Tradition and freedom of choice: 22 drinks for the holiday table

The closer we get to New Year's Eve, the more acute the question of choosing food and drinks for the New Year's Eve table becomes. It may seem old-fashioned to many people now, but for me the ideal New Year's Eve is like this: warm, family-oriented and partly the same. It seems that consistency has long since ceased to be a sign of excellence, turning into a luxury.

Since my childhood I remember the sweet anticipation of the "main" holiday - my grandmother baked her specialty pies with meat and cabbage, my dad salted red fish and sliced hard long sausage "with round fat", and we all made olivier to old Soviet movies.

We have never had any questions about the main drink of the New Year's table, despite the fact that "Soviet champagne" has gradually been replaced by French champagne. Christmas and New Year's Eve have long been milestone holidays, a time when you want to emphasize that now something is bound to change for the better. And the bubbles running up the walls of the glass seem to perfectly illustrate the very idea of hope, movement and renewal.

If we talk about Europe, champagne as a festive drink began to take hold here as early as in the 18th century. It was a rare and technologically complex product. Sparkling wines from the Champagne region were for a long time considered capricious and even problematic, bottles exploded, and secondary fermentation was generally perceived as a defect.

Gradually, bubbly wine began to be served at the royal courts of France and England, and very quickly it became associated with victories, balls and important state events. It is no coincidence that wines from Champagne were served at the coronations of French monarchs, and later it was Champagne that became the drink of diplomatic receptions.

Champagne came to New Year's Eve a little later. In Russia, this tradition began to take shape at the end of the 19th century, when French wines became fashionable. After the revolution and during the Soviet era, New Year's Eve gradually replaced Christmas as the main winter holiday, and champagne turned out to be the ideal drink for a secular celebration. The advent of "Soviet Champagne", created using Anton Frolov-Bagreev's accelerated technology, made sparkling relatively affordable and mass-produced. It may not have been champagne in the literal sense of the word, but thanks to it, the chiming of the chimes and popping of the cork became a Soviet ritual that survived for decades.

At the same time, Christmas and New Year traditions have developed in different countries in their own way. In Italy, champagne may well give way to Prosecco, for example Prosecco di Valdobbiadene from Nino Franco or Bisol, light, fruity, with flavors of pear and white flowers.

In Spain, it is more common to open a cava, such as Gramona Imperial or Raventós i Blanc de Nit. And when the clock strikes, Spaniards are sure to eat 12 grapes for good luck.

In France, despite the fact that it is the birthplace of champagne, on the festive table today you will more often find not the big names of champagne houses, but some cool crémant, such as Crémant d'Alsace by Lucien Albrecht or Crémant de Loire by Bouvet Ladubay.

In Germany and Austria, zekt, such as Raumland Riesling Brut or Von Buhl Sekt Brut, are often drunk on New Year's Eve. Throughout the Christmas period, punch and mulled wine based on red wine and spices are popular: they are drunk at Christmas fairs with regional snacks.

In the UK, a glass of champagne such as Pol Roger or Taittinger is often paired with a port wine such as Graham's Late Bottled Vintage, served after dinner.

And in the USA in general they like to decorate the festive table with cocktails based on sparkling wine, from the classic "mimosa" with freshly squeezed orange juice to French 75 with gin and lemon juice.

The question inevitably arises, can, indeed, anything compete with champagne on the New Year's Eve table?

In terms of symbolism, it is really hard to find a substitute for it. But if you look at the holiday through the prism of gastronomy, it becomes clear that champagne is not always the best partner for traditional dishes.

New Year's Eve table with olivier, herring under a fur coat and baked meat often requires other drinks.

For example, a dry Riesling with bright acidity, such as Dr. Loosen Riesling Trocken or Schloss Johannisberg Gelblack, can be offered to accompany an olivier, especially if it is prepared generously and homemade. It refreshes the palate and "cleanses" the receptors. A dry sherry, such as Fino Tio Pepe, which balances salty and rather fatty dishes, is an unexpectedly good option.

Another interesting alternative, which was my personal discovery last year, is dry cider. For example, Eric Bordelet Sidre Brut Tendre or Etienne Dupont Cidre Bouche Brut - apple, fresh and slightly sour - will go well with the same olivier.

For those who love cocktails, a variation on the classic "vodka martini" theme is perfect, but in a softer format: good quality chilled vodka with a drop of Noilly Prat dry vermouth and lemon zest.

Finally, another unexpected but very successful option is a light red wine with good acidity and low tannins, such as Jean Foillard's lightly chilled Beaujolais-Villages.

Dry aquavit or cold wheat vodka goes well with herring under a fur coat, but if you want wine, you should try an Austrian grüner veltliner, such as Weingut Bründlmayer Kamptal Terrassen.

A pinot noir such as Joseph Drouhin 's Bourgogne Rouge or a Pinault Nebbiolo from Piedmont such as Vietti's Langhe Nebbiolo Perbacco would go well with roast duck or goose.

Non-alcoholic varietals deserve a separate conversation. I honestly admit that I used to be quite skeptical of non-alcoholic wines, considering them a sad compromise. And it has to be said that for a long time that was the case. But the situation is changing for the better every day.

One of the most highly rated examples is German non-alcoholic sparkling wine Leitz Eins Zwei Zero Sparkling Riesling. It is made on the basis of Riesling, carefully de-alcoholized and retains acidity, aroma of green apple and citrus fruits, and most importantly - lively, persistent bubbles. This is not an attempt to pass the drink off as champagne, but an honest and high-quality alternative that can really brighten up the holiday without adding unnecessary headaches on January 1.

This is perhaps the main paradox of New Year's Eve: we cling so much to rituals because they give us a sense of stability, but a real celebration should not cancel out freedom of choice. It's not what's in the glass that matters, but what you raise it to. Perhaps the most valuable toast of the evening is not to the future or the past, but to the ability to notice the flavor of the present moment.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor