Wine is bedrock of the holiday celebrations. Although it’s omnipresent today, finding the right wines for dinner or gifts works better with planning. This is the perfect time to be creative. With guests coming over, serve them wines that stimulate the imagination and send a message that the host cares.

Wine as a gift? That’s nothing new, but what about something to magnify the power of the gift? A bottle that isn’t common or something to accompany the bottle like a set of four crystal stemware wine glasses or an exciting, hard-to-find cookbook? Combinations are easy and you’ll have fun putting everything together.

Interesting Wines:

Chambertin, a vigorous and powerful of red Burgundy, was Napoleon's favorite wine he had handy on all campaigns. Legend has it that, burdened with a killer hangover from too much of this wonderful wine the night before, Napoleon fell off his horse during the Battle of Waterloo, an event that changed history. The wine is robust and strong, dark, heavy and uncompromisingly red.

Cru Beaujolais is near perfect for anything during the holidays. These wines do not usually show the word Beaujolais on the label which separates them from undistinguished mass-produced Nouveau. The Beaujolais crus are full-bodied, dark in color, and have some aging potential and include Saint-Amour, Juliénas,Chénas, Moulin-à-Vent, Fleurie, Chiroubles, Morgon, Régnié, Brouilly and Côte de Brouilly. Think about giving two or three bottles. The effect is joyous!

Châteauneuf-du-Pape is a majestic red wine made near the village of Châteauneuf-du-Pape in the Rhône wine region in southeastern France. It is the most renowned appellation of the southern part of the Rhône Valley. More wine is made in this one area of southern Rhône than in the entirety of the northern Rhône region and the history of this wine dates back to the time when Avignon was the epicenter of the Roman Catholic Church.

More adventure: A South African Pinotage blend; from Portugal, a white wine from the Vinhos Verdes region or a red wine from the Douro Valley. Think about a bottle of Grüner Veltliner from Austria or any of the white wine wonders from Alsace. Champagne remains the regal celebratory wine.

Crystal Stemware:

Always a great gift idea, the best ones will make any wine taste better. My own collection ranges from the weighty Waterford Colleen Encore collection with ornate design, wonderful textures and shapes that curve seductively at the top.

I recently had young Maximillian Riedel on my radio show (see photo on right), and he convinced me that wine always tastes better when enjoyed from crystal glasses. 
 

Below are some of the best crystal stemware selections available. All the wine glasses are available at What's Cooking America's Kitchen Store
(either click on the book photos or on the links below to learn more about these wine glasses and purchase some wine glasses, if you desire:

New Gourmet Cookbooks:

I like to construct my own gourmet gift baskets or boxes, with some variations like three different wines for a box and a card describing what they are. A gift basket is fun but involves more effort. However, a bottle of really good wine along with an exciting, not-so-well-known cookbook, or possibly a set of crystal stemware will bring a smile every time.
 

Here’s just a few recent releases, all available at What's Cooking America's Book Store (either click on the book photos or on the links below to learn more about these cookbooks and purchase one, if you desire:

Mrs. Charles Darwin's Recipe Book: Revived and Illustrated By Dusha Bateson and Weslie Janeway Charles Darwin’s wife, Emma Wedgwood Darwin, like many women of her time, kept a notebook filled with recipes and personal anecdotes about everyday life. This collectible cookbook offers a rare glimpse behind the dining room doors of one of the Victorian era's most eminent families.	Fiesta Latina: Fabulous Food for Sizzling Parties By Rafael Palomino and Arlen Gargagliano This interesting cookbook offers fusion treats like chipotle crabmeat and sweet plantain empanadas, and sugar cane shrimp skewers, cerviche and more.	How to Lower your Cholesterol with French Gourmet Food By Chef Alain Braus Heralded New Orleans Chef Alain Braux just released this cookbook. It combines delicious recipes food with a path to a healthier lifestyle.	The Veselka Cookbook: Recipes and Stories from the Landmark Restaurant in New York's East Village By Tom Birchard and Natalie Danford Produced by the East Village’s restaurant, this cookbook includes over 120 recipes. Veselka's Ukrainian favorites include its famous borscht, sweet potato pierogi, and grilled kielbasa.	Entertaining from an Ethnic Indian Kitchen By Komali Nunna Komali Nunna was born in Southern India and is known as the "Indian Martha Stewart." Her new coffee-table cookbook, is 300 plus pages of gorgeous color photographs, featuring hundreds of delicious and unusual recipes along with fascinating commentary from Nunna about the Indian people. Most beautiful book I’ve seen this year.
In a Cheesemaker's Kitchen: Celebrating 25 Years of Artisanal Cheesemaking from Vermont Butter & Cheese Company By Allison Hooper A beautiful and useful cookbook that mixes history, insights, pairings, and recipes.	Classic Lebanese Cuisine By Chef Kamal Al-Faith This cookbook introduced me to exotic flavors and kabob magic. Savory, heart-healthy Lebanese recipes epitomize the best of the Mediterranean diet, highly regarded for its positive health benefits. Abounding in vegetables, grains, fresh herbs and spices, poultry, and lamb, it yields meals replete with robust, earthy flavors. Likewise,	The American Lighthouse Cookbook: The Best Recipes and Stories from America's Shorelines By Becky Sue Epstein and Ed Jackson This is a masterful collection of primarily seafood recipes and the production is first-rate.	A TAVOLA! Recipes and Reflections on Traditional Italian Home Cooking by Gianni Scappin and Vincenzo Lauria The Culinary Institute of America produced this lovely effort loaded with both treasured family recipes and new dishes inspired by the great food the authors have enjoyed on their travels.	Clara's Kitchen: Wisdom, Memories, and Recipes from the Great Depression By Clara Cannucciari and Christopher Cannucciari Clara Cannucciari is a 94 year-old kitchen wizard and her spellbinding book is more than just a cookbook: it’s a history lesson and a crash course in budgeting.  Using lessons she learned during the Great Depression, she takes today’s cooks back to a simpler and more difficult time.
The Silk Road Gourmet: Volume One: Western and Southern Asia By Ann Kelley Ann Kelley’s brilliant stories and recipes in The Silk Road Gourmet offers the fusion cuisines of Central Asia, the Himalayas and the Indo-Pacific, countries that combine distinctly western Asian and Eastern Asian elements. A useful gift any cook will treasure.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!