It’s that time of year we’re talking Holiday wines festive cocktails wine for Gifts Christmas dinner Wines and More I reached out to our Vino VIP members And asked what questions they had about Holiday wines and they had a ton of Great ones holiday wine cocktails gift Wines at all different price points gift Wine for different types of people and Christmas dinner wines happy to say We’re going to answer all of this in This video before we get started spread The love this holiday season and give me A quick like and a subscribe if you Haven’t already and let’s get to it Before we get into the nitty-gritty we Can’t do it without sipping on a Cocktail right here’s my checklist for Holiday cocktails they should be easy to Produce in bulk that means no shaking Muddling or straining they should look Pretty and they should be easy to make No tough measurements or hard to find Ingredients this cocktail checks all Those boxes it’s essentially a instant Holiday sangria and there’s only three Ingredients you need Saint Germain or Another elderflower liqueur you need red Or white wine I suggest a light white Like a Pinot Grigio or medium bodied Fruity red like an entry-level Tempranillo and a sparkling wine ideally Prosecco and that’s it combine one part St Germain
Two parts wine and two parts per Seiko Mix them in a pitcher and pour them over Large Ice Cube if you haven’t and then Garnish and this is where you can get Creative you can even put out a little Decoration bar for your guests cinnamon Sugar rims cranberries apples oranges Rosemary and cinnamon sticks or put the Drink in a big punch bowl and then put Your garnishes in there this cocktail Gets its body from the wine the sugar And the floral notes from the Saint Germain and the texture acid and Spritz From the bubbles Delicious all right now that we’ve got Our cocktail out of the way let’s talk Holiday gift ideas I’m going to try and Give you a whole bunch of ideas at Different prices for different Categories of people my first advice is That when buying these gifts I’d highly Recommend you buy them at a wine shop Not a grocery store and if you want to Know why check out our how to buy wine Video And while I’m going to give specific Recommendations today you can also just Take the categories of wine I recommend And chat with someone at your local wine Shop to find something similar and by The way all the wines I recommend today I’ll put in the description our first Gift is for your office colleagues or Employees something where you need to
Get a lot of gifts for many different People and palettes for under 20 a pop a Simple crowd-pleasing wine that won’t Offend anyone for this I like champagne Methods sparkling wines everyone will Find an excuse to open a sparkling wine Sometime over the holidays whether it’s When they have friends over or for New Year’s or for cocktails if they know Nothing about wine they’ll appreciate Having it around for the right occasion And if they do know something about wine Well then they’ll appreciate that it’s Champagne method or traditional method While you can’t get true champagne from France at this price point there are Some great Alternatives that are fairly Easy to find at around 20 dollars Piper Sonoma brute which is from Sonoma County Ruet Brut from New Mexico Graham Beck Brute cap classique from South Africa or Any cremont from Loire burgundy or Alsace would also be great our next gift Is a classic it’s your boss or a High-profile client or maybe a rich In-law anyone where you kind of want Them to know how much you spent on them In my head this person likes wine but Isn’t an expert and probably likes Classic producers this is where I tend To go with your blue chip wines on the Beaten path big names Napper Cabernet Like shaffer’s 1.5 Cabernet Sauvignon or Silver oak or Opus One super tuscans
From Tuscany like sasakaya or antonori Tignanello or champagne names they know Like yellow label or Dom Perignon what About the person who you know nothing About but you need to get a wine gift Your landlord accountant yoga instructor There’s a great wine out of Santa Barbara by Stoltman Vineyards called Love you bunches that is San Diego made With Carbonic maceration which is a Method that produces bubble gum-esque Fun lines this wine is fruity fresh While still having complexity it can be Served slightly chilled and will please Both non-windows and more experienced Wine drinkers alike let’s talk about a Gift for you you know what would be a Great way to treat yourself a vino VIP Membership Vino VIPs are members only Club that gets you early access to all Our videos including YouTube videos and Full episodes members only content Raffles and giveaways and more plus our Show is independently produced and your Membership helps support us so if the Show had in the videos have brought you Any value please consider supporting and Joining Vino VIP membership starts at Just five dollars a month and the first Month is free so sign up today What about your hipster friends the ones Who are into skin contact or Nanny wines There’s a natural wine producer out of Berkeley California called donkey and
