LCBO Food & Drink Holiday 2022

These meatballs are all dressed up in their festive 3. FANCY MEATBALL TARTS P. 230 season finest—a cranberry glaze and crispy phyllo pastry cups. Making them appeal at other times of year is more a matter of simplification. Leaving out the phyllo is the most obvious way— just serve them in a bowl with toothpicks or skewers for easy handling. Then, change the glaze to match the season, with pesto for spring, barbecue sauce for summer, and ginger marmalade for fall. You can also adjust the herbs and spices in the recipe— using fresh basil or oregano in the spring, perhaps, tarragon for summer or poultry seasoning in the fall. Or make things a little more exotic by adding some ground cumin and chili. BOLD AND PINK Rosés from Spain have a lot to say for themselves and are used to dancing a flamenco with savoury foods. Look for lively acidity and intense flavours without too much weight, and you’ll find them in Muga Rosé (VINTAGES 603795, $16.95) from Rioja. Tart white Viura adds the top note to Garnacha and Tempranillo, but it’s the fruitiness that demands attention— grapefruit and orange, and a touch of redcurrant that finds a lovely echo in the meatballs’ Christmassy cranberry glaze. This wine has good length (always a sign of quality), and the match lingers deliciously on the palate.

142 FOOD & DRINK HOLIDAY 2022