genre. So, here are some pairings that are more about feelings and moods than they are about palate:

• National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation is a funny movie that can be enjoyed all the more while consuming an ever-versatile Riesling.
• Elf is another hilarious movie that can be even more entertaining with a bottle of Gewurztraminer. 
• It’s a Wonderful Life can be shared nicely alongside a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon.
• Miracle on 34th Street is a perfect fit with a nice Red Blend. 

Grab some snacks and a few bottles of wine, position yourself on your couch or loveseat, and settle in for some long winter nights of fantastic fun. When it comes to debating movies, it's that time of year where considering other people choose Christmas movies for wine night that will have your guests glowing.  Happy Holidays!

Cookbooks for the Holidays You Can't Go Wrong With

Come the holiday season, most people turn their attention to all the delicious foods that help make the holidays so special. For some people, especially beginners, cookbooks for the holidays can be very helpful. Buying a cookbook for the holiday season is easy, but finding the best ones? That’s harder. There are thousands of cookbooks on the market; some are general cookbooks, others are geared towards special dishes, such as desserts, and then there are cookbooks for all dietary restrictions. Virtually every ethnic group has its own cookbooks and that’s a great thing!  So many recipes; so many choices; so much to learn! Amazon has dozens of new cookbooks available every week for the holiday season. If you have never been an especially great cook, and your experience is limited to basically making boiled eggs or a cup of tea, you need to know some facts about purchasing cookbooks for the holidays.

Know what you want to cook. Today, cookbooks for the holidays cater to certain foods, so you need to know what you will be cooking before purchasing the book. No point in buying a cookbook on how to cook a turkey 20 different ways when you are a vegetarian. If you want to cook Jewish pastries, there is no point in buying a general cookbook on Chinese sweets.

Is the cookbook for advanced chefs? If you are a beginner, you will want cookbooks for the holidays that are simple, have plenty of pictures, and have easy-to-follow instructions. Some cookbooks are far too advanced and mention spices that you may never have heard of. Either in person or online, try to scan the cookbook’s pages before making a decision.

A good variety of dishes. There really is no point in buying a cookbook to learn how to cook just one dish. It will be a good investment if you buy a cookbook which tells you how to cook many other interesting foods that you like. Make a list of the foods you want to cook and then see if the cookbook contains the recipes.  As well, look for holiday cookbooks and wine pairings to help with your entire meal.

Buying online. Today, most cookbooks are sold online, and many publishers offer select pages for free reading so that you get some idea about the content. Amazon is the place to go to buy a cookbook for the holidays because of the variety, price, and reviews. If you do not like the cookbook, you can always return it.

Visit YouTube. If you are just starting out in the world of cooking, you may want to visit YouTube. It has thousands of channels for cooking all types of menus from all over the world. Most of the videos are easy to understand and follow. There are also videos explaining the different ingredients used in different recipes. In addition, they also tell you what equipment you will need.

Wine pairing. If you are going to be pairing your holiday foods with wine (and we definitely think you should!), then you need to search for holiday cookbooks and wine pairings that can also tell you what wines pair best with which foods. Many general holiday season cookbooks don’t mention wines.  Keep an eye out for those that do and/or look for those specialty cookbooks that combine both food and wine to give you an edge this holiday season on being the best host or hostess ever.

A few of the best cookbooks for the holidays that you may want to consider include:

1. "Perfect Turkey Cookbook: More Than 100 Mouthwatering Recipes for the Ultimate Feast" by Keith Sarasin
2. "The Easy Christmas Cookie Cookbook: 60+ Recipes to Bake for the Holidays” by Carroll Pellegrinelli
3. "Baking for the Holidays: 50+ Treats for a Festive Season" by Sarah Kieffer
4. "Very Merry Cocktails: 50+ Festive Drinks for the Holiday Season"
5. “Now and Again” by Julia Turshen (also includes ideas for leftovers)
6. “Eat What You Love” by Danielle Walker (gluten free, dairy free)
7. “The Fearless Baker” by Erin McDowell (pies and cookies made simple)

And if you are looking for great deals on holiday wines, then look through our holiday wine bundles!

