The Dozen – Wines to Pair With Holiday Dinners

Normally, most couples open a single bottle of wine with their evening meal, usually one chosen to go well with the main course.

But when entertaining for the holidays, you may need a sparkling wine for away-from-the-table appetizers, a white wine with one course and a red for the other, with perhaps a little Cognac after dessert.

This edition of The Dozen features several bottles that will help fulfill most needs when hosting dinner. Most, though not all, of them come from the West Coast.

(Cue the sounds of wine glasses clinking.)

2022 Oberon Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc ($20) – Price bargain! Bordeaux style, a little richer in fruit and buttery notes than most New Zealand Sauvignons – dry, but with honey flavors in the finish.

2021 Tornatore “Pietrarizzo” Bianco ($35) – Quite nice – full-bodied with fresh apple flavors and some light citrus, making it a flavorful and flexible food wine.

2021 Beringer Vineyards “Private Reserve” Napa Valley Chardonnay ($50) – Very good Chard in the Napa style – apple and buttery flavors with hints of lemon and quite floral.

2021 B. Wise Vineyards “Nobles Vineyard” Fort Ross-Seaview Chardonnay ($75) – Delicate, elegant, and silky but with good depth of flavors, mainy apples, with good acidity in the finish.

NV Paula Kornell California Brut Sparkling Wine ($20) – Creamy with good acidity, flavors of mellow apples, though a little low on acidity.

NV McBride Sisters “Black Magic Girl” California Brut Sparkling Wine ($24) – Sweet apple and Anjou pear flavors, mousse-like bubbles, full-bodied.

2020 Halter Ranch “Libelle” Paso Robles Picpoul Blanc Sparkling Wine ($86) – A lot of fizz, apple and red pear flavors, good minerally and, surprisingly, lively tannins.

2021 Oberon Napa Valley Merlot ($28) – Ripe black fruit and cherry flavors, fleshy texture, good tannins.

2021 Echolands “Blue Mountain Vineyard” Walla Walla Cabernet Franc ($37) – A bit more restrained than most Cab Francs, lean with cherry flavors.

2020 Etude “Grace Benoist Ranch” Carneros Pinot Noir ($40) – “Sweet” fruitiness with very creamy cherry and raspberry flavors and a touch of cola.

2019 B. Wise Vineyards Moon Mountain Syrah ($65) – Mix of black and red fruit flavors with some Rhone-style earthiness, but mostly similar to a Bordeaux blend.

2019 Moone-Tsai “Hillside Blend” Howell Mountain Red Wine ($170) – Lovely wine with murky cassis and blackberry flavors, rich in texture, good oak notes, tasty tannins.

Prices listed are generally SRP or from wine-searcher.com. As more wineries are now shipping direct-to-consumer, check the winery website if you can’t find a bottle in your retail store.