Harts of Stur Kitchen Issue 5, Christmas 2017 | Page 58

The Kit Wine Francesco Gabriele The Sommelier Pour Decisions Francesco Gabriele, sommelier at Chewton Glen, suggests wine to drink with every course at Christmas dinner What should you drink with turkey? I love the Patagonian Pinot Noir. It’s vibrant and intense, a shy wine with a gentle personality, full of berries, flavours and silky tannins with a soft touch. The alcohol is hidden by the acidity which helps to produce the water you need in your mouth to get a sense of refreshment and lightness. What should you drink with goose, beef and ham? Goose is great with a Malbec from Cahors – it’s less smooth than an Argentinian one, with more personality and strength; a wine that loves intense gamey flavours. Beef would be lovely to have with a Spiegelau Croatian Cabernet Sauvignon – those wines are an extraordinary Salute Red Wine combination of smoothness and determination, grippy and velvety at Crystal Glass 4 Piece Set the same time, a gentle fruitiness of berries accompanied by leather RRP: £29.95 and chocolate hints. Ham would be good with a Mencia Joven from Harts Price: £14.95 Bierzo, a wine with a great fresh acidity and flowery notes of violet, herbs, a little cherry jam; delicate and silky. THE GRAPE & GOOD Spiegelau Salute Spiegelau White Wine Prosecco Crystal Glass 4 Crystal Glass 4 Piece Set Piece Set RRP: £29.95 Harts Price: £14.95 RRP: £29.95 Harts Price: £19.96 How about a dessert wine with Christmas pudding. A lovely, intense, powerful Barolo Chinato. A wine that will leave you wordless for its complexity, structure and for having plenty of flavours which go perfectly with a pudding – sun-dried tropical fruits, dates, chocolate, tobacco, cedar, liquorice, and walnuts. The alcohol is to dry the sweetness and some silky tannins give an incredible length to the wine. Finally, what should you drink with cheese? Port goes well with strong blue cheeses, but it can overpower some others. I like to divide cheeses into four categories. Goat’s cheese or cheeses with high freshness go with tasty/salty wines – Sauvignon blanc from Loire or Sancerre. Cheeses that are medium matured with a good texture but with not too strong flavours go with structured red wines, so Cabernet Sauvignon from Australia or Pinot Noir from the USA. Cheeses that are well-aged go with more intense and high personality red wines – Piedmont, Tuscany, Châteauneuf, Ribera del Duero. Lastly, blue cheeses to go with either sweet white wines or with smooth fortified wines. Wine and dine in style at Chewton Glen hotel. To book and check out sample menus, go to www.chewtonglen.com 58 www.hartsofstur.com Bar Craft Set Of 4 Glass Port Sippers RRP: £14.99 Harts Price: £13.49