What We’re Drinking Now: New Year’s Eve Wines

 The holiday season isn’t just marked by the delicious food on your table, but the beverages poured are just as important. Here are a few of the wines we are sipping on, working on developing recipes with, and basically enjoying the taste! 

Made from the Glera grape varietal, this extra dry Prosecco by Ruffino is fragrant, fruity, and citrusy. Notes of apples and pears, along with green grapes are popping. Crisp, clean and delicate, with fine bubbles caressing the palate. Hints of peach and apples, coupled with elegance and balance. While we test out a few recipes with this prosecco, be sure to check out some amazing brunch cocktail ideas on their site, they all look divine and oh-so-creative!

Celebrated as a day of love and commitment in the name of Cupid, those with a mischievous manner might give nod to the whims of that young angel by starting their evening with a bottle of Montes Cherub. A beautiful dry rose of Syrah produced by Chile’s own Montes Winery, it features a grinning cherub on the label as drawn by renowned artist Ralph Steadman. No wallet busting here – this wine is an excellent value at $15 SRP.

One of my favorite grape varietals, this wine is made fem Carmenere, the one reason I want to visit Chile in 2014! This superb wine, Purple Angel by Montes, represents a whole new dimension for Carmenère, the long-lost grape variety that recently resurfaced in Chile after being presumed extinct in Bordeaux, its original home. In Chile, it’s considered a ‘signature’ variety and call it the ‘Jurassic Park’ grape that returned from the past.

With two cheerful cherubs on the bottle, Montes Twins – a blissful blend with a celestial quality – is the perfect gift for the mother of twins. The heavenly harmony of Cabernet – with its alluring rich, red fruit and firm tannins; and Malbec – with its velvety smooth body and notes of perfectly ripe plums, ends with an enduring, elegant finish. The result: a young, powerful wine that’s doubly delicious now, but also for celebrations in years to come. 

The pièce de résistance of the evening: a sweet kiss of dessert wine from Greece. The ancient Greeks loved fiercely and passionately – as evidenced in mythical stories. In fact, the Greek god Eros, the child of Aphrodite, was the original Cupid. Dionysos – the god of wine, pleasure and festivity – was famous for seducing lovers across the Greece with a touch of the vine. Greece is famous for its Vinsanto from Santorini (the original vinsanto!), the sweet wines of Samos, Muscat, and more recently, the sweet red Mavrodaphne. These beautiful sweet wines can be enjoyed alone or on desserts.

This Moscato D’Asti by Ruffino is another favorite, perfect to end the meal, while nibbling on dessert. Packed with floral notes, along with some berry flavors, pairs well with sweet recipes. Moscato d’Asti is a sweet wine, characterized by a fragrant and aromatic bouquet and with a low level of alcohol content that makes him incredibly pleasant to drink. Ruffino Moscato d’Asti DOCG is the result of a precious selection operated by the winery within the Asti DOCG.

 Disclaimer: Wines were sent free of charge, with no obligation to taste them, cook with them, or write about them. Thank you for supporting amazing companies like the ones above, that make it possible for me to create new and delicious content for my readers!