Across the holidays, a bottle of wine looks like a easy, straightforward reward to offer till you’re standing in a liquor retailer attempting to determine what to purchase. How a lot to spend and what to offer are sophisticated questions, however add within the query of what your host likes to drink and even a well-versed wine drinker may lose hours attempting to resolve.
Whether or not the purpose of a bottle is to appear within the find out about new wine traits, or about traditionally fashionable grapes and areas, a sommelier may help determine the fitting bottle. To easy the vacation wine-buying this yr, we requested 22 sommeliers to suggest their favourite wine to reward. Unsurprisingly, many sommeliers suggest a bottle of Champagne, however even those that don’t need to pay true Champagne costs will discover helpful suggestions right here. With options starting from a little-known type of glowing, to an easy-to-drink Rioja, there’s one thing right here for each event and value level.
These are the perfect wines to reward, in response to sommeliers:
- Riesling
- A magnum of Champagne
- Rioja
- Crimson Tail Ridge Perpetual Change Brut Nature
- Domestically made glowing wine
- Blanc de Noirs Champagne
- Brunello di Montalcino 2017 San Polino Helichrysum
- Domaine la Calmette Serpent à Plumes Malbec Vin de France
- Avinyó Reserva Brut Cava
- Hervé Souhaut Domaine Romaneaux-Destezet Syrah
- NV Dhondt-Grellet ‘Dans un Premier Temps’ Additional Brut
- Wines from the Loire Valley
- Patrick Piuze Val de Mer Bourgogne Blanc
- Le Mesnil Blanc de Blancs NV Grand Cru Champagne
- Grosses Gewächs
- Pasaeli ‘6N’ – 2023
- Glowing wine
- Tenuta Scerscé ‘Infinito’ Sforzato di Valtellina DOCG
- Champagne
- Champagne Bollinger
- R. Lopez Heredia Vina Bosconia 2013
- Laurent-Perrier Champagne ‘Cuvée Rosé’
“I like to offer a dry Riesling, since so many individuals dismiss these wines as they suppose they are going to be cloyingly candy. This reward gives a component of shock but in addition is an efficient technique of showcasing the multi-faceted nature of wine and proves the purpose that there’s a proper bottle for everybody.” —Thomas Kakalios, lead sommelier, Eat Effectively Hospitality, Chicago
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“My go-to reward is a magnum of Champagne that I personalize with a verse of poetry scrawled on it in metallic Sharpie” —Janine Poleman, sommelier, Cru Uncorked, Moreland Hills, Ohio
“I’ve discovered that crimson wines from Rioja are typically nice wine items. They have an inclination to have balanced profiles of fruity and earthy traits: The overt vanilla flavors of oak make the wine interesting to individuals who may in any other case like bolder California wines, whereas the construction and the bitter end are typically interesting to individuals who may take pleasure in a bit extra savory rusticity. I believe La Rioja Alta’s Vina Ardanza or Lopez de Heredia’s Vina Bosconia are each nice crowd-pleaser items.” —Chris Ray, sommelier, Lutèce, Washington, D.C.
“I all the time like to offer Champagne options. Wines made step-for-step like Champagne within the conventional technique however from outdoors of France. Some highlights are Crimson Tail Ridge Perpetual Change from The Finger Lakes in New York, or A Tribute to Grace Glowing Grenache Blanc from Santa Barbara.” —Owen Huzar, sommelier, John’s Meals and Wine, Chicago
“Glowing wine is my go-to reward. I desire selecting a home choice to showcase a substitute for Champagne — one thing the recipient might not have tried earlier than — that surprises them with equally scrumptious taste. A few of my favourite home producers embody Glowing Pointe, Schramsberg, and Argyle.” —Melissa Rockwell, wine skilled, Glowing Pointe, Lengthy Island, N.Y.
