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Holiday Toasts Around the World
Five GLOBAL HOLIDAY TOASTS
Spain: Cava and 12 Grapes
In Spain, it is customary to count down the New Year with twelve grapes and a glass of Cava. With each strike of the bell at midnight, the Spanish traditionally eat one grape and toast with a glass of their country’s signature bubbly. According to legend, the tradition originates in 1909, when winegrowers in the Alicante region experienced a particularly high surplus and used New Year’s as an opportunity to reduce their stocks.
Sweden: Glögg
Few winter libations are as satisfying as a warm cup of mulled wine. The Swedish have perfected the art in the form of Glögg. Typically, white or sweet wine is heated with an assortment of spices, fruits, sugar, and brandy. Myriad variations abound across Northern Europe, including Glühwein in Germany, Kuhano Vino in the Balkans, Wassail in England, and vodka-spiked recipes in Poland.
Germany: Feuerzangenbowle
The Germans take the mulled wine experience to the next level with their Feuerzangenbowle. The practice involves a special metal bowl set atop a burner, where the mulled wine brews. Resting above the bowl is a pair of tongs or a grate holding a rum-soaked sugarloaf (similar to how absinthe is traditionally prepared with a dripper). The sugarloaf is then lit aflame and melts—rum and all—into the mulled wine.
United Kingdom: Fortified Festivities
While the United Kingdom has more recently come into its own as a producer of fine sparkling wines, the holidays are a time when the Brits truly savor the sweet fortified wines of Spain and Portugal. Vintage Port, Tawny Port, and Cream Sherry commonly find their place on the British Christmas table—each making an excellent pairing for such delicacies as plum pudding, gingerbread, and mince pie.
France: Réveillon
On either Christmas or New Year’s Eve, the French (as well as others in Francophone countries) host a réveillon—a lavish dinner that goes deep into the night. All of the most luxurious local delicacies grace the table from foie gras to oysters to escargots. Naturally, fine wine plays a critical role in the meal, with Champagne common and other top-shelf French wines pulled from the cellar.
