Happy Father’s Day! Make the holiday special with Bordeaux wines

To let your dad know that you really care about him this year, we recommend making your own unique gift rather than buying one at the store, and cooking dinner instead of going out to a restaurant. Today we share with you a quick DIY Father’s Day gift idea as well as one good option for a home-cooked dinner that will hopefully inspire.

Wine crates are built to be sturdy (after all, they must safely hold multiple bottles of wine – often through a long journey — without breaking!) and are usually constructed from wood, which takes on a patina of age over time. This means that wine crates, especially older ones, are perfect for repurposing around the home and can be used almost immediately – simply give them a quick clean (you may need a bit of sandpaper to remove shipping labels) and you’re good to go! If you’re using newer wine crates or simply want to give them a different look, you can apply a wood stain – such as dark walnut – to either create the appearance of age or, of being made from a more rare wood than the typical pinewood.

Once you’ve cleaned and – if necessary – sandpapered or stained your wine crates, they can easily be turned into bookshelves. Simply stack multiple crates into a sturdy arrangement and use wood glue to secure your beautiful (and practically free!) new bookshelves in place. Keep in mind that it will take one to three days for the wood glue to dry and that you may want to use heavy books or other objects to weigh down the crates during this process.

Now that your dad”s gift has been taken care of, it’s time to move on to the meal. Since Father’s Day falls in the latter half of June, temperatures are likely to be high, making it a good time to leave the oven off and get out of the kitchen. If you have access to a grill, we recommend a simple, dad-friendly dinner of grilled steaks and summery vegetables.

When it comes to steak, almost everyone loves a ribeye or T-bone but, when grilling outdoors, we actually recommend choosing one of the cheaper cuts of beef, such as hanger or skirt steak. Both hanger and skirt steak are flavorful, succulent, and thin enough to take on a nice exterior char before the interior of the meat overcooks. You can marinate your steaks ahead of time or top them with a chimichurri sauce (or your dad’s favorite steak sauce) and serve alongside some simple grilled asparagus or other seasonable vegetables for a true Father’s Day feast.

Finally, we come to the most important part of any Father’s Day celebration: the wine! To pair with your steaks, we recommend two excellent red Bordeaux wines: 

• 2012 Clos du Jaugueyron, (Haut-Médoc) – Biodynamic, this wine offers lively flavors of black and red berries, cedar, smoke, and tobacco. With firm tannins and a touch of oak for support, this vibrant wine is a perfect match for the lingering smokiness of steaks grilled over a live fire.

• 2010 Château Potensac (Médoc) is a dense, full-bodied red packed with flavors of sweet cherries, currants, blackberries, cedar, and a hint of dark chocolate. With a dry, elegant finish, this firmly structured wine’s strong flavors provide a good counterpoint to the rich savoriness of grilled beef. Château Potensac makes for a classy choice for any Father’s Day steak dinner. 

If your local wine store does not have these specific wines, do not worry! Simply ask the sales consultant to help you navigate their Bordeaux selection for your special Father’s Day wine. Enjoy!