When it comes to holidays, Champagne is always an excellent choice. I’m not one of those people who think sparkling wine is only for celebrations. Champagne is a great wine first, a wine that happens to have bubbles, and it is notable for being extremely versatile when it comes to pairing with food. Champagne, with its crisp acidity, is a wonderful match for many foods, especially dishes that are fried or have a rich cream sauce (the bubbles refresh your palate), foods that are spicy (with relatively low alcohol, sparkling wine doesn’t accentuate chile heat) or foods that are either high in acid (like ceviche) or a little salty (salt balances acidity). One of my favorite pairings (though I grant you, not particularly in the holiday spirit) is Champagne and French fries - salt, fat and acid is a match made in culinary heaven! This is the most popular time of year for retailers to put their sparkling wines on sale, so you might find some terrific bargains out there.
Finally, I’d be remiss in not suggest one gift idea that doesn’t involve alcohol, at least not directly. When I was just getting interested in wine, I bought several books to get a better understanding of what I was tasting. Most of the books I purchased are out of print now, but one remains and is better than ever. Two of the world’s greatest wine writers, Jancis Robinson and Hugh Johnson, released the terrific eighth edition of their “World Atlas of Wine” just two months ago and it is already one of the best-selling wine books of all time – I read recently that more than four million copies are in print.