For our holiday sampler this year, we have put together a lineup of wines that will encourage celebration at every pop of the cork. This diverse collection of colors and styles is designed to help you savor the festivities from the evening’s first crisp, bracing apéritif through the final splash of your nightcap, drained right as the candles burn down to their stumps.
     We suggest starting the evening with Seyssel’s Petit Royal, an enlivening golden sparkler sure to set the mood when guests arrive. Keep them satisfied with Corte Gardoni’s snappy Chiaretto rosé, Bregéon’s brisk, salty Muscadet, or Portelli’s perfumy Frappato as glasses clink merrily and they begin nibbling on the night’s first appetizers.
     Set aside the serious reds until your main courses are ready. Some guests might prefer the wild herbaceousness of Maestracci’s Clos Reginu or the chewy, sun-ripened dark fruit of Ermitage’s blend from the stony slopes of Pic Saint-Loup. For the classicists, there is an energetic Barbera as well as a perfectly mature Bordeaux straight from the cellar. And just when bellies are almost full, surprise everyone with a final treat. Durban’s luscious, honeyed Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise is the perfect way to close out a party.
     Let’s celebrate!