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Relief from Holiday Stress

‘Tis the season, so, our November tasting is geared toward helping you with your Holiday planning. For an American Wine Society member, getting ready for “Sparkle Season” means more than just putting together gift lists for loved ones and family, it also means stocking up on the wines that you’ll be taking along to holiday parties, family events, and festive occasions. Among other things, that means the rules of wine buying are rewritten: We're not just buying for ourselves, which is difficult enough, but we're buying for friends and family.

Somehow, during this holiday chaos, we're supposed to be able to choose something fantastic. With that in mind, here are some wines for the winter holidays.

Thanksgiving Dinner: Pinot Noir

Thanksgiving calls for a special red wine that will pair well with turkey and the traditional side dishes of the season, including cranberry sauce. A great option would be Pinot Noir, especially one from Oregon or Sonoma. While there are plenty of great Pinot Noir options from France, this is an American holiday! So, bring a real crowd-pleaser that everyone can enjoy. There’s always time to enjoy a glass of Beaujolais Nouveau over the next few days when you and your family are enjoying Turkey Day leftovers.

Friendsgiving Dinner: Shiraz

Unlike Thanksgiving, which is more of a formal affair, Friendsgiving is a low-key event. You want an understated wine that’s nice enough to share with friends, but not too fancy. So why not bring along a bottle of Shiraz from Australia? Look for bottles from Barossa Valley, one of the most renowned winemaking regions of Australia when it comes to Shiraz.

Holiday party with the family: Barbera

If you’re like most people, you’ll be traveling during the holidays in order to get together with relatives, close family, and friends. And you’ll want to have a go-to bottle of wine for the occasion. This is a wine that should pair well with any of the big holiday feasts, such as Thanksgiving or Christmas, and offer enough of a compromise so that it appeals to as many people in your family as possible. With that in mind, the perfect choice for a holiday party with the family is an affordable, versatile Barbera. For good reason, Barbera has been called “the ultimate party wine.” It offers the right mix of fruit and spice notes to pair well with traditional holiday meals.

Holiday party with co-workers: Etna Rosso

Sicily’s Etna Rosso has been experiencing a real surge in popularity, so one way of showing your co-workers that AWS members are completely on-trend is by bringing a bottle of Etna Rosso to your next corporate office party. Etna Rosso is very similar to Pinot Noir, in that it has flavors and aromas of ripe red fruit. And the very drinkable Etna Rosso has a bright and refreshing finish, which makes it suitable for any festive occasion. Best of all, Etna Rosso comes with a very compelling backstory that you can share with co-workers: the vineyards used to produce Etna Rosso are aligned along the sides of an active volcano in northeastern Sicily!

Holiday dessert: Port

Sweet dessert wines may be an acquired taste for many, but one classic that pairs extremely well with everything from blue cheese to chocolate is Port from (where else?) Portugal. If you’re looking for a more complex flavor, look for bottles marked LBV (for Late Bottled Vintage).

Holiday gift idea: Cabernet Sauvignon

When it comes to giving gifts around the holidays, it’s always best to go for the classics. You can’t go wrong with a Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Even casual wine lovers will appreciate the extra care that goes into selecting a wine from California’s most famous wine region.

Holiday gift idea: Moscato

Moscato is one wine varietal that is trending bigly right now, as sweet wines are experiencing a surge in popularity. So why not opt for the very best Moscato wines in the world? Those are the ones produced in Italy’s exclusive Asti wine region. In comparison with the typical under $10 Moscato wines available for sale in “beverage wine” section of the State Store, a Moscato D’Asti wine is richer and nuanced, but still sweet, fresh and low in alcohol.

Feast of the Seven Fishes: Chardonnay

During the holidays, red wines tend to outsell white wines, and for good reason: many of the traditional holiday meals pair best with a bottle of red. But there is one festive occasion when it is possible to bring along a bottle of white, and that’s the Feast of the Seven Fishes. To accompany all the seafood dishes, you’ll want to choose a versatile white such as Chardonnay, which is a proven crowd-pleaser.

The Festivus Dinner: Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot 

Everyone is invited to Festivus dinner! The modest meal traditionally consists of sliced meatloaf on a bed of lettuce, with a dish of peas on the side. Our favorite choice would either be a medium-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon, or Merlot with a bit of spiciness to it. Meatloaf tends to be a little dry and sometimes bland, so these two wines will add a bit of flavor and depth. Remember: Don’t eat anything that ever wore feathers!

Christmas Dinner: Valpolicella

Choosing a great Christmas wine is different than choosing a great Thanksgiving wine. The weather is colder, the meals are getting heavier, and people naturally gravitate to big red wines. One option is Valpolicella, which stands up well to most holiday meals, thanks to its structure. But it won’t overpower any of the dishes that Grandma has spread out on the table. The Valpolicella DOC wines have notes of plums, cherries, dark chocolate, black fruit, and spices.

Kwanzaa: Rosé 

During Kwanzaa dinners, many eat soul food from the American south, or African dishes. If you’re enjoying soul food, consider a sparkling rose wine, Gewurztraminer, or something with a little acidity to cut through the gravy. For spicy African foods, try a sweet wine to balance out the savory flavors in the meal. Whatever you do, stay away from high tannin reds if your Kwanzaa meal will include greens. You don’t want to match bitter with bitter, it just never works

New Year’s Eve: Champagne

Ok, this one is a no-brainer. You simply can’t go wrong with a bottle of Champagne for New Year’s. But just keep in mind that, if you are planning on enjoying a sparkling wine throughout a long holiday meal, then you might also want to consider Cava (from Spain) or Prosecco (from Italy). You can then save the champagne for a celebratory toast at midnight.

Of course, these are just suggested wines. With any of them, there are plenty of substitutes. For example, you could easily swap out a bottle of Chardonnay for a bottle of Viognier, or a bottle of Barbera for a Rhône GSM (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre) blend. In many ways, that’s what makes wine so interesting. As soon as you think you know the “perfect wine” for a particular occasion, along comes a wine from a completely different part of the world that tastes even better.

So, as you start to put together your gift lists for the holiday season, take some time to consider which wines it might be worth stocking up on in advance. You won’t have to worry about picking out a great wine at the last minute, and you might just impress your family members (or significant other) with your knowledge of wine.