Hello wine lovers and happy wine Wednesday! I hope it has been a great week for you so far. For me, arriving home to Vancouver on a nice, cold dry night from Cabo San Lucas and then waking up to snow the next morning was beyond perfect. There is something I really love about going away just before the Christmas season really gets going and calendars get filled up.
This week I will not be reviewing a specific wine. Instead, I would like to offer up some ideas for you to make your wine buying a bit easier this holiday season. It can get a bit overwhelming with hostess gifts, dinner parties and entertaining this month so hopefully these lists of whites, reds and sparkles will be helpful when you enter your favourite wine store. Today’s post is on whites and I will post my red and sparkle lists both next week.
Girls Go Grape’s “Hell Yes” Whites
Wente Vineyard Morning Fog Chardonnay $18.99. This is one of my ‘go-to’s’ for a great Chardonnay that doesn’t break the bank. It has a slight oak and vanilla flavour and is quite mouth-watering for a Chardonnay. California, USA.
Lurton Les Fumees Blanches Sauvignon Blanc $14.99. A fantastic value for this dry French beauty. Lovely citrus flavours and high acidity make it a winner. South West, France.
Gray Monk Pinot Blanc $15.99. This fab bottle of B.C. Pinot Blanc tastes like orchard fruit in a glass and is alive with flavours of ripe red apple, pears and a hint of citrus. An excellent buy with a hint of sweetness, this wine is a crowd pleaser. Okanagan, B.C.
Bollini Pinot Grigio $18.99. I know Pinot Grigio is the ‘it’ grape variety right now and this is by far one of the best examples of the grape. True Italian style with crisp acidity and full of nice citrus flavours like lemon and lime with a dusting of minerality to add to the complexity. Trentino, Italy.
Le Vieux Pin “Ava” Viognier $35 direct from winery. This is the ‘special’ wine on my list this year. Viognier is a very popular grape in the Northern Rhône region of France. Winemaker Severine Pinte-Kosaka has done an amazing job with this grape variety here in British Columbia. This is a unique wine for the wine lover in your life. Okanagan Valley, B.C.
That is my list of Girls Go Grape’s fab five for the 2013’s holiday season. These wines are crowd pleasers and will be a welcome gift for any occasion.
Enjoy!
XO
C
Girls Go Grape 
I would add one more, Oyster Bay Chardonnay 2012/13. OB’s 2012/13 was a winemaker’s dream season and they are predicting it will carry over into 2014. A couple of years ago Malborough experienced one of it’s coldest climates in 80 years. I was kind of wondering what all the fuss was about, I was not impressed. Now I know. But like I said, their 2012/13 Chardonnay, Pinot Gris absolutely great value, great go to wines. Cheers! Jana
Great information for the holiday season Christine, thank you.