On Holiday Wines
At least, the ones I think you should have!
Welcome to the Tuesday post for all subscribers! On Friday, paid subscribers will receive a recipe for the perfect cranberry sage spritz. It’s our last recipe of the year! I’m going to be spending some time this week thinking about my content structure for next year, so if you have thoughts or feelings on that front, hit reply and let me hear ‘em!
I don’t think I need to explain why I (or anyone, for that matter) will be opening wine over the holidays, so instead, I’ll just jump right in. Whenever there’s a chance that we might have company or need to grab a bottle to take as a host gift or even just want to pop a bottle for ourselves, I try to have three types of wine on hand: a red, a sparkling white, and a something special. Let’s get into that a bit more, shall we?
A Red
I love red wine. Don’t get me wrong—I’ll drink white, orange, rosé, even! But my one true love is red. There are, obviously, some major caveats here. I prefer light, crunchy reds. I love younger wines. And I absolutely refuse to drink anything over 14%. For some other red wine lovers, these preferences will turn the Venn diagram of wines we love into two distinct circles that don’t overlap at all. I have a friend, for example, who loves deep, inky Cab Sauvs that are intense and heavy. She and I usually compromise and have a glass of sparkling wine when we get together because there are very few, if any, bottles of red that we can share happily.
For the holidays, I think that my kind of red wines are best (obviously). They’re light enough that you can enjoy a few glasses without letting too many political opinions rip and delicious to drink during that odd, 3:00 hour on Christmas Day when you don’t have anything better to do. My go-to is a good bottle of Beaujolais. They’re special and French and just plain exciting for anyone. With or without food, chilled or room temp—this is a wine for all seasons, but especially this one.
A Sparkling White
It’s the holidays. If you’re not using that as an excuse to buy a bottle of sparkling something, you’re doing wine wrong. Champagne is wonderful, of course, but if you’re looking for other traditional-tasting options, consider nabbing a Spanish Cava made from Xarel·lo or a Crémant. As a natural wine lover, I’m obviously not going to miss this opportunity to plug a good pét-nat, but I must admit: I’m getting picky about the pét-nats I drink. I don’t like anything too funky, and I’ve had a few too many bottles lately that have just teetered over that line. If you’re a funk-lover, though, you know what to do.
I like having a few extra bottles of a sparkling wine on hand that I know I love so I can gift them. My red wine tastes are far too niche, and I hate guessing at whether people will like what I like in that area. Sparkling wine, on the other hand, is ideal to gift, as confirmed by the wonderful Marie Cheslik of Slik Wines in this recent video. Who doesn’t like bubbles! One of my favorite sparkling wines of all time (to drink and to gift!) is Raventos i Blanc, a Blanc de Blanc from Penedes, Spain. If you can’t find that one (or you have different tastes than I do!), ask your local bottle shop owner to help you out and find what you’re looking for.
A Something Special
My dear friend Melissa, who owns the unparalleled BottlesUp!, recently gave me some good advice. I had asked her how I would know when was the right moment to pop a special bottle that I’d been saving for a while. Her thoughts? Do it now. Life is precious and uncertain. If you’re alive and breathing and able to open a bottle with someone you love, then do it! Don’t overthink it. Don’t end up paralyzed and waiting for the perfect moment.
I thought this was beautiful advice, and I’m going to take it this year. Last year, Colin and I had the privilege of tasting a vermouth from Kelley Fox Wines that was made from the grapes that survived the 2020 California Wild Fires. We bought a bottle (from Melissa, duh), and have been sitting on it ever since. We’re going to open it this year on New Year’s Day to celebrate, and I can’t wait.
This is your invitation to do the same this holiday season with a bottle you’ve been saving for something special. This is it, babe! Go for it!
What wines do you stock up on for the holidays? Let me know below!
See you back here on Friday for the last recipe of the year! In the meantime, shop my photos here and learn more about what I do in my every day life at www.pageandplate.com.