2020 Shelter-in-Place Solution: Travel the World Without Leaving Your House
Missing traveling during the holidays this year? Wish you could experience a snowy Paris winter while sipping Bordeaux wine? Or a pleasantly slow Tuscan holiday season in front of a roaring fire?
Well, we can’t bring you to Europe, but we can deliver the best bistro wines to your doorstep. You can live out your European fantasies through these wines.
Only Big Hammer Wines can deliver an authentic “bistro” wine experience in the middle of winter. We help you create your own personal bistro event at home during the holidays.
Here are some ideas for creating an unforgettable bistro affair, including wine. Set the ambiance with music, flowers, different serving methods, design touches like white or red tablecloths. Use your imagination!
Paris, France
Go for smaller servings of the protein and include more vegetables to keep it light. Try these simple classic dishes using fresh ingredients. (Google your favorite recipe site.)
| Main Dish | Wine |
| Roasted chicken or lamb | White Burgundy, Cru Beaujolais, Côte-du-Rhône |
| Beef bourguignon | Red Burgundy, Côte-du-Rhône, or Gamay 2017 Château Bonnet Saint-Amour Vieilles Vignes |
| L'entrecôte or steak au poivre | Red Bordeaux: right bank 2016 Domaine du Bouscat Cuvee La Gargone, left bank 2010 Château Clauzet Saint-Estèphe Cru Bourgeois; or 2017 Martellotto "Rosso di Sera” Santa Barbara |
| Fish (trout) or scallops | White Bordeaux, Chablis, or 2018 Jean-Paul Picard Sancerre Blanc |
| Duck confit with duck-fat-fried potatoes | Marsanne, Roussanne, Beaujolais, Cahors, or 2018 Finca Buenaventura Aureo Cabernet Sauvignon Uco Valley |
Try the Croque-Monsieur using top-quality ham and artisan cheese for a more country-style dinner. Pair with a fresh champagne vinaigrette topped salad.
Sit at a big table and serve family-style sharing different dishes. Or enlist your husband or boyfriend to be the waiter (“garçon”) for a more formal “prix fixe type” experience. Don’t use this word in France when you return, though.
Starters: cheese or charcuterie plate, gougères (cheese puffs,) mushroom caps with escargot, or pâté. Serve Champagne or Crémant.
Side dishes and vegetables: Puy lentils, truffle gnocchi, roasted onion carbonara, seasonal broth-simmered vegetables, simple green salad with vinaigrette
Dessert: Rice pudding, Grand Marnier Soufflé, Tarte Tatin, Chocolate Mousse. Pair with Champagne, Crémant, Sauternes or other sweet white Bordeaux. 2015 Ramon Canals Marta Brut Reserva Cava as a substitute.
Music: Madeleine Peyroux or French Bistro Music on Spotify or Amazon.
Décor: Think Art Deco, white tablecloths, and a warm and cozy environment
This couple has the right idea.
Tuscany, Italy
Go for simple, earthy, and hearty dishes: mushrooms, kale, cabbage, fennel, beans, and game, mullet, or monkfish stews. (Google your favorite recipe site)
| Main Dish | Wine |
| Bistecca alla fiorentina | simple Chianti Classico |
| Ragù: Wild boar, 3 game, or Ravioli | 2004 Zyme Kairos Veneto Rosso IGP (Ripasso della Valpolicella) or 2010 Château Clauzet Saint-Estèphe Cru Bourgeois |
| Soup/stew: Cacciucco (tomato & fish soup) or Ribollita Toscana (bean & cabbage soup) | Chianti, Montalcino Verdicchio, Grechetto |
| Wine braised pork | Barbaresco, Barolo or 2015 Marques de Riscal Finca Torrea Rioja |
| Grilled Tuscan spiced tuna | Verdicchio, simple Tuscan red (Chianti) |
For a more typical meal, choose risotto with fish, mushrooms, or chicken, or ravioli/tortellini stuffed with herbed ricotta or pancetta and potatoes.
Starters: Coccoli, a salty fried bread stuffed with prosciutto and cheese, or crostini with chicken liver pate and olive oil. Serve Prosecco or Vermouth cocktails.
Side dishes and vegetables: roasted potatoes, grilled vegetables, sheep’s milk savory pie, polenta/farro, cannellini bean, tuna and cucumber salad.
Dessert: Biscotti-like Cantucci cookies served with Vin Santo for dipping. Zuccotto, the half-pumpkin shaped ice-cream cake, or a traditional Schiacciata, the harvest dessert made with grapes. Serve with sparkling Moscato or Brachetto.
With these Italian dishes, serve family-style to encourage sharing, drinking, and conversation. End the dinner with coffee and Limoncello.
Music: Andrea Bocelli or Italian Dinner Party Music on Spotify or Amazon.
Décor: Italian colors of gold and orange with blue or green accents, tiles or wood for serving, hand-crafted water pitchers, colorful dishware.
This guy has the right idea: poetry, fantasy, love!
Pair the Holidays with Big Hammer Wines
We want you to love and share the wines you drink. We encourage you to explore the joys of French and Italian wines.
Visit Big Hammer Wines to see our wide selection of top-quality wines at near wholesale prices.
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