GLUGGY
Eight Crazy Nights:
My Wine Menorah By Saralyn Mehta, Sommelier When I was little (and well into my teens), no holiday would get me more excited than Chanukah. Nothing tasted better than my Baba’s homemade potato pancakes. I looked forward to lighting the candles each night with my family, and, most importantly as a child, the promise of a gift every night for eight straight nights. I would start considering my wish list in July. It was very carefully curated: each item was considered before it was deemed “list-worthy.” What did I want more than anything? A Barbie Dream House (1974)? The latest Kiss album (1978)? A perfectly snug pair of Jordache jeans (1980)? Would my parents actually entertain taking me for the very coveted spiral perm of 1984? Now in my 50s, and with my son bordering on adulthood, we are long past the days of curating wish lists at our house. The excitement of Chanukah isn’t quite as shiny as it once was. I still like to light the candles, eat a potato pancake, even spin a Dreidel from time to time, but the glory days of Chanukah feel like they are in the past. With Chanukah approaching, I find myself wondering how I can make this holiday exciting again. What would be on my wish list now? Then it struck me: Why not a bottle of wine for each night of Chanukah? Why not create the first ever Wine Menorah! Each night when we light the candles, we can unwrap a different bottle of wine. I get to planning my list: I am going to start with Champagne, move on to Napa Cab and then round it all out with some White Burgundy. My listmaking giddiness creeps up … and then reality sets in. As a child, I did not have the burden of worrying about my parents’ budget, but now I have my son’s first year of university on the horizon. I can’t spend Max’s tuition on wine. Thankfully, over my 15 years at Banville & Jones I have found many great wines that do not break the bank. So let’s begin the inaugural year of my new Chanukah family tradition, Saralyn’s Wine Menorah, with the lyrics of a beloved Chanukah song and dive into my list: “Put on your yarmulke, it’s time for Chanukah, it’s so much funnukah to celebrate Chanukah” (Adam Sandler).
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