Ahhh, Christmas time. When you’re a kid it’s all about presents. When you’re a teenager it’s all about presents and no school. When you’re an adult, it’s all about no work and food.

Which is where we come in.

That’s right, we’re reviewing some Christmas wines for you at Wine Welfare. These two reds and two whites are sure to pair perfectly with whatever fattening grub you’re throwing on that table this year. So light a nice warm fire, cozy up next to that Christmas tree, and enjoy your family becoming slightly blurry as you polish off a bottle of one of these wines with your favorite uncle.

Neyers 2006 Zinfandel Pato Ranch – $17.98 at WineLibrary.com or available at most wine stores or BevMo!

The Holidays are not complete without a delicious California Zinfandel. Sure, you could go with a Primitivo (basically Zinfandel in Italy), but American Thanksgivings and Christmases tend to call for the big, juicy California fruit bomb that is Zinfandel.

Neyers is one of California’s best wineries, working out of Sage Canyon in the Napa Valley. They are consistently earning 90-point scores and astounding wine-lovers everywhere. Their Pato Ranch Zinfandel is no exception, with delicious tobacco and cherry flavors swirling around a foundation of moist, stinky soil. Sounds good, right? Trust us, this should be on your table with that turkey or prime rib, especially at this price.

Marquis Philips Sarah’s Blend – $11.99 at WineAnthology.com or at BevMo!

Never even heard of this one before we tasted it, but the Marquis Philips Sarah’s Blend is both delicious and available in most wine stores. Deep, dark opaque color, like ink-infused Welch’s grape juice. The grapes keep coming as well, in the form of Nerds candy flavors. This is an Australian Bordeaux blend: Shiraz, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Chocolate and plum jam come through like gangbusters, but the acid fights back to balance it all, leading to a cakey, long finish. Delicious with duck.

Big House White – $6.99 at WineLibrary.com or available pretty much everywhere!

Shockingly good for less than seven bucks. The Big House White is a rather odd blend of Malvasia Bianca, Muscat Canelli, Viognier and Rousanne. We’d never had any blend like it before, but this didn’t mess around. The funny thing is, you can taste elements of all of those varietals, but you taste more flavors of varietals that are not in the wine. Chenin Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay (big time, buttery and creamy) and the like. Big pina colada flavors and spiced apples. Serve this one only slightly chilled before the meal or with appetizers. Might not hold up to the likes of turkey, gravy and stuffing.

Fleur Des Pins Graves Sauternes – $12.98 at WineLibrary.com!

If you’ve never had a Sauternes, now is the time to try one. Holiday sweets go magnificently well with Sauternes, no matter if they’re cookies, cakes or candy. Sauternes makes everything better. We’ll go into more detail about Sauternes later on, but for right now, if you can’t find the Fleur Des Pins Graves, just pick up any one you can find. You may find it difficult to locate one under $20 (we did), but rest assured, even a $30 375ml bottle of this stuff will put a smile on your face. This is solid 50/50 Bar, with delicious lemon picking up as well. Very sweet, but with that smokey characteristic often found in botrytis wines (moldy grapes; again, more on this later). The result is you enjoying a magnificent flavor explosion and then passing out on the couch watching A Christmas Story. ‘Tis the season.

One last thing and, we didn’t really want to mention anything because we’re so embarrassed, but…well, this is post number 100 for us here at Wine Welfare. That’s all we’re going to say. Feel free to maybe, we don’t know, leave a comment, compliment or congratulate us. Whatever you like. Really. We don’t need validation or anything. But one last time, just to clarify:

100 POSTS!!! WOO HOOOO!!!!

So that’s it. We sincerely hope you check out at least one of these four bad boys, and slap some serious enjoyment onto that Christmas of yours.

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Happy Holidays and Cheers!

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Time to Let That Belt Out One More Notch

It’s the holidays. That time of year where we unconsciously say “Screw It” to all manner of diet and start washing down deliciously fattening foods with gallons of booze. What better time to learn about what wines go well with cookies? After all, cookies are enjoyed during the holidays more than any other time, as is vino. We’re going to give you 3 common cookies and suggest 3 wines that you can pair with them this holiday season. Oh, and if you aren’t having any of these types of cookies, it’s safe to say that our holiday will be better than yours.

