IN Holiday

By Ara Jansen

With the holiday season and summer almost upon us, we thought we’d help stock up the drinks fridge.

We’ve come a long way in our drinking tastes from the days of Chateau Cardboard.

Ric Skipworth has spent most of his life working in the food and beverage industry and says in the last four years alone he’s seen a serious shift in buying and drinking habits. Along with a push for fresher, tastier food has come an overwhelming interest to treat alcohol as an integral ingredient in the tastes of the meal.

“I’d like to think we’re drinking less but better,” Ric says. “We’re having less but we’re enjoying the full flavour of something. Much of that has filtered through from all these cooking and dining shows on television.”

He says encouraging the slow food movement also encourages the slower drinking movement.

“As with food, stay away from the meat in a can and buy some Italian sausage. Take your time and enjoy the experience, rather than the instant gratification. It’s not about the alcohol, it’s about the journey. Spend two or three hours in conversation with good friends and slowly enjoy the flavours an alcoholic drink offers.”

Ric suggests if you want to try something different, share a bottle of Denmark’s Mikkeller, a beer brewed with champagne yeast or Scotch whiskey from the island if Islay. He says there’s a wealth of new and interesting tastes across the drinking range and it’s worth the adventure to discover some you like.

Holiday drinking doesn’t have to be all about alcohol either. Keep a carton of bubbly mineral water on hand to sip with ice, make mock gin and tonics or add to fruit juice. It’s refreshing cold or at room temperature.

Stock your favourite fruit juice or try some of the many interesting flavours available. Have lime cordial, bitters, grenadine and soft drinks on hand or try the Italian soft drink chinotto.

Keep and eye out for specials too across the board, so you can save on the staples and favourites.

No matter how you drink over the holidays, please be responsible.

Fine Wine Partners state manager Bernard Hughes picks five wines to stock up on for festive and holiday celebrations:

• Sandalford Estate Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon (around $38)
  
• Ashbrook Semillon (around $23)
  
• Capel Vale Debut Chenin Blanc (around $15)
  
• Buy a case to always have on hand: Sandalford Margaret River Classic Dry White (around $17)
  
• If you like bubbles, New Zealand’s Te Hana Reserve Cuvee (around $23) is the new kid on the block. Just launched in WA, its name means “to shine” and is proving an instant hit.

Wine consultant Zach Nelson says he’s chosen wines that “remind me of the holidays and are suited for our climate and our food”. His favourite bottles of holiday cheer are:

• Pol Roger NV Epernay for special occasions (approx $75)
  
• Yellowglen Bella or Bella Bianco for all-round holiday cheer (approx $17.99)
  
• Brookland Valley verse 1 Chardonnay 2009 (approx $19)
  
• Always keep room in the fridge for Valley of the Giants Crisp Dry White (approx $14.99 but specials can be $9.99)
  
• A lovely food wine for hot summers, try something new in France’s La Vielle Ferme Cotes de Ventoux (approx $17.99)
  
• Go the Spanish reds, particularly Torres Sangre de Toro (approx $17.99)