10 BEST WINES TO COMPLEMENT WINTER DISHES
Food and Wine
- Catherine Fallis
- Sun Jan 19
Chefs look to the season for inspiration as do sommeliers. Traditionally, in winter, menus tend towards heartier dishes and the wines follow suit. If this is your style, or if you just happen to be looking for some interesting, smaller production selections, here are our top ten picks for winter wines from Planet Grape Wine Review.
White Winter Wines
Silky, fresh, spicy and dry white blend with notes of tangerine, honeydew, honeysuckle and nutmeg.
Smooth, dry, light and lean with notes of mandarin, apple tart, and buttered biscuit.
2017 Roar Chardonnay Santa Lucia Highlands, California, $35
Soft, plush, silky and dry with notes of lemon curd, grilled pineapple, vanilla, toast and butterscotch.
Red Winter Wines
2014 Tenuta Regaleali Rosso del Conte Contea di Sclafani Sicilia Italy, $78
Lusciously fruity, chewy, lemony fresh and dry with notes of black cherry, black plum, fennel seed, truffle, carob, vanilla and cedar. Vegan.
2016 Chateau Malescasse Haut Medoc Cru Bourgeois Bordeaux, France, $22
Full and supple Merlot-based blend with notes of plum, cassis, blueberry, cedar and tobacco.
2015 McIntyre Merlot Kimberly Vineyard Arroyo Seco Monterey, California, $25
Full, supple, tart and dry with a fine chewiness and notes of mulberry, blueberry, cassis, sage leaf, fennel seed, vanilla, cedar and nutmeg. SIP Certified Sustainable.
2017 Merisi Petite Sirah Diener Vineyard Lake County, California, $60
Full, spicy, ripe and gripping with notes of cherry, blueberry, blackberry, bacon, sage leaf, cinnamon and chocolate. Not your typical Petite Sirah.
Rich, ripe and plush then chewy with notes of cherry, cassis, black olive, brown mushroom and cedar.
2016 Sleeping Giant Cabernet Sauvignon Inglewood, Napa Valley, California, $90
Powerful, bold, ripe and dry with youthful chewiness. Notes of cassis, mulberry, shitake mushroom, cumin, dark chocolate and vanilla.
2009 Bertani Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Veneto, Italy, $130
Rich, supple, balanced and dry with notes of cherry, red plum, raisin, dried fig, sage, brown mushroom, chocolate and cedar. The Tesla of Amarones.