Chocolate Chip Cookies and Port

The grand poo-bah of cookies works well with pretty much any dessert wine as well as some less-sweet wines. However this year we are going to suggest pairing your chocolate chip beauty with a vintage character port. Vintage character port is a style of port that is more sweet, fruity and ready to drink immediately than more traditional ruby or tawny ports. To learn more about what the hell port is, read this.

The Graham’s Six Grapes port is an amazing wine for the price. Deep, rich red fruit mixes with chocolate fudge, raspberry reduction and cream. Matches especially well with homemade chocolate chip cookies because most are made with semi-sweet chocolate chips and retain a bit of their saltiness, unlike their storebought counterparts.

Graham’s Six Grapes Port – $15.99 at WineLibrary.com!

Gingerbread Cookies and Gewurtztraminer

Nothing says “Holidays” more than making a beautiful, hand-crafted gingerbread house, and then tearing it to shreds, putting on five pounds in the process. We’re pairing a brilliant Gewurtztraminer with gingerbread cookies, thanks to the spicy, caramel-like nature of this varietal.

The Malivoire Gewurtztraminer explodes with ginger and citrus. The finish leaves a pleasing mineral taste on your tongue and the sugar stays with you long after you’ve mixed it with the gingerbread. Nearly impossible to find this wine anywhere, so take advantage at this price!

Malivoire Gewurtztraminer 2006 – $15.96 at WineLibrary.com!

Peanut Butter Blossoms and Tawny Port

This cookie is quickly growing in popularity and threatens to soon dethrone our beloved chocolate chip cookie as the go-to holiday cookie of choice. While we prefer a warm homemade chocolate chip cookie, we can’t fly in the face of the popular vote, so the peanut butter blossom must be recognized. We’re pairing this usurper with a delicious Tawny Port that is the stuff of legends.

The Warre’s 10 year Tawny Port Otima is a mind-blowing wine experience. This is toffee in a snifter (glass you’re SUPPOSED to drink port out of; requires a pinkie to be raised like a snob). Tawny port pairs surprisingly well with peanut flavors and chocolate. This wine is traditionally served with fruit, nuts, and a cheese called Stilton (more popular in the UK, kind of like a STRONG bleu cheese, delicious, smells like John Madden’s feet after calling a Thanksgiving Day NFL game), but it works well with the blossom. Delicious caramel and a slight spice.

Warre’s 10 Year Tawny Port Otima – $16.99 at WineLibrary

We hope some of these wines (and cookies, of course) find their way to your table this holiday season because you will not be disappointed. If you do try some of the pairings, or any pairing for that matter, let us know how it went in the comments section below.

Check out our other dessert wine reviews!

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Not Quite Cheap, Not Quite Expensive

Fetzer has always been a solid producer of bargain-priced wines. Their Gewurtztraminer is no exception and is a real crowd-pleaser at this price.

Color

Clarified maple syrup. Amber, apple juice.

Nose

Pretty tight nose with no explosions or overtly obvious scents. We detect the alcohol, of course, along with some faint white-flesh fruit like apple and pear.

Taste

Super, super sweet. Gewurtztraminers are supposed to be, but this one overdoes it. Most wine newbies prefer sweet whites, so this might be one for them, but for a more discerning palate, this is a pass. It’s sugar water with a bit of apricot, minerality and acid, but at the end of the day, it’s really just sweet sweet white wine. Buy it in bulk for a party wine.

With Food

Desserts. Not too good for much else. The acidity we expect out of this grape as well as Rieslings help out with spicy foods, but the acidity is absent here. Ice creams or citrus-flavored cakes would work best.

$6.79 at BevMo!

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Color

Pale straw with silver. Richer than Sauvignon Blanc, but still very light.

Nose

Stinky stinky stinky. For a California Gewurtztraminer, this has great depth, with apricot, pear, tart apple, and stinky manure.

Taste

Great white fruits. Good sweetness without overdoing it. The tart aspects of green apple come through strong. Apricot and pear still there, but rhubarb comes into play. In fact, rhubarb coated in sugar. Very pleasing, not to unctious, good acid, long long finish. Floral elements too; look for flower petals.

With Food

Good dessert wine. Cheeses (sharp would even work), dried fruits, cake and pie.

Query Gewurtztraminer 2007 – $8.99 at BevMo!

