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Picking Wines for Deck Parties and Beyond

  • By 7052540994
  • 01 Mar, 2018

Deck season will be here before you know it, and you might occasionally find yourself in the market for a bottle of wine. Picking wines can seem daunting, but it need not be if you follow a couple of simple rules. Keep these in mind, and you’ll pick a winner for any food-centric occasion:

1) More expensive doesn’t mean better. While it’s true that it’s harder to find a “bad” wine at a higher price point, much about wine quality and taste is subjective. In fact, when many people are given both expensive and inexpensive wines to taste and compare, without knowing which is which, most guess the prices incorrectly. $12-$20 is a perfect price range to find quality and value.

2) We all know the sayings about wine getting better with age, but that’s actually not true in most cases. In fact, most wines should be drunk within a few years of bottling. It’s perfectly fine and safe to look for vintages from 1-3 years ago. The exceptions here are wines that start out so robust and intense that time in the bottle will balance their flavors, alcohol, and acidity. But even these wines will taste perfect with the right company and food!

3) When in doubt, keep it simple. There are a variety of tried and true wine and food pairings. Try pairing wines with foods from the same region. Having red sauce pasta? Buy a Chianti. Having steaks? Grab a California Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot. Here’s a quick chart for some common food pairings:






Steak (most cuts except prime rib or beef tenderloin)

Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Tempranillo
Prime rib, beef tenderloin, lamb

Pinot Noir, Garnacha, Merlot

Italian, red sauces

Chianti, Nero d’Avola, Valpolicella blends
Italian, white sauces

Pinot Grigio, Soave, Gavi (These have the acidity to cut through the creaminess of most white sauces)

Ribs (or any BBQ, really)

Zinfandel or Zin based red blends, Garnacha, Tempranillo

Chicken (Citrusy)

Pinot Gris/Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, Torrontes (look in the South American section)


Chicken (Sweeter glazes)


  Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris/Grigio


Sea Food (Fish, Crab, Lobster, Scallops)

  Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris/Grigio, Dry Rieslings

Japanese

Sake (Okay, not technically a wine as making Sake is more of a brewing process, but it’s an    ideal pairing here!)

Anything Spicy (especially Indian and Thai Curries)


Semi-sweet to sweet Rieslings. Try a German Spatlese (semi-sweet) or Auslese (sweet).

Salads or veggie trays
Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris/Grigio

Desserts

Moscato d’asti (a sweet, fizzy white with peach and apricot flavors), Brachetto d'Acqui (a sweet, fizzy red with red berry flavors), Sancerre (a dessert wine from France with intense honeyed flavors)
By 7052540994 03 Mar, 2020

Easter Sunday occurs this year on April 12th. If you are one of many families that celebrate by giving Easter Baskets to children, you may be working on them now. Smaller kids are easy, as they tend to get excited about any little snack or trinket that is offered to them. However, if you have an older child or teen that you give an Easter basket to, you may be struggling with ideas. Older children typically don’t have much use for stuffed animals, bubbles, or Play-Doh. So, what can you get them without going overboard?

1.      Hat Basket – One popular idea is a hat basket. Find a baseball style hat that they would like (a favorite sports team, a funny saying, or something else they like), turn it upside-down and fill it with their favorite treats. The hat won’t hold a lot, so no need to get much. Just a couple favorite snacks, maybe a small gift card and call it good. Simple and useful. Some hats will work better than others so double check that you will be able to put what you need into it before purchasing.

2.      Shower/Pamper Basket - If your teen or older child isn’t into baseball hats, try a bag of shower goodies. Use a make-up or shower bag as your “basket” and fill it with items they will use. Bath bombs, lotions, shower shoes, and nail files are a few ideas.

3.      Starbucks Basket/Cup - Another fun idea for a teen who likes Starbucks is to get them a Starbucks thermos for their “basket” and fill it with a Starbucks gift card and perhaps a small traditional Easter treat.

4.      Artist Basket – If you have an artsy teen or child you can make them an art basket. Use a crate lined with fabric or felt (to hold the supplies in it) and fill it with a few art items. Try blank canvases, paints, brushes, molding clay, felt, decorative cutting scissors, or whatever their art preferences are.

5.      College basket – For a teen leaving for college you can create a basket with college essentials. For a few ideas you can use headphones/ear buds, a daily planner, USB flash drives, a reusable water bottle, and don’t forget a gift that displays the logo for the college of their choice (a keychain, hat, or coffee mug would work).

6.      Fishing Basket – If you have a child who likes to fish, you can use a tackle box or fishing net for your basket and fill it with Easter treats and fishing gear. Swedish fish gummies, gummy worms, bug spray, sun block, lures, and other fishing gear are a few ideas to get you started.

These are just a few ideas for a teen or older child. There are many other ideas to help you out. Pinterest is a good place to check if none of these seem to work for your child. You can always keep it simple and do a traditional basket with Easter treats and throw in a small gift card to their favorite store. Happy Easter!

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