It's time to spread the holiday spirit(s). We've asked three local pros for their tips on what bottles to buy as your calendar fills up with family gatherings and office social hours. (Just be sure to stay smart by planning ahead for a safe ride home.) Happy holidays!
What to bring to:
The Office Holiday Party
Wine Pro: Will Motley, Woodland Wine Merchant
In this age of social media, that photo of you with the lampshade on your head will travel around the world faster than Santa on his sleighmeaning you need to moderate your consumption at the office party. Instead, impress colleagues with your wine knowledge by considering a bottle of Armagnac.
Motley's pick: Francis Darroze 20-Year Bas-Armagnac Les Grands Assemblages. At $120 a pop, it might eat up your entire year-end bonus, but he says it's a great value when compared to a 20-year bourbon or single malt. (Maybe you can convince a few coworkers to go in on it together.) 'Since the 20 years in the name is the minimum age of the youngest spirit in the overall blend, it's a full-bodied, complex brandy with lovely mature notes,” he adds.
Don't want to break the bank? Motley is also a fan of Louis de Grenelle Saumur Rose Brut Corail, a dry, rich sparkling rosé produced from estate-grown fruit in the Loire Valley. This has a beautiful delicate salmon color and is a great value at only $18.
What to bring to:
The Family Dinner
Wine Pro: Lisa Quillman, The Bottle Shop at McEwen
Falling temperatures are often synonymous with heartier fare, so bring something that will hold up to the roast beast. Quillman says food-friendly options are the way to go. Although Gundlach Bundschu Gewürztraminer sounds like it should come from the Austrian Alps, the winery is actually in California, near the Sonoma Coast. The off-dry characteristics of Gewürztraminer traditionally make it an excellent choice for pairing with foods ranging from spicy appetizers to rich pork dishes. Quillman recommends 'Gun-Bun” as her top pick to pair with traditional holiday meals because it's 'bright and fresh and slightly citrusy but dry.” And at less than $20 a bottle, you can buy an extra for yourself.
That's the same price range for Quillman's preferred red wine, the 2012 Mountain Cuvée Red Blend that she describes as 'an American homage to the classic southwestern French clarets.” Predominantly a cabernet sauvignon–merlot blend and aged in French oak for 14 months, this is a juicy, creamy, smoky, soft, and fruit-forward red that will appeal to a wide palate.
What to bring to:
The New Year's Eve Bash
Wine Pro: Wade Greer, Grand Cru
Next to figuring out whom you'll be kissing when the clock strikes midnight, a glass (or two) of bubbly is key to a successful transition into the New Year. You can either splurge on a special bottle orif you plan to start celebrating earlyacknowledge that by midnight you might not notice whether that bottle costs $20 or $100.
At the high end, Greer suggests a bottle of real Champagne from a grower-producer like Marc Hebart. His Premier Cru Rosé is a deal at $54.99. Greer gushes that 'it's super elegant and complex yet pretty and balanced, like strawberries and cream in a glass.”
For the budget-minded, Spanish cavas are an excellent alternative. Made using the same méthode champenoise as their pricier alternatives, cavas are stylistically similar. 'The terroir of Champagne, France, cannot be mimicked, in my opinion,” admits Greer. 'However, there are tons of alternative sparklers that are tasty and affordable. We like Segura Viudas Spanish Cava for $9.99, Simonnet-Febvre at $19.99, or a $13.99 bottle of Poema Cava.”