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Chateau Ste Michelle Riesling

You’ve all seen it, you’ve all tasted it, so here’s what you probably already know: It’s not pricey and it’s not bad.

So here we go: quick and easy.

Color

Pale, silver hay, not much injected in there. Looks refreshing.

Nose

Floral, citrus, peaches, blossoms, cold water, light sour manure stink.

Taste

Pleasing and full. Dances on the tongue with good acid. Fruit is forward enough, and no heat whatsoever. The peaches and citrus fade away to bring on some canteloupe, honeydew and a small hit of grass. Long, lip-smacking finish. Bit too sweet.

With Food

Does anyone drink this with food anymore? I mean, Chateau Ste Michelle is a fantastic producer, but this stuff is practically left on the doorsteps of people moving into new suburban homes. Anything that isn’t red or stinky would work, but let’s face it, you’re going to drink it no matter what.

$7.49 at BoozeBros.com

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Get Drunk Off of One Glass

First, some helpful information concerning port. Port wine was first made in Portugal (duh) and is fortified, thus making it ridiculously rich, sweet and rather high in alcohol. There are generally two types of Port sold: Tawny and Ruby. Tawny Port has a reddish-brown color, generally has a more caramel style flavor profile, and is not over-the-top sweet. Ruby Port, on the other hand, is a dark, rich red and usually packs more sweetness and alcohol. As such, Port should really be enjoyed with something that can combat that type of strength, or else it is better to just enjoy it alone. By “something,” we not only mean strong, rich foods, but we also mean things other than food: as in a delicious, dark cigar. That’s right, folks, even cigars can go with wine. What a wonderful world.

Bad News First: Not much. We at Wine Welfare love both kinds of Port, but when Kalyra says that this is in a “Tawny” style, boy do they mean it. Not for Ruby lovers.

Now The Good: Holy crap. This is something we have never tasted before: Australian-style Port made from a Muscat grape. Kalyra is run by Mike Brown, who chooses to make classic varietals with an Australian touch to them. Basically what that means for us poor, under-$20 slobs is: “Delicious.” This is no Ruby beast, but rather just a rich, smooth, delicious dessert wine with smells of coffee, chocolate and burnt sugar.

With Food: Like we said in the beginning, either alone or with foods that can step up. This means sharp fruits and extremely smelly cheese. We suggest Stilton, which you can find in most stores nowadays, particularly Trader Joe’s.

$16.00 direct from the Kalyra Winery

Visit the Kalyra Winery website

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Not to be indelicate, but fellas, this is the wine to give to a date. We could be somewhat narrow-minded and say that because it’s both bubbly and sweet, any American girl will love it, but we tend to think that any woman will absolutely love this wine and look for it from the moment you hand them the glass. From the Piedmonte region of Italy, this is a wonderful dessert wine that comes with accessories included; those accessories being bubbles. The Muscat grape (“Moscato” in this case) is known for its sweetness and 9 times out of 10 comes in the form of dessert wine. The “D’Asti” part essentially means “bubbles.” However, be warned, this is nowhere near champagne, but rather an absolutely delicious dessert/party/newcomer wine that will liven up any gathering, including New Year’s.

Bad News First: The only thing we could really find that counts as “bad” about this brand of Moscato D’Asti is that if you are looking for straight-up Moscato dessert wine, this is not it. While very sweet, and made from the Muscat grape, this wine is subtle….with bubbles. It’s not going to be syrupy. More understated than anything else.

Now The Good: Uhh…based on what we said to begin with ( that it will impress the ladies) we really don’t have to say more. But, seeing as how this is a wine suggestion site, we will break it down a bit more. Sweet champagne minus the dryness and acid pretty much says it all. Apples, peaches, pears, apricots. It all depends on how cold you serve it and how long it has been open. Savoring it will be hard, but know that having too much will have the same effect on you as too much champagne. “Perfume going in, poison coming out” as Tom Cruise said in Cocktail.

With Food: This is not really a food wine, but since we have suggest something, we will say basically any cheese or fruit. This is not for consumption with dinner by any means, and to have it with a dessert might be pushing the sugar limits a bit. Like we said above: Pop a bottle open on New Year’s and you won’t be disappointed.

$8.95 at NapaCabs.com

NOTE: This can also usually be found at most BevMo’s, and at a decent price (less than $12) so stock up if you can; it goes fast.

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