I still get a little ’shelf shock’ when I walk into a wine store filled wall to wall with shiny bottles of wine.  As I maneuver through the aisles like a kid in a candy store I tend to gravitate towards the wines that are familiar to me, but the best wines are always the ones recommended.  In addition to reading reviews by other wine writers, I like to make friends with local wine shops, wineries, and fellow wine lovers; They always have some great suggestions so I asked them if they would help me make a list of 12 Bottles (plus one more to make it a baker’s dozen) that are sure to please your palate as you deck the halls with reds and whites.

Bottle #1: A wine to encourage the Christmas spirit

A fantastic seasonal wine sipping situation can be enjoyed during the hanging of the outdoor Christmas lights. Choose a bold red wine with loads of ripe fruit and at least 14% alcohol to keep your blood from freezing; I like the Sabor Real Tempranillo from Spain for $17. Drinking from a nondescript opaque plastic cup is essential to keep the neighbours from judging you. I also recommend a robust crunchy snack that can be eaten with stiff and possibly dirty fingers; try Stacy’s parmesan garlic & herb pita chips. Yes it will take longer to hang the lights, but you’ll feel warmer and less inclined to utter expletives.
Rose Siemens – Manager & Wine Guide Whatcom Wine & Spirits and Grape Squeeze blog

Bottle #2: A tree trimming party wine

Our choice for a Tree Trimming Wine would be Road 13 Vineyards Pinot Noir ($22.99).  It is a light bodied wine with a silky texture.  Earthy, savoury and fruity, perfect for appies and festive activities.  Think filo wrapped brie with a little cranberries and orange zest.  Mini tarts filled with fig and goat cheese, aged gouda cheese on pecan crisps.  These are quick and easy appies to make or similar items could be purchased.  The wine is available direct from the winery, VQA and private outlets in the lower mainland and Alberta.
Korrine Bremmer – Road 13 Vineyards

Bottle #3: A wine for the construction of a fruitcake

Lucien Albrecht Cremant d’Alsace Brut Rose, NV is a Pinot Noir bubbly that is a super deal, around $25 and available at private wine shops, sometimes at BCLDB stores. It’s pretty pink colour will enhance the bright, glistening pile of candied cherries and fruits you must chop for fruitcake, and the bubbles will mirror all your twinkly lights. Dry, with red fruits and a bit of baked brioche and toasted almond on the palate, it?ll match well with the dough you sneak out of the bowl – yes, even fruitcake dough with its fruit, nut and vanilla essences.
Allison Markin – All She Wrote Consulting

Bottle #4: A wine to impress the whole family (even the tough to please!)

Marc Tempe Alliance 2003 is a naturally farmed blend of Pinot Blanc, Riesling and Sylvaner. Complexity from the bottle age is sure to impress your sommelier friends while the goldilocks acidity will keep your ‘patio wine’ swilling family at bay as well. You shouldn’t have any trouble pairing it with the turkey but I suggest sticking a glass in everyone’s hand as they come through the door. ($26 from private wine retailers)
Jeff Bashford – Farmstead Wines

Bottle #5: A wine to go with your Turducken

2007 Le Clos Jordanne Pinot Noir Village Reserve, V.Q.A., Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, Canada: Bursting with gorgeous vanilla-infused cherries and plums in a liquid package of pleasure. The price is as low as you get for this quality so why not enjoy yourself and loosen up (your purse strings). Layered, medium-bodied, complex and lovely. A long finish. We should be proud as Canadians because this rising tide lifts all the boats. This wine would be perfect for Christmas dinner, whether you’re having turkey, goose, roast chicken or lamb. $25.00  Score: 91/100.
Natalie MacLean – Editor of Google’s top-rated site for wine and food at www.nataliemaclean.com

Bottle #6: A Cawston, BC Christmas dinner Wine

It would be hard to believe that the hard working folks at Cawston, B.C’s Orofino Vineyards didn’t have Christmas dinner in mind when they crafted their Orofino 2007 Pinot Noir. Full bodied and smooth, this wine exhibits an excellent combination of new and old world sensibilities. Hints of cherry and strawberry will dance on your tongue as you tuck into your turkey and dressing. Perfect wine for pairing with poultry, but it’s spicy nose will agree very well with more earthy foods as well. Other than friends and family, this wine is the best possible addition to your holiday dinner table.
Christopher Reid – Manager of Broadway International Wine Shop

Bottle #7: A wine for the ‘Q (and a recipe too!)

