Wine Experts Share Their Favorite Bottles for Holiday GatheringsPlus their favorite pairings for each.South African wine is really having a moment, and Battenhouse says this vibrant Chardonnay is the perfect wine with which to celebrate the holidays. She says there are plenty of jolts of acidity to pair well with all your comfort-food favorites, thanks to notes of Meyer lemon, tree fruits, and saline. Aromatics of bergamot, white truffle, and vanilla bean make this bottle a far cry from the typical buttery, oaky Chardonnay and something that those who don't prefer the varietal to reach for a second glass.Recommended food pairing: Shellfish, lobster, and a traditional Thanksgiving spread.

Wine Experts Share Their Favorite Bottles for Holiday GatheringsPlus their favorite pairings for each.Mollie Battenhouse, a Brooklyn-based sommelier and Jackson Family Wines's national director of wine education, says this vino is a "new pinot-lover's paradise." This wine is woodsy and subdued yet fruity with high acidity while being light in body and tannins. Battenhouse says this is an excellent option for holiday dinners, as it's versatile for whatever main dish you're serving, be it meat, fish, or vegetarian.Recommended food pairing: Fatty fish, spicy flavors, winter squash, and mushrooms.

Another fine choice from the same estate: Tenuta di Arceno 2015 Arcanum. Based on Cabernet Franc, the true signature of the estate, this remarkable wine is built to age yet is drinkable young, offering aromas of violets, roses and raspberries, with long and delicate spice notes; it is a wine that is seductive yet subtle. Arcanum is sourced primarily from the L’Apparita and Belvedere blocks of Cabernet Franc. With superb exposure and sandy clay soils, each year these blocks shine to produce the finest expression of the variety, and the leading wine of the estate. It is perfect for gifting as it pairs with a wide range of food, from Thanksgiving leftovers to grandma’s Italian beef stew. It also pairs well with any Parmigiano or Pecorino cheese dishes.

For pairing or gifting during the holiday season: Tenuta di Arceno Valadorna Toscana 2015. This Merlot-led blend is sourced primarily from the Valadorna and Capraia blocks, which produce the estate’s most complex and mineral-based expressions of this variety. The wine exhibits high-toned aromas of ripe black cherries, vanilla bean, and cedar. With bright acidity, the wine expands quickly on the palate. Plush tannins carry through the center with a fine, tingling finish. The palate shows flavors of tart cherry pie, dried red berries, and black licorice, with a long finish of white pepper, dusty roses, and stony minerality. Pair this with a beautiful charcuterie platter featuring all Italian meats and cheeses, for the perfect hors d’oeuvre at your next holiday gathering.

A classic Chianti is a popular red wine that has been made from grapes grown in a specific area and given a little extra oak barrel aging. Riserva indicates the wine was held in the bottle for more aging to allow for the melding with all of its components before being released to the public. This wine, a blend of the traditional sangiovese and 10% cabernet sauvignon, is bold and has spent almost a year in oak to allow for the perfect marriage of all the elements and to ensure an elegant smoothness. The aroma stresses violets, raspberries and cranberries, with oak and vanilla quietly lying in the background. As with all premium Chianti wines, this product has a long, smooth and elegant finish. This is a grand and regal wine that will prove what Chianti is capable of and also what made it famous.

Both big and complex – dark but not overly extracted fruit with a welcome finish of well-integrated oak.

Another big version, but the great brambly mountain fruit and acidity give it some nice balance.

Masters of Merlot - Mt. Brave Merlot 2016

Masters of Merlot - La Jota Merlot 2017

Here’s what is most special about Merlot. The care, thought, work and inspiration that these growers and winemakers put into this variety.Recommended.

Here’s what is most special about Merlot. The care, thought, work and inspiration that these growers and winemakers put into this variety.Recommended.

Here’s what is most special about Merlot. The care, thought, work and inspiration that these growers and winemakers put into this variety.Recommended.

Here’s what is most special about Merlot. The care, thought, work and inspiration that these growers and winemakers put into this variety.Recommended.

The Merlot MomentumAs this is a global event, I added a 2016 Les Cadrans de Lassègue, Saint-Émilion, Grand Cru in the tasting lineup, an earthy wine yet redolent with cranberries notes and fresh acidity.

