No-Brainer Holiday Wine Ideas: from What to Pour, to Boss & Co-Worker Gifts

Wine is both an entirely festive way to celebrate the holiday season and a winning approach for gift-giving. The trouble is knowing what to pour - when - and what to gift - to whom. Are we right?

This holiday season we're giving the gift that keeps on giving - easy answers. Below, you'll find wine solutions for your party planning conundrums as well as ideas for gift giving - from stemware to great reads.

Remember, there's naturally some overlap - often wine itself is a wonderful solution in and of itself. So take these ideas and run with them. You're sure to hit the nail on the head with a touch of your own personalization.

View fullsize

Sparkling Wines

From hosting to gifting, sparkling wine is a foolproof way to bring a natural, festive flare to bear. If you don't know your recipient (or his/her tastes) well, they are also a great answer to The Personalization Problem. No matter what, they add levity - and New Year's is a built-in opportunity to open and enjoy.

Here is our own Guide for Selecting the Right Sparkling Wine for the Occasion.

Need specific ideas?  Some of our favorite sparkling wines this year can be found below, beginning with the most affordable styles (e.g. Prosecco + Cava) to the most baller (Champagne). (Note: These specific wines are available to those of us shopping in the Greater Boston area. You can ask your local retailer to order any wine they don't stock.)
 

Marsuret Prosecco  |  Veneto, Italy (Valdobbiane)
Deliciously quaffable and festive, Prosecco wines have taken the world by storm. Here the Marsura family stays true to their 80-year tradition to produce a particularly winning option: zesty, delicately pear-nuanced with a touch more pizzazz than its counterparts.

When/For Whom? Cost-effective, basic bubbly that delivers a festive element/gesture. Ideal for any and everyday - from a holiday brunch to topping-off a "champagne" cocktail.

Dibon Cava  |  Penedes, Spain
Cava drinkers have gotten the memo for a footloose and fancy free sparkling beverage that’s closer to proper Champagne for its toasty notes and fleshier texture – at a fraction of the price. Frothy and fruit forward, Dibon delivers memorable peach and orange notes, backed by hazelnuts and citrus zest.

When/For Whom? Casually festive and versatile, but with a bit more to it. Appropriate to serve during cocktail hour, offer for a festive toast, or even segway into the first course. An affordable way to thank/appreciate colleagues, or supply a casual host/ess gift.


Cave de Saumur Crémant de Loire "49M"   |  Loire, France
Crémant wines come from elite regions of France - outside of Champagne - and are goldmines for exceptional sparklers. This hidden gem from one of our favorite CO-Ops is both charming and dry - and bursting with familiar fruit nuance. You can't go wrong with 49 Million, tiny, crowd-pleasing bubbles!

When/For Whom? Crémant wines are our Go-Tos because they are perfect for dialing things up a notch, without anyone knowing how much you spent. You'll be winning with a ~$20 budget.

Taittinger 2008 Brut Champagne  |  Champagne, France
This is the real deal, and then some. Featuring the 2008 vintage alone, this blend of all 3 legally-permitted Champagne grapes delivers tell-tale orchard fruits, a hint of stone fruits and mouthwatering citrus. Better still, its decadent brioche side makes you wonder if you just stepped into a Parisian bakery. . .

When/For Whom? To make an impression - this is brilliant, baller bubbly! Gift to your boss or open with really, really good friends.


Westport Rivers "RJR" Brut Sparkling Wine   |  Westport, Massachusetts
Massachusetts' own Westport Rivers Winery kills it when it comes to sparkling wine. And the RJR is their flagship - separating itself with a frothy, creamy mousse and giving you flashbacks to an autumnal New England picnic. (Bonus - this wine has been on the White House's go-to list!)

When/For Whom? Whenever you need a secret weapon or a local treat to gift/serve. Typically c. $37/bottle, we saw it recently for just c. $20!

---

choosing wines: Gifting + Celebrating

View fullsize

1.    Looking to make a BIG splash? Whether throwing a party or looking to impress your gift-recipient, this trick never fails.
 

2.    You can also boost your party vibe with a creative approach to wine selection that mitigates fussiness for you - and ensures guests stay engaged in the fun otherwise. Here's How.
 

---

beyond the bottle: the Essentials

STEMWARE.   There's no need to geek-out on this one. Simply give a great glass that works perfectly well for wines of ALL colors. Our pick is the Vinum Riedel Extreme Series. We use the (white) Sauvignon Blanc option for ALL of the wines we taste/evaluate - red, white or pink. We love the sleekness of the glass as much as its versatility. (If you specifically know your recipient is a red wine fan, you could opt for their Bordeaux/Cabernet/Merlot glass instead. Don't overthink it beyond that!)
 

DECANTER.   Did you know, there are 5 Good Reasons to Use a Decanter Everyday? And this essential tool isn't in everyone's at-home wine supplies repertoire - yet. You can use the holidays to change that with a lovely gift.

Here's one suggestion - a half bottle size. It won't break the bank - and offers a sweet alternative to decanting an entire bottle (not to mention delivering a user-friendly nudge toward that ideal everyday use).
 

GREAT READS, BY INTEREST. 

for Fans of History, Villains + Heroes, or Fiction/Non-Fiction Crossover Reads:  American Wine: A Coming of Age Story

for the Seasoned:  The World Atlas of Wine

for the Novice:  Oldman's Guide to Outsmarting Wine

for the Foodie: What to Drink with What You Eat

Choosing Wine for Any Big Event - Made Easy!

