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Christmas Wine help?
- Thread starter Texas Cop
- Start date
It really depends on your crowd. It also depends on your budget. If your budget is on the low end there is great value in the Barefoot and Little Penguin lines of wine. I am a chardonnay man and both are very good for their price. But both lines have done well with ratings. If you are about to go about 18-20 a bottle the best chardonnay IMHO is the Kendall Jackson. If you are a bigger spender I can't help you out.
PetersCreek
Brother Borealis
White? Red? Dry? Sweet? Served with food? After dinner?
Aw, what the heck...I'll venture a couple of blind recommendations...
I don't think I've made any secret of the fact that I'm a fan of the wines from Washington state's Chateau Ste. Michelle. They have a newer white wine, slightly sweet and effervescent, that strikes me as appropriately holiday-ish: Moscato Frizzante. I sampled it on my last visit to the winery and I liked it a lot. I'm also very fond of the similar but non-fizzy Muscat Canelli...so much so that I bought a half case on the spot and had it shipped home.
If you want a dry white, I like the Horse Heaven Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc. More easily found are the current releases of their Pinot Gris or Riesling wines. The Pinot Gris is light, bright, and crisp...a perfect summer time wine but good any time of year. The Wife® and I recently enjoyed a bottle of the Riesling (~$8 a bottle) and found its balanced acidity a good match for rich, flavorful cheeses like a double cream gouda and a mustard seed gouda.
If you like big reds, Beaulieu Vineyards' Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon is one of my favorite go-to wines. You might also look for the one of the Zinfandels from Rancho Zabaco.
Dammit...now I sound like a wine snob.
Aw, what the heck...I'll venture a couple of blind recommendations...
I don't think I've made any secret of the fact that I'm a fan of the wines from Washington state's Chateau Ste. Michelle. They have a newer white wine, slightly sweet and effervescent, that strikes me as appropriately holiday-ish: Moscato Frizzante. I sampled it on my last visit to the winery and I liked it a lot. I'm also very fond of the similar but non-fizzy Muscat Canelli...so much so that I bought a half case on the spot and had it shipped home.
If you want a dry white, I like the Horse Heaven Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc. More easily found are the current releases of their Pinot Gris or Riesling wines. The Pinot Gris is light, bright, and crisp...a perfect summer time wine but good any time of year. The Wife® and I recently enjoyed a bottle of the Riesling (~$8 a bottle) and found its balanced acidity a good match for rich, flavorful cheeses like a double cream gouda and a mustard seed gouda.
If you like big reds, Beaulieu Vineyards' Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon is one of my favorite go-to wines. You might also look for the one of the Zinfandels from Rancho Zabaco.
Dammit...now I sound like a wine snob.
Some good, sound, recommendations here. :thumbsup:
Answers to the above questions will definitely help narrow things down.
Budget and audience are things to consider as well.
CWS
<b>Lead Moderator</b>
One of our favorite micro vineyards is:
www.ironstonevineyards.com
The wife likes the Merlot and for a slightly fruity and funwhite the Obsession Symphony. BTW They ship.
www.ironstonevineyards.com
The wife likes the Merlot and for a slightly fruity and funwhite the Obsession Symphony. BTW They ship.
PetersCreek
Brother Borealis
I can't believe I forgot to mention that idea, JW! Good catch.
I got hooked on Glühwein when I was living in Germany. You can find it pre-mulled in the bottle...like Christkindlwein...or you can buy any decent table red and mull it yourself. If you like mulled wine but you've only had red, try mulling a white. My favorite vintner in Germany would set up a booth at the Christmas markets and bazaars and offer one or two of the semi-dry or semi-sweet whites mulled in 30-cup (clean!) coffee urns with whole cinnamon sticks, cloves, orange slices, etc. Their mulled Spätlese was fantastic.
I got hooked on Glühwein when I was living in Germany. You can find it pre-mulled in the bottle...like Christkindlwein...or you can buy any decent table red and mull it yourself. If you like mulled wine but you've only had red, try mulling a white. My favorite vintner in Germany would set up a booth at the Christmas markets and bazaars and offer one or two of the semi-dry or semi-sweet whites mulled in 30-cup (clean!) coffee urns with whole cinnamon sticks, cloves, orange slices, etc. Their mulled Spätlese was fantastic.
oh yeah!! i put walnuts, and assorted dry fruits in as well,,,, the dried cranberries were the best! it's called, "glog." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glog.
good stuff, and, it makes the house smell fantastic! i put the ingrediants into a crockpot and simmer for about 12 hours.