Life is too short to drink bad wine

Xmas lunch at a local restaurant with a good winelist. Snowy outside. Cold, bitterly cold in fact, due to a slight breeze sneaking in from the fjord. Time to heat up with excellent wine from a warm year. Confit de canard with  Gevrey Chambertin from the warm 2005 vintage was just what everybody needed. Medium dark red coloured wine with lots of dark berries on the nose and some hints of wet forrest ground and oak. Big solid and rich taste with lovely balanced fruit and acidity. A very nice basic Gevrey Chambertin from a great year. A shame we drank all the remaining bottles in the cave..... But Xmas lunch is Xmas lunch....(very favourable price ratio (2x) at the restaurant by the way) Gevrey-Chambertin 2005, Rossignol-Trapet, Medium price NOK350 or £30, someone got to do it....  Domaine Rossignol Trapet in Gevrey Chambertin

Having tried the SP68 by Occhipinti that was quite attractive I could not resist tasting the Il Frappato by by the same producer. Lovely medium red colour with great smell dominated by redcurrant, raspberries and flowers. Irrisistible! The taste quite Burgundy like with lots of fruit, silky tannins and a lovely long balanced taste which is quite unexpected "cool" despite the hot climate. The wine is lowest on the Italian ranking as it is sold as IGT (Indicazione Geografica Typica) but that one can simply forget, this is wonderful stuff worth every penny. It also contains very limited amount sulphur thanks to old fashioned wine technique applied by the young and promising Adrianna Occhipinti. Il Frappato 2008 by Occhipinti, Sicily, the unusual frappato grape at its best?   http://www.dn.no/d2/d2mat/article1927095.ece

Snowy conditions and soon Xmas. Time to be challenged in front of chic fire place. Wine # 1 Medium dark red colour with purple rim.  Dried fruit, red berries, flower, chocolate and vanilla on the nose. Yammy.  The taste nicely balanced with soft tannins and a slight acidic aftertaste.  Overall a very nice and start to the tasting. What is it??  Not sure but after a while the panel landed on Pinot Noir but not from Burgundy....  Maria Reserve Pinot Noir 2007, Marlborough 300 NOK Score 17,7 Wine # 2 The second was definitely not Pinot Noir!  Deep dark red colour with purple rim.  Dusty smell with undertones of smoke and earth. Somewhat closed.  A big mouthful but soft tannins again. A good long aftertaste with hints of cherries.  The Panel is in Bordeaux and ended up with some guiding on the right bank due to the soft tannins and cherries. 2004 was also mentioned... Ch. Le Gombaude-Guillot 2004 Pomerol, ...

If you are looking for a wine that can be served with white fish or meat then the Barbera grape from Piemonte in Italy is the thing. This one by Pelissero has a deep dark red/purple colour which is just lovely in the glass. The nose is packed with cherries, vanilla and a slight "beetrooty" smell. The good thing about the Barbera grape is that it is packed with fruit and the tannins (if any ) are soft and smooth. Its a good juicy mouthful with a nice balanced acidity. Matches lamb, red meat, cheese and white fish as well. Barbera d'Alba "Piani" 2008 by Pelissero, low price range 185, a perfect example of Barbera

It can be a challenge to find wine that matches for example traditional Xmas food (in Norway rib of lamb and pork). I tried this Ripassa the other day to a leg of lamb and I must say that the wine was of outstanding quality and matched the lamb perfectly. Valpolicella Ripassa is like an Amarone light, as it is a normal Valpolicella that has been mixed with leftover skins and/or grapes from the production av Recioto and Amarone in order to start a second fermentation. The outcome is a bigger and more complex wine with soft tannins. The Ripassa made by Zenato is a very attractive wine packed with fruit, lovely dark cherries and chocolate on the nose and a wonderful smooth and juicy taste with a slight sweet aftertaste. The wine should be perfect with big heavy meat dishes like the "pinnekjøtt" and "svineribbe" or just in front of the fireplace. Valpolicella Classico Superiore Ripassa 2007 by Zenato, Low price 190, a seductive Xmas wine Azienda Vitivinicola Z...

Th Clos Prieur is perhaps not the best plot in Gevrey Chambertin but PatriceRion and his wife have the tendency to make the best out of things. A very pretty medium purple colour with a discrete nose that develops in the glass. Raspberries, cherries and blackcurrent  and delicate vanilla. The taste is just delicious, soft and elegant with a firm but silky finish. At best between 5-10 years and served with game and red meat. Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Prieur 2007 by Patrice Rion, Medium Price, yet another silky wine from Rion. Domaine Michele et Patrice RION, vins de Bourgogne