The Merlot MomentumAmong the other 2016 and 2017 current releases we sampled were the opulent La Jota Vineyard and the muscle-flexing Mt. Brave.

The Merlot MomentumAmong the other 2016 and 2017 current releases we sampled were the opulent La Jota Vineyard and the muscle-flexing Mt. Brave.

15 Best Thanksgiving Wines to Enjoy During Your FeastPinot Noir, like this Hartford Court Russian River Pinot Noir, is a classic pairing for Thanksgiving, Tesconi says. Its delicate red fruit flavors make it a nice compliment to turkey, and it’s great with a sausage stuffing or bacon Brussels sprouts.

Laura Díaz Muñoz was winemaker for the splendid Galerie pleinair Cabernet Sauvignon 2016, Napa Valley. She moved on to Ehlers Estate in July 2018; her replacement at Galerie is Gianna Kelly. Deriving from six vineyards that encompass a variety of Napa Valley soils and microclimates, the wine is 100 percent varietal and aged 19 months in French oak, 72 percent new barrels. The abyss of color is opaque black-ruby with a vivid mulberry-hued rim; penetrating aromas of graphite, loam, dust, smoke and charcoal presage a cabernet of immense mineral intensity; a few minutes in the glass unfurl notes of black currants and blueberries, iodine and mint, lavender and licorice; on the palate, this cabernet somehow feels ripe and vibrant, lyrical and balletic while simultaneously evincing a kind of chiseled concentration of vanilla-tinged oak and granitic minerality; acid is bright and incisive though the finish is dense and brooding. 14.5 percent alcohol. Try from 2021 or ’22 through 2029 to ’32. Profoundly impressive.

La Crema Pinot Noir Rosé Monterey 2019 is vibrant, versatile tasty. Strawberry, watermelon, Mandarin orange and other goodies on the palate make for a light, tasty treat. On one level, this is backyard party wine; enjoy on patio, poolside, dock, backyard, picnic. I am reviewing this in October, so for many those lazy days of summer are past. This still has a place. Rosé is a versatile wine. You easily can enjoy this as an aperitif or just fun wine in front of a blazing fireplace. Pairs with fruit trays; lighter fish, but would work with salmon; pork; Cobb salad; feta, spinach, mint and quinoa tartelettes; charcuterie; garden salads with grapefruit wedges; soft cheese.

Wines for ThanksgivingThis wine from Willamette Valley in Oregon shows a jammy bouquet and fresh taste of blackberries and cranberries with hints of chocolate, bolder than many Oregon Pinots but more typical for one from California. But with its light body and soft, dry finish it drinks more like a French Burgundy than anything from California and mates particularly well with starchy fare like sweet potatoes and mushroom laced stuffing, bringing out their earthy nuances.

The best bottles for wine lovers this yearLa Crema: A representation of La Crema’s four decades along the Pacific coast in Northern California’s Sonoma County, the special edition 2018 40th Anniversary Pinot Noir was made as a tribute to both Burgundian winemaking practices and cool climate appellations. Aged in French oak barrels for 10 months, this 100% Pinot Noir wine offers aromas of rose, cedar, and raspberry with flavors of plum, black cherry, and cocoa.

5 Grappoli

Distinctive, rather meaty nose. A wine with ambition and intention. It is certainly built with structure for the long term. The acidity is quite prominent. And there's an attractive salinity. Very pure fruit flavours. A hint of rose petals. And very long. I read that JFW have reduced the weight of their bottles but this one still seems pretty heavy to me. Though screwcap is presumably pretty brave for an American-owned brand.

The Best Red Wine Under $50This Tuscan blend from Tenuta di Arceno is comprised of merlot, cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, and petit verdot from different blocks on the estate. Bold cherry and vanilla on the nose begin your tasting journey, followed by wild berries, white pepper, and even a bit of cotton candy on the palate.

The Best Red Wine Under $50Château Lassègue is an estate that dates back to the 18th century in the Saint-Émilion AOC of Bordeaux. Les Cadrans de Lassègue is predominantly comprised of merlot with a small percentage of cabernet franc. The flavor develops as you drink with notes of flowers, ripe cherry, dark berries, and a bit of tannin and oak.