It's time to spice up the wine, with Christmas spirit

Alit Christmas tree, jazz playing softly in the background, and the A joyful conversations of friends these, combined with sips of mulled wine, were the highlights of a delightful pre-Christmas party I attended this weekend, which led me to think about the many ways you can enjoy wine.

- NANDITA IYER

While pouring yourself a glass and sipping it allows you to appreciate the full range of flavours, aromas, and characteristics of the wine, here are some other ideas to savour it.

One of the most popular wine-based cocktails is sangria. The basic recipe has red wine, fruit juice, chunks of fruits like apple, pear and sliced citrus, and soda mixed in a pitcher and served over ice. You can elevate the flavour (and the alcohol kick) by adding spirits like cognac, brandy or orange liqueur to the red wine sangria. When making a white wine sangria, aim for crisper lighter flavours with citrus, berries and basil along with added spirits like white rum or limoncello.

To give a Christmas twist to your sangria, throw in some strawberries which are currently in season, pomegranate pearls and orange slices, studded with a few cloves. A few sprigs of rosemary to the pitcher make it look festive as well as fragrant.