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Find the Best Value Wines under $25 this Holiday Season
During the busy holiday weeks, many tasks can overwhelm our schedules. Now is the time to get ahead of the game by having the best of wines on-hand and buy them for great value. Be ready and prepare ahead of time for drop-in visitors, special meals, and hostess gifts. Enjoy the holiday season without having to scramble for last-minute wine shopping.
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Consider these great value Artisanal Wines and Mixed Cases available through 30.50 Imports:
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Dominio de Tharsys Brut Nature CAVA
Pago de Tharsys Valencia, Spain $17.48 Welcome smiling guests with fresh, crisp bubbly. Classic food friendly bubbles at Surprising Value!
2017 Vale da Mo Tinto, João Barbosa
Douro, Portugal $19.91 A Big, Bold and Beautiful red that will fuel a Holiday Roast and energize every type of Cheese Board.
The Essential Italy Mixed Case $214.68 The Essential Italy case has you covered for every social occasion and includes four bottles of each:- Belstar Prosecco Brut, Bisol 1542. Valdobbiadene
- 2020 Pinot Grigio 'LaLot', Peter Zemmer. Alto Adige
- 2018 Ormanni Chianti, Fattoria Ormanni. Tuscany
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Shopping for Wine for the Holidays
Gifting and Entertaining lead the way for holiday wine shopping.
Wines for Entertaining
Are you planning to entertain this holiday season? Satisfying everyone’s tastes while staying within your budget is a tricky task. You will want all your guests to enjoy what they are drinking and also want to avoid having lacklustre, budget-friendly wines left over.
Entertaining often involves a variety of dishes that offer a diverse range of ingredients, flavours, textures, and preparation methods. From roasted to baked and raw to aged, what is the key to finding the best red and white wines to complement all that you plan to serve this holiday season? Identifying versatile pairing wines is the key to having the best wines enhancing your thoughtfully prepared foods.
For Red Wine Lovers:
To accommodate guests that prefer red wine, choose fruit-forward, low tannin, light or un-oaked reds that will perform best with raw or delicately flavoured foods that many other reds would clash with. There are several options from both the new and old world to choose from including:
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Fresh dark black berries and a hint of iodine, soy and sesame seed. Medium bodied with soft round tannins and an elegant smooth finish.
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2018 Vinha no Vale Tinto, João Barbosa. Dão, Portugal $14.95
Youthful, exhuberant notes of wild berries and fresh herbs. Bright palate with a hint of spice, soft integrated tannins ensure an enjoyable everyday red.
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For White Wine Lovers:
When it comes to pleasing white wine drinkers, medium to full-bodied unoaked whites offer the most versatility with food and strike the right balance between light and crisp, and big and buttery styles. Some examples from our portfolio include:
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2020 Xion Albariño, ATTIS Bodegas Y Vinedos. Rias Baixas, Spain $22.79
A fresh, youthful expression of Albariño; notes of lemon zest, grapefruit pulp and ripe peach drive the wine. There is crushed rock minerality with bitter almond and white pepper on the finish. The wine is dry, medium bodied with elevated acid and slight phenolic bitterness.
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A fresh style of Sauvignon Blanc that is dry, medium bodied, with lively acidity. The fruit shows tart and ripe grapefruit with lemon zest, cape gooseberry and white peach. The palate hosts savoury herbs such as tarragon, chervil and chive with an underlying crushed rock minerality. The length is long and has a refreshing finish.
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Insider Tip#1 for Great Value Wines
Stay within your budget and satisfy the wine savvy folks on your guest list by choosing dry wines with strong regional appeal. Generally speaking, as one’s knowledge and experience increases, so does one’s preference for dry wines and those that express terroir. There are plenty of food and terroir driven gems under $25 available through 30.50 Imports that will get the attention and approval of these perceptive drinkers.
Wines for Gifting
With any gift, the challenge is finding the right fit. If you are not certain of your guest’s or hostess’ wine preferences, consider what they like to eat and play the averages. For instance, vegetarians that drink red wine will appreciate the lower tannin and savoury reds like Pinot Noirs, Mençia from Spain and Dão blends from Portugal.
Consider these options:
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This is a dry, medium-bodied, bright and refreshing red wine. It is entirely red fruit driven; sour cherry, cranberry, red currant. There is some dried leaf and mushroom earth tones to the wine with some black pepper spice. It is a great wine to be served with a slight chill.
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A delicious and vibrant Nerello Mascalese from Mount Etna. The wine shows ripe wild strawberries, maraschino cherries, and orange zest. The fruit is accompanied by notes of cinnamon, allspice, and dried leather. There is a distinct ashy quality to the wine with layers of dried herbs and earth. The wine is dry, medium-bodied, with fine tannins and lively acidity.
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Meat and potato lovers will very likely appreciate big and bold reds for their hearty meals. There are endless list options, such as California Cabernets, Tuscan blends, Douro blends, Tempranillo from Spain…you get the picture!
Big and Bold examples:
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2016 Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon, Pied a Terre Wines: California
Aromas of blueberry, black cherry, vanilla, and pencil shavings with a rich, sweet mouthfeel and incredible length.
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A beautiful expression of Nebbiolo from Verduno. The wine is bone-dry, full bodied with tannins that are ripe, persistent and balanced. The fruit is tart and ripe showing red fruit such as red cherries, red currants and raspberries with an underlying essence of orange oil. There is a beautiful red rose florality with lots of fresh leather, dried leaves, and tobacco smoke.
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Insider Tip#2 for Great Value Wines
For an even bigger response to your selections, simply spend an extra $5 or $10 per bottle more than your typical price point. Contact us at 30.50 Imports if you would like help with choices. A sommelier is always available to assist you, especially when you are shopping for wines to get ready for this year’s holiday season.
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