December, the month we have all been waiting for! For some, it brings the prospect of a new year, or maybe an end to an old year, but to everyone December is about the holidays.

 By early December, the 5 days of turkey are past, and we can start gearing up for the really big dinners. Dining with family and friends is as good as it gets, and I begin anticipating finally opening those great bottles I have been waiting all year to try. I save the best bottles for these special occasions, like many of us do….great wines are for sharing with great friends.

 While turkey is always on the menu in November, and everyone hopes to find the right wine to serve, my December is just the opposite. I start looking over the wine locker inventory to select wines worthy of Christmas and New Years Eve. Champagne for certain, a nice white Burgundy, an old Bordeaux and maybe a Barolo or Brunello di Montalcino. Once these are selected, we plan a few dinners around the wines, keeping it pretty simple in terms of food preparation, to kind of give the wines the spotlight.

 What’s in your cellar, begging to come out for Christmas?

--Shayne Hebert, Wine Supervisor, Central Florida