“When gifting wine, I typically really feel overwhelmed by the alternatives — kind, area, varietal, producer, sub-region, and classic. Fortunately, there’s Champagne. When selecting a Champagne reward, I contemplate the recipient’s tastes however typically go for Blanc de Noirs. Constructed from 100% Pinot Noir and/or Pinot Meunier, it gives a full physique, creamy texture, and wealthy fruit flavors, making it a incredible selection that pairs properly with varied dishes or stands out by itself.” —Marcos Loureiro, wine director, The Golden Swan, New York
“San Polino Brunello di Montalcino is a classy wine with deep flavors of darkish fruit, spice, and a easy, velvety texture. Its steadiness and magnificence make it a standout for each wine lovers and collectors. An distinctive Christmas reward with the essence of Tuscany.” —Valerio Lombardozzi, common supervisor, Tavola, Houston
“Domaine la Calmette Serpent à Plumes Malbec Vin de France, is my go-to wine to reward in the course of the vacation season. This wine is crammed with fruit notes of blackberry, plum, and blueberry compote, that are balanced with a contact of violet and graphite. Your wine-savvy buddies will respect this unfiltered and minimally sulfured Malbec, whereas those that are on the lookout for an entry into wine will discover it approachable and deliciously relatable. You’ll be able to relaxation straightforward realizing this wine was farmed utilizing natural and biodynamic practices by two vignerons who care deeply about creating a brand new definition of what Malbec from Cahors might be.” —Grace Bradley, wine director, Petite Vie & Vistro Prime, Western Springs and Hinsdale, Sick.
“Nothing begins a celebration like bubbles and my go-to reward wine is Avinyó Reserva Brut Cava. Spanish Cava is inexpensive than Champagne so that you may give one thing with a number of worth that tastes nice with out breaking the financial institution. Avinyó is among the few Cava producers in Penedès that’s nonetheless family-owned and operated and their Reserva Brut is dry and crisp with contemporary minerality.” —Lynne White, beverage director and authorized sommelier, Boqueria, NYC
“Generally, receiving a bottle of wine as a present seems like a little bit of a white elephant, particularly for those who’re being gifted the bottle at a vacation social gathering. Do you open it that night for your whole company to take pleasure in or do you tuck it away for the long run? I prefer to reward wine that may do each — it must be nice if loved now and even higher if opened down the highway. A wine made in a leaner type that reveals the purity and acidity wanted to age properly like Domaine Romaneaux-Destezet’s Syrah is ideal. Take the strain off of the recipient by giving them one thing they’re positive to like each time they’re able to open it!” —Marissa Chirico, beverage director, River Twice, Philadelphia
“Gifting Champagne is all the time a go-to for me. First, it’s all the time a very good time for Champagne! And, second, it pairs with nearly all the pieces on the desk. A bottle I’m very enthusiastic about proper now that I lately shared with a buddy who launched me to the producer is NV Dhondt-Grellet ‘Dans un Premier Temps’ Additional Brut.” —Tia Well mannered, head sommelier, Indienne, Chicago
“I typically reward wine — predictable, sure! — and as a lot as I after all select my wines in response to who’s the receiver, there may be one explicit area I all the time depend on, which is the Loire Valley in France. That is by far considered one of my favourite wine areas on the earth, with crisp, crystalline, mineral Chenin Blancs and earthy, muscular Cabernet Francs which additionally occur to be, 9 occasions out of 10, nice worth for cash.” —Alessia Ferrarello, wine director, NoMad London, London
“A superb wine to offer this vacation season is the Val de Mer Bourgogne Blanc. Val de Mer is part of a undertaking led by the famend Patrick Piuze, a celebrated winemaker recognized for his wine manufacturing in Chablis. This white Burgundy has an impressive minerality and vivid acidity with delicate notes of orchard fruit.” —Michéala Johnson, sommelier, Le Jardinier, NYC
“One among my favourite go-to items is Le Mesnil Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Champagne. There’s one thing particular about gifting a Grand Cru Champagne that continues to be accessible at underneath $50 per bottle. This explicit Champagne gives a harmonious mix of complexity and steadiness, with tasting notes that intertwine pastries and fruit, with glorious minerality. It’s a classy selection that’s positive to impress.” —Thomas Delasko, common supervisor and sommelier, By way of Sophia, Washington, D.C.
