From latkes to donuts - what wines to pair at Hanukkah?
Have you been dieting and exercising to gear up for the fried foods and sweets at Hanukkah time? Now it’s time to indulge! What about wines to pair along with your Hanukkah festivities?
The tradition of eating fried foods comes thanks to Hanukkah’s roots as a celebration of light. The miraculous oil which saved the Maccabees in battle, along with the food prepared for them as they went into battle, are the reasons why this tradition came about.
Pairing Fried Foods with Sparkling Wine
Like in Northern Italy, where semi-sparkling wines are commonly paired with local dishes, which are heavier and kinda fatty, their cuisine is not unlike the gustatory perceptions (e.g., texture, mouth feel, sensory perception) of traditional Hanukkah foods. Sparkling wines tend to have higher acidity since grapes for sparkling wines are often harvested earlier to preserve the acidity. Also bubbles in wine create a tactile sensation in the mouth which gives you the feeling that it is cleansing your palette. Both effects allow for sparkling wines to pair well with fried foods.
Latkes and wine pairing
What would go great with these latke’s along with sides of sour cream and applesauce? Col del Balt’s Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore. It has acidity, flavors and love bubbles to pair well with it. This sparkling wine from Italy is also available in an Extra Dry version, as well as a Pet Nat (or ancestral method) version. All three wines are made with 100% glera, or the prosecco grape and come from the heart of some of the best prosecco area, Valdobbiadene.
Sparkling wines are also a great celebratory wines, to toast with. Seeing bubbles dance in a glass make you feel that the wine is alive, which it is!
Just in time for the Holidays, we have our Holiday Bubbles Wine Box Set which wines like a crisp high quality Prosecco from the Valdobbiadene. All would pair well with pancakes, latkes, and other fried foods. This specially priced gift set includes shipping, and for a limited time we’re throwing, with all of our sparkling wine sets, a professional champagne stopper for free. Great as gifts too!
Donuts and wine pairing
Then, when it comes to donuts, it’s best to pair with a sweet wine that, you guessed it, also is high in acidity. We love acidic sweet wines, because the acidity plays off well with the sweetness. It’s like what they say that the best couples are opposites. So in wine, you need contrasting characteristics to give it balance and harmony.
Try pairing this sweet wine with donuts: Braschi’s Organic Albana Dolce Sweet Wine. It is a monovarietal wine made from the Albana white grape which also has lots of acidity but also has a thick skin and produces wines with structure. It is also an ancient varietal enjoyed by Romans as a sweet wine. Try pairing it with a donut and let us know what you think!
Happy Hanukkah! Happy Holidays!
With an inviting golden yellow color, this fresh and softly balanced sweet wine made from the historic Albana grape from the Romagna area of Italy has intriguing saffron and apricot notes. As a sommelier pointed out when tasting the wine for the first time: ‘It’s a dessert wine that is sort of a dry wine.. Wow, this whispers, not shouts!’
Explore Valdobbiadene, the Prosecco capital of Italy through these two sparkling wines from Col del Balt | Sanzovo. With these two wines you'll taste a delicious, crisp Prosecco Superiore and a Prosecco made in the original style known as the ancestral method, col fondo and pet nat.
Shipping is included in the Continental US for this set, and anything else in your order, so stock up! As well, for a limited time only, we will include for free a patented Professional Sparkling Wine Stopper (a $14.99 value) with your purchase of this set.
Included in this box are:
Made from Glera grapes in one of the best areas for Prosecco, Valdobbiadene, this is a crisp, clean delicious dry Prosecco DOCG with a light yellow color and lovely effervescence. It has notes of pear with a minerally flavor and a citrusy, slight bitter finish reminding you of the rich terroir where this wine comes from. This Col del Balt Brut Prosecco made by the Sanzovo brothers has approximately 5g of residual sugar. As well, it is a special Millesimato Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore, meaning not only does it come from the select Valdobbiadene “heart” of Prosecco, but it is also from a singular vintage, not a blend of multiple vintages like many Proseccos.