You know the feeling. The sun is shining, there’s a gentle breeze, the waves are gently breaking nearby, and the salt from a recent dip in the ocean is being baked into your sunscreen-soaked skin. When all of these elements conspire to make it seem like you’ve never had a job and will never return to one, the only thing you can do about this level of euphoria is grab a holiday wine.
holiday wine
/vākāSHən wīn/
noun
- A wine that anchors you in the moment, sharpens your senses and soothes your worries, all with one fresh sip.
Admiring a light frost creeping over your glass while it is filled with a drinkable wine is a textbook holiday feeling. It indicates that your OOO autoreply protects you from meeting invitations and just-bubble-this-backups, and that your idea of moving to the Mediterranean coast might not be so far-fetched after all. And while the aforementioned seaside scenario is an excellent example of where a holiday wine comes in handy, a holiday wine is more of a state of mind, which you can enjoy whenever and wherever you want (although preferably during an actual holiday).
“What I drink while I’m away is much less special than when I’m back home,” Package Founder Grant Reynolds says. For the New York-based sommelier, it’s more about what he is not drinks. “I avoid anything with too much flavor and too much alcohol. I like to do things while on vacation rather than just get drunk, take a nap and repeat it all, so my approach to drinking on vacation is all about having a long lunch, having the coordination to get after to go swimming safely that lunch, and still be nearby. good shape for a good dinner.”
There are few requirements for a holiday wine, but enhancing the moment is non-negotiable. “A holiday wine should be cold, crisp, high acid, little oak integration and taste a bit like the salty ocean,” Las Jaras Co-founder Erik Wareheim tells us about his holiday in Formentera, sharing his insights while sunbathing on the rocks overlooking the turquoise sea. “We brought some Jamon, some hard cheese and an Albarino from a responsible winemaker. (Organic but not funky, no nonsense.) I listen to the waves crashing against the rocks and the cool water hits my face and I kiss my glass of wine and applaud the goddess for offering such a beautiful place to sit and sip.”