Preferring reds this time of year, we limit the whites to only a bottle or two, and typically broil or grill seafood, like scallops or lobster. I am a white Burgundy fan, so my choice leans toward either Puligny or Meursault, but there are certainly other choices… California Chardonnay, German Riesling or the dry wines from Alsace, France are all special wines for these occasions!

 For just about every other occasion in December, red wine is the focus. Roasts, steaks, fowl and game all deserve the best red wines in your cellar, if not for the Holidays, when? Napa’s wonderful Cabernet, great Bordeaux, top Burgundy, Italy’s Barolo, Brunello, Chianti and Super-Tuscans as well as Australian Shiraz and many, many more of the world’s great red wines all deserve to be enjoyed now!

 Champagne was made for New Year’s Eve, and in my house at least, all other bets are off! I, like many others, enjoy bubbly but don’t serve it nearly enough. I guess I feel a little guilty not opening Champagne the rest of the year, so we make sure we do every New Year’s Eve! Caviar and Champagne…usually a good rose (this year we have a bottle of Laurent-Perrier N/V Rose waiting) and we toast to another year past and another just around the corner.

 --Shayne Hebert, Wine Supervisor, Central Florida