Goat this is one of my favorite Producers of all time forget the fact That they’re natural wines I’d recommend Anything they make but their Chardonnay Pet Nat and their Grenache are favorites I’d also recommend looking into Slovenian or Northern Italy skin contact Wines or orange wines most natural wines Aren’t nationally distributed so your Best bet is to head to a wine shop that Specializes in this sort of thing and Chat with them about their offerings How about your friend or family member Who actually knows wine maybe they Collect work in a restaurant or see Themselves as a foodie this is where Things get fun for me my first Recommendation is domain Hue their Claudible Vineyard either their SEC or Demisec this shenan Blanc from vouvray In the Loire Valley is one of the best Producers to ever exist when it comes to This wine and your wino friend will Appreciate it huay Farms biodynamically If that’s important to you but the wine Is so good that they don’t even really Advertise that fact because they don’t Have to their reputation speaks for Itself if you want to buy this wine and Lay it down and age it it’ll age Beautifully it’s a great food pairing Line with its acidity slight residual Sugar and Bruce fruit character and it’s Truly just one of my favorites of all
Time for a price point that I think is Really reasonable Another wine that I love for wine lovers Is La Rioja altas Vina ardanza Reserva Again a classic producer this one is From Rioja capable of laying down or Being consumed right away think cherry Coconut and Spice I also love Ojai Vineyard Santa Barbara Syrah that’s an incredible blend of New World fruit and Northern Rhone pepper And spice and for richer Reds they’ll Appreciate a South American wine that They know has more value than most Places in the world Dom melchor is a near 100 Point Bordeaux Blend that while expensive is way less Money than the same quality level from Other places all right with our gift Giving out of the way it’s time for Christmas dinner or Hanukkah dinner or Whatever you celebrate the point is There’s going to be food on the table And you need some wine to go with it I’m Not going to worry so much about pairing This meal since I don’t know what your Traditions are and what you’re eating so I’ll simply recommend some wines that I Think are solid picks no matter what you Have on the table But if you do want to know about pairing Check out our how to pair wine video Series which I will put in the Description levels are key for any
Holiday meal so I’d recommend a good Prosecco like be so J.O Prosecco Superior for something fruity and fresh Or a great vintage kava like cabbage Rozier gulart Grand Reserva that’s more Complex but won’t break the bank For whites crowd Pleasers like Chardonnay are always great and I’d Recommend matthiasin’s Linda Vista Vineyard Chardonnay for a lean style of Napa Shard that pairs with a lot but why Not leave California Australia makes Some incredible chardonnays from their Margaret River Region like vas Felix Which is a great blend of lean salinity Meets fleshy fruit character and slide Amount of Oak And finally for your red wine when you Talk to Italians about their special Occasion wines many will say barolo and Pio cesare makes an amazing barolo which Is the nebiolo grape that’s elegant yet Powerful cherries tar violets and Tobacco By the way to learn all about Pio cesare And Piedmont make sure to check out our Full Piedmont episode New Zealand is making some killer Pinot Noirs right now for 20 to 40 dollars and Love block Pinot is one of my favorites And it pairs with a ton because it’s got A bunch of fresh juicy acidity and if You’re looking for some juicy Rich California wines Dry Creek Vineyards
Makes an Old Vine Zinfandel that’s Delicious and turnbulls Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is a great value for True Napa fruit and a classic expression Of the wine Rich powerful with dark Chocolate Cedar and dark fruits Finally someone asked about Christmas Cookies grab yourself siraco Moscato and Asti for a light peachy slightly fizzy Slightly sleet wine for any sugar or Fruit cookies and bright For a beautiful fizzy strawberry Slightly sweet red for any Berry or Chocolate desserts And there was a lot of wine I hope you At least treat yourself and get some Wines just for you as well let me know Your favorite holiday Wines in the Comments don’t forget to subscribe and Please consider making my Christmas by Joining Vino VIP thanks again Until next wine
