As the holidays near, it becomes more important than ever to have an appropriate collection of fine wines in stock to take any extravagant feasts you may have planned to the next level. While there is no wrong answer to the ubiquitous question of what to pair with the end-of-year dinner table bounty, there are certainly a number of possible avenues for your palate to explore.

Here we’ve put together a sampler of four special wines, at a special price, meant to serve as the ideal dinner party flight. You’ll find a lively sparkler to kick things off with a pop, a pristine white teeming with nuance for your appetizers, a sturdy red to match the main course, and a decadent, yet perfectly balanced late-harvest wine for dessert—or as dessert.

It truly is a pleasure having you in our Wine Club, and we sincerely wish you great cheer in your celebratory endeavors this year.
—Anthony and the whole Wine Club Team

Clairette de Die Brut • Achard-Vincent  $25.00
The Drôme valley is a beautiful region that seems lost in time, far removed from the freeways and industry of the nearby Rhône Valley. Stone villages dot the hilly landscape, while the Alps loom majestically in the background. An ancient tradition of sparkling wine production persists to modern day, and Domaine Achard-Vincent is proud to carry on crafting the delicate fizzy wines that predate Champagne production. This dry bubbly from the Clairette grape has all the brightness and focus you could ask for—it is an unexpectedly delicious treat to start off your party with style.

2012 Bianco delle Venezie “Morus Alba” • Vignai da Duline  $55.00
The brilliant Lorenzo Mocchiutti and Federica Magrini of Vignai da Duline combine fruit from their oldest Malvasia Istriana vines (planted in 1940) with Sauvignon from an ancient clone so rare it is no longer cultivated even in France. The tiny yields give an intensely concentrated wine of immense complexity, with delicate aromas of white flowers and ripe citrus soaring over a deep, rich structure, all balanced on a taut beam of minerality. Aged in used barrels, this fascinating bianco can rival many a white Burgundy in its class, finesse, and aging potential—a Friulian masterpiece.

2010 Fronsac • Château Haut-Lariveau  $39.00
Bénédicte and Grégoire Hubau are not typical Bordeaux vignerons in that they run a small estate with a focus on organic farming—far from the norm in the Bordelais. Ironically, this imbues their wines with great typicity: this cuvée of 60 year-old Merlot is a wonderfully honest expression of the clay and limestone slopes of the Fronsac appellation, not far from Pomerol. Full and firm with a profound, earthy bouquet and very fine tannins, this Bordeaux is a wine for the table par excellence.

2015 Vouvray “La Moelleuse” (500 ml) • Champalou  $45.00
The hot, dry 2015 vintage proved ideal for late-harvest wines in the Loire Valley, and the Champalous were keen to take advantage of the beautifully ripe, concentrated fruit to craft this unctuous Chenin Blanc. With stunningly pure aromas of honeysuckle and Mirabelle plum, La Moelleuse has the right balance to shine alongside the dessert course, or simply on its own as an after-dinner drink. The fresh acidity keeps things lively and will ensure a long life in the cellar.