Holiday Wine & Tunes Pairing

Let’s take a break from the holiday wine and food pairing frenzy for a moment, and look at a jazzy pairing of wine and, you guessed it, jazz (oh, did I give that away?)

First, just look at the parity between the label art and the album art here from the Verge 2006 Syrah, and the Verve very best of Christmas jazz album. The artwork alone should be enough to tell you that this is a good pairing. Then there are the names: Verve and Verge--Only one letter difference. Coincidence? Well, yes...

Verve is a cool jazz record label going way back. Verge is new cool wine label on the scene (and I’m saying that even before receiving the t-shirt I’ve been promised—also very cool, which is why I want one).

You can read all about Verge on their website but, here’s the skinny: Verge specializes in wild-fermentation small-lot hillside Sonoma Syrah from “the fringe.” I had the opportunity to sample some of the 2006 Syrah in October and I would say that Verge won the distinction of being distinctive in a room full of Sonoma Syrahs. There were herbal notes of lavender, and other scribbles I can’t make out from my notes, as well as, caramel, and orange infused chocolate. That's right--Not chocolate and orange separate. This is the chocolate orange you get in your Christmas stocking I'm talking about.

One final note: Syrah is a big jolly red wine. Santa is a big jolly man in a red suit. Yes, the parallels just go on and on... This wine and tunes pairing gets a groovy chill smiley-grape.