The festive season brings many occasions and get-togethers. Mark Henderson has a few suggestions on the liquids side.
Drinks and nibbles
Hard to go past sav blanc (especially alfresco). The bright, zestiness screams summer and goes well with a wealth of finger food.
Villa Maria Private Bin (about $12-$14) packs in the flavour, while the Rapaura Springs Reserve (about $15-$17) brings in more complexity. Saint Clair Wairau Reserve (about $40) steps into a more serious realm.
Barbecue get-togethers
The soggy, summer barbecues of my youth, shivering under a car-port, were mostly fuelled by beer. A robust red is far more the ticket.
Argentina produces a sea of malbec with its rich plum, spice and earthy notes; eminently slurpable. Gran Lomo or Trapiche (about $10-$12 on promo) cram a lot of flavour into a bottle.
For a serious barbecue you might look to an older Clos des Papes Chateauneuf du Pape (about $140) from the cellar. The '04 is just dandy.
Christmas dinner
Roast chook, Christmas turkey or glazed ham. Cover your bases with white and red here. Chardonnay is a no-brainer and the Church Road ($14 on promo) is hugely reliable.
If you are out to impress, Sacred Hill Riflemans (about $75) is a New Zealand classic. Southern French grenache blends or pinot noir also work well with the above flavours.
Try Guigal Cotes du Rhone ($20 on promo) or Akarua Rua Pinot Noir ($23 on promo), or if out to impress Mt Difficulty Target Gully Pinot Noir (about $95)
New Year's drinks
Traditionally a time of celebration and what is more celebratory than bubbles? Many will opt for Lindauer as it is readily available everywhere.
For a change try Freixenet Cava (about $11-$13) from Spain. Serious has to be Champagne and Dom Perignon (may be as low as $200-$220 on promo) really makes a statement.
Here are three wines that could make a tasty Christmas present.
Price: $38
Rating: Excellent to outstanding
Fragrant nose with rhubarb, wild herbs oak nuances and a backdrop of cherry. The palate continues the theme adding spices and a long, appealingly dry finish.
With aeration the oak subsumes, the fruit builds in intensity, adding tilled earth and black tea, while managing to dance over the palate with a crisply fresh, lightness of touch.
Price: $99
Rating: Outstanding
Rather than shout from the rooftops, this is an exercise in seamlessness. The attractive nose adds a slightly wild note (hinting earthy/savoury) to the ripe cherry. Silky on the palate, adding red fruits, wild thyme and licorice with wonderful energy and drive.
Deceptive power, sumptuous yet beautifully balanced. Long and memorable.
Price: $42
Rating: Excellent
The nose of fruit pastilles/liqueur fruits leaps out of the glass. Initially a youthful brashness with powerful fruit, chewy tannins and freshening acidity; this fleshes out delightfully with aeration, the powerful dark cherry and tea leaf accented fruit shedding its youthful demeanour, becoming very appealing with a gorgeously long finish.
