There’s nothing complicated about sangria, really—it’s just fruity red wine, very lightly sweetened, fortified with a splash of a stronger spirit such as brandy, and infused with slices or chunks of fruit—usually citrus, but sometimes seasonal fruit such as peaches. It is slightly diluted with ice, but sometimes also with carbonated water. No, nothing complicated…but chefs love to complicate things. A few years ago, for an article about sangria, I drove two hours to interview an enthusiastic chef and taste his delicious signature white sangria. It was light and refreshing, but at the same time, deep and complex. When he told me how he made it, I had an entire page of notes before he was finished. It involved several steps, specific wine labels, ounces of this and half-liters of that, spices to be simmered, strained, cooled…as I was compiling the recipe to accompany the article, I doubted that anyone would ever make it. (more…)
With a Christmas dinner menu of Glazed Ham, Roast Yams with Pears and Bourbon, and apple pie for dessert, the question of what to drink naturally arises. If you live in or near the apple-growing regions of the northern United States or Canada, you are poised to experience what I think must be the Next Big Thing in the world of drink: high-quality, artisan hard apple cider, whose delicacy, complexity, and overall deliciousness can easily measure up to fine wine. I’m not talking about anything that comes in a 6-pack, or that has flavors added—I am talking about nothing but the juice of fine apples, preferably from a blend of apple varieties (including bitter or sour ones you wouldn’t want to eat or cook with), fermented into a dry, effervescent, yeasty brew with an alcohol content somewhere between beer and wine, in a 750-ml bottle with a cork, with a soft, delicate apple aroma evoking cold winters. 