Blow the snow off your BBQ and fire up a couple of thick strip loins. Invest in some good ones with the money you save on this killer value of a wine (Almansa Reverva-Piqueras Castillo de Almansa 2003). Dress them simply with a sprinkle of Montreal Steak Spice. I like to drizzle some wine on them first just to make the spice stick to it. And besides, it’s cold out there, so a drizzle or two for the cook is permitted. I recommend the wine for dressing the steak, the cook and–should there be any left when the steaks come off–the dining table, is a voluptuous, full bodied blend of Monastrell, Tempranillo and Garnacha. It has a surprising personality and finish for a mere $12.99 at a BC Liquor Store and a complexity worthy of a wine of twice the price. You will pick out generous notes of red fruit—cherries and plums in particular—with a dash of vanilla, herby spices and a hint of black pepper..
Three or four minutes to a side will preserve a core of moon-howling rareness that a beef loving wine like this calls for. Meanwhile, have your sous-chef sautee some thickly cut mushrooms in butter and pepper. Dash the pepper in the melted butter for a while before tossing in the mushrooms in order to extract the lustful pepperiness that the wine and the steak call for.
A roasted red bell pepper dressed with olive oil and oregano that has sizzled alongside the steak morsels will be a tasty accompaniment.
Bruce Gurney – The WineBeard (My Daddy)

Bottle #8: A home for the holidays wine

I was very excited when I first tried Hillside Estate Old Vines Gamay Noir 2007 last year at the annual Naramata Bench tasting in Vancouver last year. Gamay is a grape that tends to get sidelined in favour of the more glamorous Pinot Noir but in fact it can produce equally delicious wine. This version from Hillside Estate suffers from not one of those negatives, being both light & elegant yet concentrated in flavour and extremely well balanced. Hillside’s new winemaker, Kathy Malone, shows a delicate hand and coaxes bright berry fruits, mineral & earth flavours from the fruit supported by a vibrant acidity and subtle, refined oak. This wine really does set the bar for Gamay in the Okanagan and I can only hope others will want to emulate the style.  It will pair perfectly with the traditional Turkey dinner being a light enough red to not over-power the Turkey yet with enough fruit and acidity to stand up well to the cranberry sauce. Its underlying earthy qualities should play nicely with the supporting flavours of the brussel sprouts, sausage meat and stuffing and the tannins are soft enough not to clash too much with any sweeter sides like butternut squash. ($24.99 at selected private wine stores)
Mark Shipway – Wine Instructor & Department Head The International Culinary School
at The Art Institute of Vancouver

Bottle #9: A party wine

Going to an informal social or potluck where you add your contribution to the kitchen counter? Cantina Tollo Sangiovese in a one litre bottle is a great value contribution that is pretty tasty as well. Sangiovese is the grape used to make Chianti so it goes with most Italian foods like pizza and pasta.  Cantina Tollo also do three others in the same series – Rosso and two whites – Trebbiano and Pinot Grigio.  These wines are also great if you are hosting a larger event over the Season. Super-affordable at $12 in most private wine stores (not in LDB) so its easy to be generous – take two!
Paul Rickett – Purveyor of great wines at Bowen Island Cold Beer and Wine and blog

Bottle #10: A Wine to transport you to warmer places

Take a mid-Christmas-season break from the short bread, cheese balls, and egg nog. Instead, load your plate with chicken souvlaki, kalamari, Greek salad (with lots of feta cheese, of course) and tsatsiki. Pair the works up with a glass of 2008 Boutari Moschofilero (less than $20 in B.C. liquor stores) from Greece. It’s crisp and citrusy and just plain yummy. You won’t be sorry!
Kathleen Rake – Click Media Works / Between the Vines wine blog

Bottle #11: A wine that’s worth the splurge

LaStella Winery: 2006 “Maestoso” Merlot is for splurging. An extremely sinfully, ridiculously low yields of 1 ton per acre. Like the best merlots from around the world: planted in heavy clay based soils. Collectible item: less than 214 cases produced, very sought after and hard to find. $85.00 a bottle and paired with the most expensive cut of meat possible…
Mika Muzychka – Enotecca Winery & Resorts Inc. / La Stella Winery

Bottle #12: An un-wine-ding from the holidays wine

Inniskillin Vidal Commemorative Edition Icewine is the perfect ending for your holiday celebrations: soaked into holiday figgy pudding, paired with hard cheeses or simply on its own! A luscious nectar pressed from naturally frozen grapes on a cold winter night, it’s only fitting to share this treat huddled inside on snowy nights. Celebrating the spirit of the Vancouver 2010, a portion of each bottle supports our Canadian Olympic team. Available at BCLDB stores for $59.95, in Alberta at a suggested retail price of $59.99, in Ontario at LCBO stores for $59.95, and in Quebec for $65.05. For more information, please visit www.inniskillin.com.
Kate Crothers – Coletta and Associates

