Three Red Wines You’re Gonna Wanna Drink in December
If you follow me on Instagram or have read anything on this blog, you know I’m a massive fan of rosé! I’m pretty obsessed with it and spent the entire summer searching for the perfect bottle. You can read more about that here.
Now that the weather has cooled down, I’ve packed away the rosé and moved on the red wines. While I have my favourites, I wanted to try a few new bottles from various parts of the world to see if I could find a new favourite to recommend to you for the Fall/Winter season.
With that in mind, I reached out to my wine guy at Burrows Lightbourne for a few recommendations. Michael Robinson is super knowledgeable about wine and has yet to steer me wrong. When I approached him for this feature, he gladly offered to recommend a few bottles and send them to me to sample.
So let’s get into it. The bottles Michael recommended start light, get a little more intense and then get big and bold (I LOVE bold reds).
Fleurie 2015 Joseph Drouhin – France $26.65
This lighter red wine is described as possessing great charm and delicacy, with its luminous raspberry colour, aromas of lilac, violets and gooseberry. It is said to be very supple and silky in the mouth.
The varietal is gamay and it benefits from a light chill since it’s a light, perfumed red. This wine pairs well with Asian food thanks to its bright acidity and is also great with poultry – think duck or turkey with cranberry sauce for Christmas.
My thoughts: It was a light, easy to drink red. I get so caught up on the bold reds that I haven’t taken time to appreciate the lighter varieties. This was a win for me.
Ripassa Valpolicella Superiore 2014 – Zenato – Veneto – Italy $29.65
This Italian red is deep ruby-red in colour and shows intense aromas of blackberries and black currants underscored by aromas of spice pepper, and a hint of leather. Michael says it’s “smooth and viscous” with well-balanced acidity and alcohol.
The grape blend is corvina, rondinella and osleta. It pairs well with game dishes, grilled meat and roasts, salami and aged cheeses.
My thoughts: I loved this wine. It was smooth, earthy and paired very well with the pizza I enjoyed with it. This is exactly the type of red I like – not too bold, but not light. A real winner for me.
Zinfandel “Heritage Vines” 2015 Dry Creek Vineyards – Sonoma – California $25.60
This wine is described as big and bold – one of my favourite types of red. It’s described as powerful and concentrated, with pronounced blue fruits dosed with a shot of cinnamon. It is supposed to have jammy, black raspberry and licorice aromas and supple, layered blackberry, toasty dill and pepper flavors.
The blend is 79 percet zinfandel, 20 percent petite sirah and one percent carignan, aged for14 months in a mix of oak barriques. It pairs well with roasts, barbecue, braised meats.
My thoughts: This is a great bold wine to drink during the colder months when you want something with a bit more body. It would be great with a steak dinner for sure. It wasn’t my favourite, but I enjoyed it.
Overall, I enjoyed all three of the wines. The Ripassa Valpolicella Superiore was my favourite by far and I plan to drink that for the remainder of the cold months.
What’s your favourite red wine to drink this time of year?