It’s that time of the year when family and friends gather around the table, the fireplace, the Christmas tree, the Hanukah menorah, and undoubtedly around your kitchen island especially as you’re trying to put the finishing touches on an elaborate meal to celebrate the holidays. As you might already know, we always recommend greeting your guests with a glass of bubbly to start, nothing else sets the mood better than some stellar Champagne. And when you sit at the table start off with a glass of delicious crisp, clean California Chardonnay, which pairs perfectly with seafood appetizers like shrimp, oysters Rockefeller, and king crab legs. We’re also recommending a Pinot Noir and Spanish Tempranillo for lighter dishes, and a Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and French GSM (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre) for heavier meat dishes. Whether you’re serving potato latkes, lasagna, standing rib roast of pork, prime rib, beef Wellington, or turkey, we’ve got you covered with these seven wines.
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Vallée Champagne 2013 Côte Vallée Montagne Grand Cru Ay Champagne France
Winemaker Juliette Alips sources grapes from Ay, one of the most famous Champagne villages revered by many because of its varied soils including both chalky and rocky, with each imparting different characteristics to the finished wine. This Grand Cru Champagne is a blend of 85 percent Pinot Noir and 15 percent Chardonnay which is aged for nine years on the lees before disgorgement. It has aromas of white flowers, flint, green apple, and a touch of campfire smoke with great perlage and flavors of freshly baked bread, honeysuckle, and baked apple.
Buy Now: $144
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Arista 2021 Chardonnay Russian River Valley Sonoma California
Arista grows Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes in some of the most privileged sites in the Russian River Valley and this delicious Chardonnay is blended from grapes grown in five different vineyards to create a complex, layered, and elegant wine. We visited vintner Mark McWilliams the first time over 10 years ago and to this day remain huge fans of his amazing wines. The RRV 2021 Chardonnay has enticing aromas of lemon zest, freesia, and honeysuckle with pronounced minerality and flavors of lemon, Asian pear, and lemon curd.
Buy Now: $70
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Dutton Goldfield 2021 McDougall Vineyard Pinot Noir Fort Ross Seaview Sonoma California
Steve Dutton and Dan Goldfield began making wine together in 1998 and since that time have grown their winery and vineyard holdings exponentially. Dutton Goldfield continues to make excellent wines with some of Sonoma’s most sought-after grapes. This delightful wine hails from the McDougall Vineyard in Fort Ross Seaview in far west Sonoma County. It has aromas of pomegranate, cranberry, and strawberry with soft tannins and flavors of Dr. Pepper, Bing cherry, and brown baking spices.
Buy Now: $78
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Familia Fernandez Rivera 2018 Tinto Pesquera Millenium Gran Reserva Ribera Del Duero Spain
Pesquera is well known for making quality Ribera del Duero wines at affordable prices; the family has always made premium higher-level wines, but they only began hitting American shores recently. Millenium Gran Reserva 2018 is made from 100 percent Tempranillo grapes grown at an altitude of 2,600 feet in the Viña Alta Cascajo vineyard. Aged for 26 months in French oak barrels it has aromas of cherry, cranberry, and black raspberry with soft, rounded tannins and flavors of vanilla, red plum, and pomegranate.
Buy Now: $150
Buy Now: $144
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Tor Wines 2021 Vaca Ridge Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley California
Tor manages one block of Cabernet Sauvignon and one block of Cabernet Franc in the Vaca Ridge Vineyard in the Eastern Rutherford hills. The Cab Sauv vines get more sunlight while the Cabernet Franc vines retain more acidity because of the cooling effect of Lake Hennessey. Predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon with just a splash of Cab Franc, this delicious wine has aromas of pencil lead, black cherry, and cassis with flavors of black raspberry, black plum, and red currant.
Buy Now: $155
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Caladan 2021 Cabernet Franc Napa Valley California
To craft this stunning Cab Franc, winemaker Chris Carpenter sourced grapes from four Napa Valley appellations: Spring Mountain District Yverdon Vineyard, Diamond Mountain District Wallis Vineyard, Howell Mountain W.S. Keyes Vineyard, and Mount Veeder Mt. Brave Vineyard. It is intensely colored in the glass with aromas of citrus blossom, orange zest, and red currant with silky soft tannins wrapped around flavors of black raspberry, red plum, rose hips, and cassis.
Buy Now: $825 for a 3-Bottle Set
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Gerard Bertrand 2019 Clos d’Ora Rouge Minervois-La Livinière France
Clos d’Ora vineyard is farmed biodynamically and everything is done by hand except for the horse drawn plow. Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, and a small amount of Carignan are fermented individually in concrete vats and then blended to make this outstanding wine. It is ruby garnet in color with aromas and flavors of black plum, cassis, red currant, and black raspberry with a long, long finish.
Buy Now: $250
