10 Wines to Pair with Holiday Celebrations

It’s the time of year to reunite with family and get together with friends. Perhaps you’re in the midst of sunny climes and palm trees, or perhaps in a cozy house, fire crackling, with a snowman outside. In any event the season demands celebratory meals, feasts, snacks, sweets, and . . . the appropriate wines to choose when you order wine delivery. 

The opportunity presents itself to try a whole range of different wine styles, from aperitifs to sparklers and from dessert wines to some Beaujolais. Light reds may match perfectly with roasted fowl, and don’t forget about sherries and Ports! 

Here’s a list of ten suggested wines from your favorite online wine store, Bottle Barn in Sonoma. It’s truly “Where Wine Country Buys Wine.” 

First, let’s consider some sparkling wines, whose effervescence matches the tone of celebration. 

• Tiamo Organic Prosecco: filled with aromas of apples, pears and citrus, featuring a long and equally fruit-filled finish, elegant on the palate and made from 100% organically grown grapes
• Charles Heidsieck Brut Reserve Champagne: a superb classic made with generous contributions of aromatic reserve wines from one of the best Champagne houses, and with an unbeatable price at Bottle Barn when you order wine
• Of course, don’t forget rose Champagne to show off a truly festive spirit to guests. A great choice is the Billecart-Salmon Rosé Champagne.
• For a traditional method sparkling wine with no added sugar, try the Mercat Cava Brut Nature, aged for 18 months on the lees, and made from 50 percent Xarel.lo, 40 percent Macabeo, and 10% Parellada: a true classic. 

When you buy wine online for the holidays, it’s a safe bet to pick some classic red wine and white wine to go with celebratory feasts. 

• A great choice is the 2020 Domaine Morey-Coffinet Bourgogne Chardonnay, which is opening up now with great vibrancy, with classic white fruit flavors and stunning lime sherbet notes on the nose.
• Compare the Bourgogne classic with the 2021 Lioco Sonoma County Chardonnay, which pairs well with roasted fowl. The winemaker says you will find “aromas of quartz, fennel blossom and pomelo” while on the palate, there’s “nectarine pit, lemon curd and chervil.”
• You can certainly serve a Beaujolais Nouveau, but why not go for a specific appellation like the 2019 Anthony Thevenet Morgon Cuvee Vieilles Vignes. Made from old vines growing on gently sloping vineyards in Morgon. You will encounter the elegance and subtlety to match with holiday fare, exercising this wine’s great length and complexity contributed by the Gamay grapes from these ancient vines.
• If you want a red with a bit more depth, Merlot fits the bill for a variety of dishes. The 2018 Gundlach Bundschu Merlot is from grapes grown right here in Sonoma County, not far from your favorite wine store USA. This has enough age to be perfect now. Wine Enthusiast says you will find this a robust wine, with dried herb and tobacco aromas “with notes of sage beckoning in the background.” Flavors of black cherry compliment moderate tannins and hints of oak. 

Sherry and Port serve as great holiday wines and help you continue the mood with appropriate pairings for snacks or hors d’oeuvres. Dry sherries pair perfectly with nuts and cheese, while Port is perfect with desserts or for an after-dinner toast. 

• The Valdespino Deliciosa Manzanilla Sanclucar de Barrameda Sherry is superb. A “saca” is the withdrawing of wine for bottling from the solera casks. This last saca from Valdespino showcases a delectable mix of almond flavors, salinity, and white fruit, melded together alongside this fortified wine’s deep mineral notes.
• For a real treat, get the 2016 Quinta do Noval Vintage Port, which received an astounding 98 points from Wine Spectator. You may want to get two and cellar one bottle. It radiates dark currant, fig, and blackberry flavors with emergent bramble, coffee, and ganache notes. It’s a mouthwatering Port and the fruit flavors and aromas persist for a long finish. 

Plan your holiday menu and then choose appropriate wines from the recommendations above. Don’t shy away from pairing sparkling wines with the wonderful main dishes and even the Sanlucar sherry will go well with stuffing! Chardonnay will always be a crowd pleaser if you’re unsure of each guest’s taste. 

Bottle Barn has many more wines for holiday, thousands of choices, to peruse when you buy wine online for the holidays! For more ideas, check out the other information packed wine articles and be sure to leave us a comment below!