If you are considering a wine party during the holidays, here are some great affordable wines that you may want to consider:

• 2021 PACIFIC RIM WICKED GOOD RED
• 2021 DRY RIESLING
• 2018 RAMOS VINEYARD GEWURZTRAMINER
• 2018 SILVER TOTEM CABERNET SAUVIGNON

 

Christmas Wine Pairings

The Christmas holiday season is full of fantastic food choices.  Are you thinking of trying something new this year?  Or perhaps you like to stay with the traditional ham or turkey for the main course, pairing it with some excellent Christmas wine.  Many people find comfort in and look forward to celebrating in such traditional ways during the holidays.  Many have turkey for Thanksgiving and ham for Christmas.  If you are one of those traditionalists, have you thought about wine pairings with Christmas ham?  Doesn’t your mouth water just thinking about all those divine traditional dishes that you might only get to enjoy during the holiday season?  Turkey, ham, prime rib, roast beef, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing, corn, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, apple pie, cherry pie, and the list goes on and on.  Scrumptious!  Add the right Christmas wine and you have memories to last you until next year.

WHEN SERVING HAM

Ham is just as popular as turkey in many homes during Christmas. Smoked, baked, or honeyed, ham goes best with mildly sweet wines. Riesling and Gewurztraminer, with a dash of residual sugar and low in alcohol, are the perfect wine pairings with Christmas ham. There is almost always a glaze on the ham and the type of glaze can also help determine which Christmas wine will be most suitable. Riesling is a very versatile wine and can be paired with pork-themed foods and barbecued ribs as well.

WHEN SERVING TURKEY

Like ham, you can expect to find turkey during Christmas dinner in many homes. With turkey, there are also herb stuffings, roasted veggies, thick and rich sauces, potatoes, and an assortment of savory sides, which must also be taken into account when determining the best wine pairing. At the top of the list are Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling. Not only do these wines have their own pleasant herbal undertones, but they are also very easy on the palate. 

INTERNATIONAL DISHES AND CULTURAL FOODS

With a wonderful mix of ethnic diversity comes an amazing list of new foods to try. Christmas culinary creations can add an extra layer of fun to festive holiday meals. If you are having Asian cuisine with heavy spices, this calls for the likes of Gewurztraminer or Riesling.

If you are starting Christmas dinner with appetizers or snacks (e.g., cheese crackers, smoked ham, etc.), then go with something like a bubbly or Chenin Blanc.

MULLED WINE DESERVES A MENTION

Mulled wine has been consumed during Christmas for centuries. Mulled wine is made from red wine, but it is served warm and contains a variety of spices like cinnamon, cloves, and star anise. It is still consumed in many European nations but in North America, we have far better varieties of wine to pair with Christmas food. But which wine pairs with Christmas foods? You'll have to try some for yourself!

When choosing Christmas wine to go with the widest variety of Christmas dishes, you cannot go wrong with a Riesling.  It is always going to be a good, solid choice.  Check out current offerings for Christmas! Happy Holidays and Bon Appétit!

The Perfect Autumn Wines for a Cool Night

Fall is easily one of the most beautiful seasons. With the brightly colored leaves, the beautiful smells, and the crisp notes in the air, you won’t find many things to complain about during this beautiful season, and that includes the great autumn wine selection you have to choose from. Gone are the light, airy wines of summer that complement a hot day at the beach. Instead, a good autumn wine is a perfect addition to a chilly evening and the end of the warmth of summer. What autumn wines should you consider this year? Take a look. 

Chenin Blanc: If you haven’t yet tried a Chenin Blanc, it’s time. It offers an implied sweetness, but that comes with a layered complexity you simply won’t find with other autumn wines. The color complements any fall table, and the scent bouquet is perfect for fall, often including apple, pear, and honey, the perfect touch for a crisp autumn day filled with brightly colored leaves and long walks. 

Pinot Noir: This is a classic as far as autumn wines go. You’ll absolutely want to keep at least one of these on hand throughout the season. A medium-bodied choice, it offers soft, fruity flavors that help make sense of a season where temperatures can often vary from quite warm in the afternoon to quite chilly after the sun sets. It also pairs with a wide range of fall foods, so it’s perfect no matter what you’re serving tonight. 

Riesling: Few wines work quite as well as a Riesling, and while many don’t classify this as the ideal autumn wine, they absolutely should. It has the ability to pair with a number of different foods, and at Pacific Rim, we offer a number of different autumn wines that you’ll absolutely love throughout this great season. The beautiful acidity and strength of the mineral in every glass mean it’s ideal even during the fall. Moreover, because it highlights fall flavors, you’ll find it pairs well with a number of different dishes you look forward to as autumn arrives. 

Ready to find your perfect fall wine? Take a look at what we have to offer now.