“My grandmother is from Düsseldorf, so conventional Christmas dishes had been by no means part of our vacation desk, however nice Riesling all the time was. In terms of gifting in the course of the season, I gravitate towards one thing celebratory — a bottle of dry Grosses Gewächs (GG), very best for elevating a festive toast.” —Daniel Bowman, beverage director, Georgie, Dallas
“Pasaeli 6N is my bottle of selection to offer as a present. This can be a stunning crimson grape referred to as Karasakız, indigenous to a small coastal space referred to as Kaz Dağları in Türkiye. Though it’s a lighter-bodied crimson, it has a number of character, which makes it tremendous versatile and pairs properly with all the pieces. It is usually a straightforward drinker by itself!” —Katrina Schult, co-owner, common supervisor, Hamdi, Seattle
“Glowing wine is an ideal host reward as a result of you possibly can take pleasure in it at many factors of the meal — earlier than sitting down, paired with appetizers, and even with dessert. Relatively than shopping for big-name-brand Champagnes, search for smaller producers that give far more bang in your buck. These from Franciacorta and Bordeaux are my picks, together with extra area of interest grower Champagne.” —Kylie Monagan, sommelier and companion, Amali, Calissa, and Juniper at The Vanderbilt, NYC
“Italian wine is all the time a secure wager when gifting for a wine connoisseur. One which I believe could be liked by most could be a wonderful Nebbiolo from Valtellina. In Valtellina in addition they produce a method of Nebbiolo the place they dry the grapes beforehand, which accentuates all the pieces attention-grabbing about this particular grape. It’s plush and juicy with cherried fruit and tamarind, laced with a little bit of tar. The manufacturing technique is known as sforzato, and the Tenuta Scerscé Infinito delivers in so some ways.” —Liz Martinez, common supervisor, KILN at Resort Heron, Alexandria Va.
“My go-to reward for buddies or household, if I don’t already know a area or varietal that they love, is all the time Champagne, ideally one that may do a little bit of getting older. Champagne might be excellent for any sort of occasion from vacation gatherings to a quiet dinner at residence. Enjoyable, ageable Champagne additionally permits the reward to be opened straight away or saved for a special day! I discover that you’re all the time a welcomed sight if you present up with Champagne someplace.” —Brady Brown, wine director, The Tusk Bar and BRASS, NYC
“My wine items for the yr are often Champagne Bollinger, an incredible producer.” —Steven Karataglidis, director of wine, Fairmont Royal York, Toronto
“The 2013 R. Lopez Heredia Vina Bosconia. The Heredia household, one of many oldest winemaking households in Rioja, has been crafting distinctive wines for 135 years. This explicit wine comes from their very own Bosconia winery, which enjoys a south-facing facet, permitting the grapes to ripen totally underneath the total affect of the solar. Whereas the minimal getting older requirement for a Reserva in Rioja is three years, with 12 months in oak, the Heredia household takes it a step additional, getting older this wine for a full 5 years earlier than launch. If you happen to had been to carry this heritage and stage of expertise to Bordeaux or Burgundy, you’d anticipate to pay two or thrice the worth. Full-bodied with notes of dried cranberry, cherry, and strawberry, complemented by oak, leather-based, and tobacco, this wine is a real stunner, because it embodies the craftsmanship and wealthy historical past of considered one of Rioja’s oldest winemaking households, providing a uncommon mixture of custom, complexity, and noteworthy worth that wine connoisseurs will really respect.” —Kisong Mun, sommelier, The Dearborn, Chicago
“Laurent-Perrier Champagne ‘Cuvée Rosé.’ The bottle shouldn’t be solely festive and chic, however this Champagne is made with 100% high- high quality Pinot Noir. Its hue reminds us of the heat and pleasure of the vacation season, making it an ideal selection for vacation celebrations.” —Andres Blanco, head sommelier, Le Jardinier at MFAH, Houston
