Winter Wine & Song

These days, and especially in January, it seems like we're saturated in conversations about the question: "to drink, or not to drink?" The topic is nearly always about alcohol —a broad genus with many varied species from moonshine to Château d'Yquem. It's like talking about the entirety of foodstuffs as "calories" and failing to distinguish between an apple and a Dorito. Anyhow, I'm here to keep us on the artful side of things—so let's dim the discourse and get to the pairings! As always, if you're cordially invited to join the newsletter, where you get these in real time along with my musical updates here.

Winter Blossoms

Juice

Here's a wine that will make you fall in love—not by way of impairment (at 7% ABV, it's not likely) but because of the delight in the glass and the story behind it. I know you'll be taken with the bursting lychee and floral nose, the elegant just-ripe enough stone fruit on the palate, bursting with vivacious bubbles and finishing with a brisk dry filigree. What will put you over the edge is to imagine winemaker Julie Hoch, picking elderflowers in the vineyard and drying them to make a tea, which she then adds to Grūner Veltliner grape must—they all ferment in the bottle and the result is a stunning combination of fruit and flower she calls Elderflower #1. She makes other bottlings, including one that features roses. I'll be making my own bouquet with these this winter, and enjoying them with abandon.

Jazz

Kenny Dorham 's "Lotus Blossom" from Quiet Kenny (New Jazz, 1959) was undoubtedly refreshing when it was first released, and in 2026 it bursts with a fizz of energy on every listen. Combining time signatures (an evocative 6/8 and a brisk 4/4 swing) with subtlety and ease, the extraordinary quartet illustrates how heavy hitting talent can charm you with a light touch. Paul Chambers opens with a lively bass line, Tommy Flanagan brings taste and economy on piano and Art Taylor punctuates and kicks the tune into higher gears as it goes. Dorham's sound is both warm and agile—a lift for the ears and the spirit that lends itself to indulgence that enlivens the ear.

Levitation

Juice

Though I'm a firm believer that Champagne is for all days and not just holidays, I'll admit it's particularly perfect for the New Year—(New Year's Eve and beyond). What better way to celebrate the passage of time than with the only kind of wine that moves itself? Ployez-Jacquemart Extra Quality Brut NV is one of my go-to Champagnes. Chic and clean, on that balancing point of ripe and refreshing, it's a wine that makes every sip feel like a fresh start. Laurence Ployez is a winemaker who makes this taste easy—but of course results like this are anything but. She has three generations of family history informing her technique, which involves painstaking farming and grape selection, very particular winemaking technique, and patience with aging in the cellar. For all this care to yield a glass of something that feels so off-the-cuff and easy is a masterclass in excellence and approachability. Something to emulate both in and out, of oenological realms.

Jazz

Patricia Brennan is a vibraphonist/marimbist/composer with mastery of all her instruments and an imagination to match. Unapologetically intelligent and complex, the music also delights and surprises—this is music that has you on the edge of your seat with anticipation, wondering where she's going to take you next.

I chose "Antilia" from her recording Of the Near and Far (Pyroclastic Records, 2025) because her effervescent mallet strikes, the ear-pricking strings, and bubbling guitar solo all elevate as the irregular rhythms keeps us pleasantly dizzy. Named after a constellation known as the "air pump"—the composition and improvisation levitate and the pulsing energy makes the future something to look forward to—even if it's just the next track.

Francophilia

Juice

It takes a certain intensity, commitment and sense of adventure to explore winemaking regions of the world, found your own winery, and vinify obscure grapes from varied growers all working in the natural/biodynamic vein. This is a truncated story about Brianne Day, who made the wine for this pairing, which is the Vin de Days Rouge 2023 from the Willamette Valley. It's 82% pinot noir, with 18% gamay making up the rest of the blend. The combination of the two make a wine that is elegant; a dark spiced nose of anise and cinnamon, a lilting red cherry fruit, ending with a pleasingly fine-sandpapered tannin finish. It's a wine with both polish and personality. Day's wine reveals deeper layers of reference and meaning as one spends more time with it—this one has a beautiful Beaux-Arts styling on the label, and the name "Vin de Days" is a pun for those who know the term "Vin de Pays" (an older classification for regional wine since supplanted by IGP.) The wine itself is an echo of the Passetoutgrain style of Burgundy in which these two grapes are blended. A wine that wears both its influence and technique on its sleeve, in excellence and approachability, is a delight to both the connoisseur or the casual tippler.

Jazz

Edith Piaf needs no introduction—the familiarity of her sound can make me forget how utterly radical she is. Her sense of risk, her honesty, and total commitment in every moment have become part of the fabric of music history, and yet it remains riveting. There's no more unvarnished capture of a spontaneous performer in a than in a live recording—I paired Dumont/Vaucaire's "Les Flons Flons du Bal" from A L'Olympia (Columbia, 1961) to accompany our wine because its 3/4 time sweeps you up in its carousel; celebratory and intense. Even if your French is rusty, Piaf's performance lets you know there's more to the story than just a good time. And lo, it's about the perpetual beat of the dancehall, its indifference to life, grief and death. The layers of meaning easily carry her audience away with rhythm and emotion. However deep you want to go with this song, it's ready to meet you, which is the secret to its endurance. Let me know if you take any of these for a sip or a spin. Cheers!

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