Christmas tree decorated? Check. Shopping done? Check (for some of us, it’s not a check). Now it’s time to plan your wines for your Christmas and New Years celebrations! The wineries of Wenatchee Wine Country have a variety of award-winning wines to complement the special dishes we make for holiday entertaining.
Many of us serve roast beef or prime rib for holiday dinners. The best wines to pair with this include are full-bodied red wines like Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc,
Carmenere, Merlot Blends and Cab Sauv blends. 37 Cellars, Horan Estates, and Ryan Patrick Vineyards have lovely Cab Sauvs for you to enjoy. Chateau Faire le Pont has a
fabulous Carmenere, and their Tre Amore and Provence are great with beef. Malaga Springs, Esther Bricques Winery and 37 Cellars make amazing Cabernet Francs.
Baroness Cellars, Bella Terrazza Vineyards, and Stemilt Creek Winery have great red blends and merlots that pair nicely with beef entrees, too.
Are you serving ham? Rose’ wines, Grenache and Cotes du Rhone Blends (Grenache, Syrah and Mouvedre) are excellent pairings to offset the saltiness of ham. Crayelle Cellars’ Bishops Block is such a blend. Malaga Springs, Voila Vineyards and Beaumont Cellars have wonderful Rose’s. Baroness Cellars also has a Grenache blend that would pair nicely with ham.
Is Turkey your choice of entree? Pinot Noir, Zinfandel and a lighter style Syrah pair nicely with turkey. White Heron Cellars, Chateau Faire le Pont Winery, and Esther Bricques Winery have wonderful Pinot Noirs to enjoy. Martin-Scott Winery, Malaga
Springs and Beaumont Cellars have great Zinfandels for pairing with turkey as well. Martin-Scott Winery, Horan Estates, Crayelle Cellars, Chateau Faire le Pont and Horan
Estates all have fabulous Syrahs.
It’s always a good idea to have white wines for guests that prefer white wines. Viognier, Chardonnay, Riesling and Pinot Gris are excellent choices. Stemilt Creek has a lovely
Riesling blend called Sweet Adelaide. Horan Estates, Martin-Scott, and Chateau Faire le Pont Winery have excellent Viogniers. White Heron, Bella Terrazza, and Beaumont
Cellars have beautiful Chardonnays. Martin-Scott, Malaga Springs Winery have lovely Pinot Gris. Another excellent choice are the hard ciders from the Snowdrift Cider Co.
Whatever is in your glass this holiday season, the vintners of Wentachee Wine Country hope that your holidays are peaceful and filled with joy. We wish you a safe and happy New Year too! Cheers!
Jan Lutz - Wenatchee Wine Country