When the calendar starts running out of pages and all the TV commercials are selling you perfume, you know that it is time to plan a get together with friends and family to toast the holiday season. Here are some of our favorite wines to help make the party.
While wine doesn’t make a party, it can certainly help to turn a good party into a great one. We like to curate a bottle collection in advance, considering the meal’s menu and the particular preferences of the guests. That foresight lets us focus on the people and the fun once the party begins, without worrying about what we’re going to open next. That doesn’t put the wine rack off limits, but is does give us some comfort that we have the basics covered.
We like to greet our guests as they arrive with a glass of sparkling. It is refreshing and festive, without necessarily pointing the palate toward any particular appetizer. We keep the bottle sealed with one of those winged latching stoppers and in the refrigerator so that very guest gets a cold, crisp, bubbly welcome to our home. We also chill at least one more bottle than we think we’re going to need, just in case. There are dozens of sparkling wines that we enjoy, but for truly special events we like to pour Schramsberg’s Blanc de Noir because of its great cascade of flavors and long-lasting bubbles. What gets a party started better than some bubbly?
As our guests start to mingle and catch up with each other, they naturally collect around the kitchen bar, laid out with hors d’oeuvres of every ilk. As the sparkling flutes go empty, many people pivot to a Ruby Hill Chardonnay or an increasingly rare Eagle Ridge Pinot Grigio for the slightly more adventurous. They both pair well with our favorite appetizers, like the family recipe beef dip and our cavalcade of olive varieties. Our charcuterie board is carefully curated to avoid everyone’s food sensitivities, but these wines pair well with everything.
While many families serve ham or duck this time of year, we typically serve a BBQ tri-tip beef roast. Grampa was a beef rancher and beef plays a central role in our celebrations, except of course at Thanksgiving. The tri-tip carries a mildly spicy rub, so the wine needs to have some body to stand up to that. There are too many side dishes to fit on the table, but everything seems to pair well with a solid Pinot Noir. We particularly enjoy the array of Pinot Noir offerings from Balletto, especially the wine made from their Cider Ridge vineyard. Regardless of which vineyard produced the grapes, Balletto Pinot’s never disappoint.
As dessert is served, usually pecan pie or chocolate mousse, our family and guests go back to whatever wine caught their eye during the evening, or venture into a Port. We still have a bit of the amazing Cedar Mountain Port, and save it for special occasions exactly like this.
However you celebrate this season, we raise our glass to you and wish you and yours the very best holiday and a prosperous and healthy new year!
About the Author: John grills a mean steak and is always in the market for another wine fridge. Believes that if a winery has more than 10 employees, it's probably too big. Buys wine faster than he drinks it, but who cares?