Bonus Bottle: A Boxing Day treat while you rest your feet

It’s on sale! Normally $840 for a case of 12, Kelowna’s Rollingdale Winery has its lovely, certified organic, Sweet Tooth Series Pinot Noir Icewine on sale for $300 a case, or $180 for six bottles. Order online, then when you’re done with bargain shopping and battling crowds for your half-price calendars and the leather boots you’ve been eyeing, drop the bags in the hall and break out a bottle. Apricot jam on the nose, strawberry and cream on the palate, it’s darn yummy. (Rollingdale Pinot Noir Icewine)
Allison Markin – All She Wrote Consulting

I hope you find a few wines to suit your holiday festivities from this yummy list– I know that I have!  I would like to thank all of these wine-friends for adding some direction with their juicy wisdom.  Have yourself a very merry Christmas and I toast to you a glass of holiday cheer.

Are you stumped over what to get that hard-to-shop-for wine lover on your Christmas list?  If you think that all they want is a bottle of wine (I’m not going to lie here– they DO) you’re probably wondering if they are dreaming of a red or white Christmas.  A bottle of wine doesn’t have to be the only gift that a oenophile will appreciate; still buy them a bottle of wine and here are some wine-y gifts and tips that I came across that are sure to please.

The Corkscrew

Don’t be fooled.  Chances are that Rosé Rosey didn’t develop her appreciation for the vintage while uncorking bottles with her teeth.  If she is like me, she is likely a curator of an extensive corkscrew collection: winged ones, battery operated ones, fancy screw pulls, roundlets, and a variety of novelty corkscrews that look like (and are as useful as) pez dispensers.  Unless she is a self professed corkscrew collector, she probably doesn’t need all of these.  BUT if you must… my favourite is the sommelier’s knife and I don’t think a wine lover could have too many of them: one for the kitchen drawer, one for the purse, one for camping, one in the bedroom (romantic moments should never be interrupted by running to the kitchen for a corkscrew), one for the office….

The Bottle Stopper

What’s that?

The Outdoorsy Romantic Gift

Question: Where is the best place to enjoy wine?  Answer: Anywhere.  Joe Merlot has this figured out.  He is not confined to the gas fireplace or the candle lit dinner; he dreams of sitting on the edge of a cliff with a glass of Chateauneuf.  Roughing it shouldn’t be drinking wine out of a tin cup, if he doesn’t have one already he needs an unbreakable wine glass.  I came across this great karafe so that he can bring the nicest wine to enjoy on his mountain peak, and this wine picnic backpack to carry a whole romantic meal.

The Thinking Wine Drinker

When not drinking wine, Petit Sara is usually found reading or watching movies about wine with a glass of well, you know.  My all-time favourite book is Red, White and Drunk All Over written by my wine crush, Natalie MacLean and I have no doubt that Sara will feel the same.  A new read that I can’t wait to get my hands on is a ‘vinthology’ of wine making exploits by one of my winemaker heroes, Randall Grahm Been Doon So Long. (I just realized that this post is beginning to read like a love letter…)

Moving on to the motion pictures:

• Sideways (and include a bottle of Pinot Noir or a Merlot to be sassy)
• Bottle Shock (A story about the how a California wine took the world by storm)
• A Walk in the Clouds (A personal sappy favourite and I think Keanu runs in it)

The Techie

Gamay Ray can usually be found pounding the keys with a glass of sherry by his side.  He is googling the latest gadget or the latest award winning vintage so what better gift than a wine USB drive?  I’ve seen these at some specialty wine stores like Liberty or Everything Wine or you can also order these nifty stocking stuffers online.  It comes with a software for Ray to use to keep track of his cellar and to look up countless bottles of wine.  Goodies like wine ring tones (not sure what those would sound like: a cork popping?  bottle breaking?), wallpaper, and links to wine clubs and organizations will keep him busy for hours.

I hope this little list sparks some ideas as you make your way to the malls or computer or wherever you do you shopping these days.  Feel free to comment with more ideas or tips to share.  Above all, be sure to include a bottle or two of something to share (responsibly) together over the holidays.  Come back soon as I am working on a Christmas wine list that you won’t want to miss!