The season of holiday cheer is upon us, and as my family knows, this is my favorite time of year. The jingles and choral music are on repeat, our fireplace is roaring every night, and our tree is glistening with ornaments and lights.
With the holidays here, we've curated our top wine suggestions for gathering and gifting. Our first selection is a fabulous pairing for your holiday parties. These are absolute crowd pleasers and great value so you don't have to think twice about ordering by the case if you're entertaining a crowd. Our second selection will take your breath away. These are showstoppers for your holiday table, or gift them to the wine lovers in your life.
WINES FOR GATHERINGS
These are delicious, great value wines to serve at a holiday party. Rich, warming, so easy to drink, and great value so you can stock up for a big event. Curated to pair with rich holiday fare.
A full bodied, rich, yet pure wine of wonderful quality. This Weissburgunder or Pinot Blanc comes to us from the Kaiserstuhl region of Baden, Germany. This area is famous for its output of some of Germany's finest wines, including some of the world's most high quality Pinot Blanc. Martin and Anne Bercher are the 10th generation to farm these renowned vineyards, and are known both locally and internationally as very exciting winemakers. This is a wine that was virtually made for the holidays. Rich, warm, and elegant at the same time with delicious notes of mandarins, lemon balm, honey, apricots, fresh herb, and slightly spritzy character. Lovely with richer seafoods and poultry!
This is a seriously delicious wine from Rioja, Spain made from 100% Grenache and the perfect companion for flank steaks, and any other red meats. Bodegas Proelio has impressed us with the sheer elegance of their wines, and this grenache is no different. A wonderfully intense nose jumps out of the glass, which is complemented by a perfectly balanced palate with great minerality and structural depth. This is a rustic and graceful wine with notes of orange zest, fresh cherries, and white pepper. Just delightful!
WINES FOR GIFTING
These are just spectacular wines to bring as a host gift, send as a holiday present, or open for a special holiday event. Unique, perfect with classic holiday fare, and oh so delicious.
This is a show stopping Chardonnay from the famous area of Chablis in northern Burgundy. With crisp notes of white peach, pear, lemon chiffon, hints of flint, and mesmerizing mineral balance, we cannot recommend it enough. It is one to open for a special occasion or a gift for a wine lover. This is just a classic, delicious wine.
Antonio Madeira is an exciting young winemaker working biodynamically and crafting wines of incredible quality. Made from over 20 varietals native to Portugal, this an intense, powerful wine full of black cherries, black olive, fig and hints of smoke. With its richness and great depth, this will pair beautifully with savory holiday meals. You can't go wrong gifting this special wine.