Grace Magazine

Have a mimosa with breakfast.

Pour 2 oz. of fresh-squeezed orange juice into a tall flute and top off with 4 oz. of champagne.

Mmm.

Get ready to toast the New Year with a nice bottle of champagne or sparkling wine.

Real champagne only comes from Champagne, France. Here are some favorites:

Dom Perignon 1999 Vintage - $149

The commitment of Dom Perignon is a commitment to creation. It’s a quest for excellence; it is about taking risk, taking a challenge from the vintage, making it to the style of Dom Perignon. Every single vintage of Dom Perignon is an exclusive wine; it is the harmonious dialogue of style and vintage. Dom Perignon Vintage 1999 goes straight to the heart of Dom Perignon. This wine is radiant, pure and vibrant. It is a story of seduction and sensuality.

Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame 1998 Vintage - $155

La Grande Dame 1998 has a pale gold color with jade glints. The wine is crystal clear, with unbelievably fine bubbles. The aromatic, impressively complex bouquet is confirmed in the mouth. On the palate, the wine is clear-cut and pure, perfectly balanced with a delightful silky smoothness. La Grande Dame 1998, with its lace-like construction, has a long, lively, and structured finish.

But there are some other great bubbly choices from around the world. Here are a variety in a more affordable price range:

Cristalino Non-Vintage Brut Cava From Spain - $7.99

Straw color, smooth and fresh aromas; fine and fruity palate with a dry aftertaste. Clean, dry and crisp with citrus and apple flavors.

Roederer Estate Non-Vintage Brut from North Coast, California - $19.99

Roederer Estate Brut, the first California sparkling wine produced by Champagne Louis Roederer, builds upon a 200-year tradition of fine winemaking that has made Roederer champagne among the most sought-after in the world. The Roederer Estate Brut debuted in October 1988, and has since established its reputation as one of California’s premier sparklers, remaining true to the heritage of excellence and style of its French forebears.

Canella Non-Vintage Prosecco di Conegliano from Veneto, Italy - $14.79

Brilliant straw yellow with fine, persistent perlage, fruity aromas of peach, apple, pear and citrus fruit, the palate gracefully balances zingy acidity and a subtle hint of sweetness, richness and silky-smooth texture.

All notes and prices from wine.com

Old-fashioned mulled wine has always intrigued me. But the complexity of the ingredients has scared me away. And I just don’t like cloves that much.

I found this simple recipe for Vin Brule that only has 4 key ingredients:

- 1 bottle of dry red wine (burgundy is best)
- 4 cinnamon sticks
- the peel of 1 orange
- 3-4 tablespoons of sugar

Put all ingredients in a medium sauce pan. Cover and cook on high. When it starts to boil, remove lid and light with a match. Be careful: A beautiful large blue flame will burst out.

When the flames dies down, ladle into mugs. Serves 4.

Delicious.

Don’t forget to spill a little wine to the gods.

It’s time to start listening to our holiday favorites. Here are some of the best:

A Charlie Brown Christmas - Vince Guaraldi Trio

Simply the best Christmas music ever. It brings back fond memories of childhood and has a cool jazzy vibe.

A Partridge Family Christmas Card

OK, I know what you’re thinking: Who wants to listen to this goober Christmas music? But give this one a chance. This is a really good albumn. The slow, sad Frosty the Snowman is killer. And after all these years, I still have a crush on Keith Patridge.

Christmas With the Rat Pack

Mix the martinis and chill with the coolest Christmas cats ever. Dig it, babe.

Simply the Best Christmas Album

I haven’t bought this one yet. This will be my new music this year. I like to listen to classical Christmas music while I wrap my gifts. Try some of the samples. This one sounds really nice.

What is your favorite Christmas music?

This weekend I finally finished the Harry Potter book and could emerge from my house without fear of someone telling me the ending.

I celebrated my freedom with a mini backyard picnic. On the menu was a light cheese encased in apricots, a selection of cream crackers and a chilled, sparkling rose wine.

Bugey Cerdon is a light, refreshing cooler for a hot summer afternoon and so pretty in the glass.

Try some. It was only $15.99 for the bottle.

And Cheers to J.K. Rowling for a great series of books.

A real Martini is made with gin.

Despite what James Bond says in the movies, if you use vodka, you get a Vodkatini.

In the James Bond books, the character actually drinks a Vesper. They pay homage to the Vesper in the latest James Bond flick, Casino Royale, starring Daniel Craig as Bond and Eva Green as Vesper Lynd.

Here are the recipes:

Martini
1 1/2 ounces gin
a dash of dry vermouth
Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with a pitted cocktail olive.

(The less vermouth, the dryer the Martini)

Vodkatini
1 1/2 ounces vodka
a dash of dry vermouth
Follow same directions as the Martini.

Vesper
3 ounces vodka
1 ounce gin
1/4 ounce Lillet Blond
Shake with ice, strain into a martini glass and garnish with an orange peel.

During the summer months, my favorite weekend lunch is a homemade pizza, a little salad, and a glass of Chianti Classico.

My current favorite is Nozzole Chianti Classico Riserva. It is a consistently delicious and fairly inexpensive wine. On the label, it states that the Nozzole estate was first cultivated in the 1200s. There is no substitute for centuries of experience.

Try a bottle. You won’t be disappointed.

Actor Barry Nelson died at age 87. He was the first man to play James Bond on screen, in a one-hour live TV adaptation of Casino Royale which aired in 1954.

A veteran of both WWII and the Broadway stage, Nelson was nominated for a Tony award for the 1977 production of The Act, a musical starring Liza Minelli and directed by Martin Scorsese.

Sources differ on his age, some saying he died at age 89, some saying he was born in 1920, which would make him 87.

Whatever his age, I’ve always remembered his interpretation of James Bond, playing him as a casually self-confident American opposite Peter Lorre who, as usual, played the bad guy.

Click here to read Barry Nelson’s account of playing the famous character.

Click here to read the Theater Mania obituary.

One of my favorite cocktails for warm summer days and nights is an Americano. The key ingredient is Campari, a bitter Italian aperitif.

It’s easy to make. Give it a try.

Ingredients:
1.5 oz. Campari
1.5 oz. Cinzano Rosso (Italian Sweet Vermouth)

Preparation:
Fill an old-fashioned glass with ice, add ingredients, top off with club soda, add a twist of orange.

From the Campari Web site:

“Campari is an alcoholic aperitif obtained from the infusion of bitter herbs, aromatic plants and fruit in alcohol and water. With its distinct colour, aroma and flavour, Campari has always been a symbol of passion - passion that expresses itself in terms of seduction, sensuality and transgression.”

Photo: Salma Hayek in Campari’s 2007 calendar, photographed by Mario Testino.

According to Dale DeGroff a.k.a. King Cocktail, this lovely concoction was created for silent film star Mary Pickford at the Hotel National de Cuba in Havana.

MARY PICKFORD
2 oz. White Rum
1 1/2 oz. Pineapple Juice
1 tsp. Grenadine
1/4 oz. Maraschino Liqueur
Shake with ice and strain into a chilled martini glass.

It’s a refreshing cocktail for spring.