A good wine brings extra excitement to festivities and can make a perfect gift for your loved ones. But finding that perfect bottle of wine is rather difficult especially if you don’t know where, when and what you are looking for.
Khalil Meghji, the marketing manager at Uganda Wines and Spirits, one of the oldest wine shops in Uganda, advises that it is better to buy before the onset of the holiday because there are usually holiday sales which offer discounted prices.
He recommends a dry red wine that is easy drinking, affordable and can match with a variety of foods. “In this category you can look for the grape varietal Pinotage or a blend of Cabernet/Merlot. Uganda Wines and Spirits has two particular wines from the Two Oceans vineyards in South Africa; both are medium-bodied and fruity.”
Natural sweet wine
Victoria Byabavuma from Karuka agencies located on Kisementi on the other hand recommends a natural sweet wine that can be drank by more people and has lower alcohol content. “The most ideal wine for the family is the Robertson range. It comes in white, red and rose and has an alcohol content of 7.5%. Because this promises to be a warm Christmas, it is very handy because it can be chilled. It has a light, youthful taste that goes well with all meals.”
A bottle goes for Shs30,000 while the 3liter cask costs Shs60,000.
Sparkling wine
Alternatively, you could elevate your celebration to another level with a nice bottle of sparkling wine aka bubbly or champagne. Not all sparkling wines are called Champagne. In fact the European Union law prohibits wines that are not from the northeastern region of France called Champagne from calling themselves champagnes.
Sparkling wine is best served chilled. It is best chilled in a bucket of ice because the freezer tends to chill it unevenly and even more dangerous, it can explode. In case you don’t have a bucket of ice, put it in the fridge for at least 45 minutes before drinking it. If you can’t afford a Moet or Dom Perignon champagne, Byabavuma recommends, Krone a South African bubbly which costs Shs70,000 and won’t disappoint.
Remember champagne is traditionally served in long, tall, elegant flutes because the shape helps preserve the bubbles, and also shows them off. So if you want to get the most out of your bubbly stock up on the right glasses as well.
