Very often, these occasions are bought into by sections of the drinks trade that have some kind of link, no matter how tenuous. I'm sure you know what I mean. Pink fizz for Valentine's Day, anyone? How about a wee dram for Saint Andrew's Day? You get the picture.
This time, I'm plugging Austrian wine. Like its near neighbour Italy, Austria has a long, rich and diverse history of viticulture and winemaking that stretches back thousands of years. Equally, like Italy, it is blessed with a great geography of mountains and valley systems that are conducive to natural irrigation and vine plantation, not to mention the very temperate seasons.
This came with the caveat that if you decided to snooze you would lose. You see the budget champers market is notoriously prone to selling out, especially right before a big calendar event, like for example, Valentine's Day.
All woeful Cosa Nostra jokes aside, it's true: a favourite 'pop' fact among wine nerds is that despite having 0.3% of the landmass of Australia, Sicily still produces a higher annual volume of wine. It's quite mind-boggling, really.
That advice still stands should you wish to look it up. However, as much as I love whisky I don't usually have it with my meal, so this year, I'd like to offer some suggestions for what to drink alongside your Burns supper.
Well, I tend to argue that matching wine to food is mostly in the eye (as well as nose and tongue) of the beholder.
It seems to be par for the course. For some reason, we think: "Oh, Christmas is coming. Better get the customary bottle of Port in."
I hate to bring up the C-word (Christmas, in case you were wondering) so early in the year, but this is a necessary evil for a wine column. One of the best things about this time of year is that the Champagne deals seem to get cheaper and cheaper.
For those trying to learn about wine, the difficulties are many and varied. You see, it's tough to get a foothold on the subject, as - there's no denying it - it is rather dense and complicated. Worse yet, as the key method of developing wine knowledge is to try lots of different types of wine, it can be a rather expensive hobby!
One of the wonders of modern living is that the lucky amongst us can pop on the heating and for those of us that are partial, maybe have a wee dram to keep the cold out. Unfortunately, neither the heating nor the dram are getting any cheaper.