Perhaps the biggest of them all, there's little more personal than planning your wedding - and, for many, when it comes to what you're serving you want to nail it. We get it! What's more, we know you're not the only one. Beginning around Memorial Day each year we get numerous inquiries from couples who care about what wines they will serve at their wedding asking for help. They are often stressed to the max about choosing wines for their big day. In another week the emails with the same burning questions will emerge, this time to ensure company outings and family reunions are well cared for.

While some events have specifications which call for a one-on-one consult (or Pros like us behind the tasting station ;) many others are more streamlined. For the latter case, let's start with the most common criteria hosts present:

1.  User-friendly.   We want wines that everyone will enjoy, whether they are “usually” an X-wine drinker or not.

2.  Food-friendly.   We want the wines to work with what we’re serving, whether someone opted for the fish, BBQ chicken or tenderloin.

3.  Cost-effect.   We don’t want to serve anything “cheap”, but if we could keep things under(?!) or around $15 per bottle, our budget will thank you!

Good news - you can address all of these concerns in just 4 deliberate steps!

Streamline your offerings. There are reasons (yes, plural) themed, or “His and Her Cocktails” are so popular… It’s festive, for sure, and fewer options for guests tightens up your liquor order (read: budget), focuses consumption, AND expedites service! So approach wine offerings similarly and CHOOSE YOUR OWN “HOUSE” WINES: offering a sparkler plus a crowd-pleasing white and red (with maybe a beautiful dry rosé thrown in for good measure) will satisfy the majority (if not all!) of your guests. Remember, these distinct options offer enough variety themselves. So have fun with it! You could even come up with creative, personal or company-culture-derived names for each choice.

Pick a Perky White.  Wines with higher acidity are food-friendly by nature; and their mouthwatering effect also comes in handy when your boss' boss is bending your ear about that big project you're working on, or your best friend just got stuck talking to crazy Aunt Edna. Sauvignon Blanc works, sure(!), but one of our other party tricks is to select grape varietals  guests may not have ever heard of, let alone tasted. Case in point: as popular as Austrian Gruner Veltliner and Spanish Albarino are becoming, these are not grapes that everyone knows (though they should!). Offering something people have no expectations about means they just simply sip and enjoy.

Select a Smooth Red.  When it comes to selecting your red offering, you want something that strikes a middle ground – something not too bold and dry, and something not too light. You also want something that goes down smooooth – something with nice fruit and soft edges. Here again, a way to work around the grape varietal fatigue (aka I only drink Cab, Syrah, Merlot…) is to choose wines that are named for their region, with no varietal labeling evident. Smart picks are red wines from the Cotes du Rhone or Languedoc (fabulous, food-friendly, people-happy, French red blends) or wallet-friendly Spanish Rioja (the more expensive options often mean the wine has spent more time in oak barrels, which puts the wine into the “too bold” camp). These regions have prolific, 100% delicious options that are exceptional values!

Save on Bubbles.   Some say you should splurge in this category; we don’t necessarily agree. While you certainly can go all out, remember that the nuances a higher-priced bubbly offer could be lost in the equation. More often sparkling wine is consumed to add an additional festive flare.  And there are many great (dry, aka Brut) options from beyond Champagne, France that lend exactly the helping hand you desire, with plenty of Delight on offer at oh-so reasonable prices. For some suggestions beyond the usual suspects Cava and Prosecco, check out alternatives here and see below.

Have faith! Less is more, especially when you trot off the beaten path. With this approach you’ll be setting yourself up for success!

Dying for some specific recs in each of these categories?? No problem! For the next several weeks you can find some widely available wines that check the above boxes via the Pour Favor Wine Events list available on the DRYNC wine app.Need more ideas? Get in touch directly!

Follow our blog with Bloglovin

Sparkling Wine: Your answer for All "Occasions"

Nicoise Salad

In our line of work, I'm sure you can understand how naturally professional life overlaps with personal. Well, earlier this week I pulled out a bottle of sparkling wine to have with dinner. My husband asked, "What's the occasion"? The occasion was - I had been in the mood for bubbles! I wanted some flavor-filled, frothy goodness to embrace the gorgeous day and lingering, still-warm evening, and also assuage a good but very busy work week. Of course, it didn't hurt that I was serving nicoise saladfor dinner - with artichokes and eggs, two of the "buzz kill" foods in the world of wine because they are nearly impossible to pair successfully, unless you have bubbles, of course.

Indeed, sparkling wine has been on my mind of late. Next week we are hosting a spectacular wine tasting class at The Table in Cambridge. The theme is the Art of Food and Wine Pairing. I'm a big proponent of starting a tasting with some sparkling wine and do it as often as the occasion allows. It's both practical and palate-pleasing.

Think of it: guests almost never arrive all at once but a good hosts always wants to have something they can offer when people do arrive. I'm sure I've said it here before. Serving up sparkling wine is a great way to begin; it's festive and sets a tone and the stage for more excitement to come. And it's great when you're serving some harder to pair nosh, or when there's an assortment of items on offer. In its very make-up, sparkling wine is arguably the most versatile wine made.

Of course there is still tremendous variety within the category - which keeps things ever-interesting for us wine pros and enthusiasts! While over dinner we had a sparkler from the Limoux region of France, next week's tasting will feature Cava. Why? Well... you'll just have to join us!

~ Rebecca