The Perfect Wine Basket For Each Season
Putting together a wine basket as a gift for a friend, family member, or client, is a fun way to celebrate a special occasion. Each season brings with its own special flavors and occasions. Why not tailor your wine basket to the season? Here are some ideas for wine and food items to pair it with that will compliment each season perfectly.
Spring and Summer
Wine
Warm weather wines should be light and refreshing. Start your summer or spring wine basket with selections that are best served chilled. White, blushes, and sparkling wines all work well with the summer heat. Chardonnays, rieslings, sauvignon blancs, proseccos, pinot grigios, pinot gris, white zinfandels, and moscatos are all great choices for your wine basket.
Food
Fruit should be one of the main components of a wine basket. Pears are a great choice for their durability and resistance to bruising. Chocolate covered strawberries are another great option because the fruit stays protected.
Cheese of course, is an essential part of any wine basket. Cheese that pairs well with fruit should be your first choice. Blue cheeses like roquefort and gorgonzola are delicious with pears. Goat cheese and brie also pair nice with white wines and fruit. Don't forget to add a box of multi-grain crackers.
A jar of local honey is a nice final touch.
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A cute way to present a summer or spring wine and food selection is in a picnic basket.
Fall and Winter
Wine
Cooler weather calls for darker and more complex wines. Red wines are the best choice for a cold weather wine basket. Some red wines for you to consider are pinot noirs, merlots, syrahs, malbecs, cabernet sauvignons, barberas, zinfandels, and sangioveses.
Food
Dark chocolate is amazing with red wine. Be sure to put a few bars or truffles in your cold weather wine basket. Smoked meats are also great with red wine. Gourmet beef jerky or salami works well with garlic and herb crackers. Your cheese selections should be as bold as the red wines that you put into your basket. Some cheeses that work well with red wines are cheddar, colby, and gouda. Savory flavors are more appreciated in colder weather. A jar of olives to go with the meat and cheese should do the trick.
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With so many holidays during the colder months, pick your basket based on the nearest holiday. Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Valentine's day should help you decide how to decorate your basket. Pick a fabric to go in the bottom of the basket that is color coordinated to the holiday. For more information, contact a business such as Sand Castle Winery.