cabernet sauvignon

This holiday season I have opted to repeat my blog from last year because the films obviously remain classics and the pairings still apply.

It is the busy season at Premier, so I am just doing one large blog for the Holidays. I have listed 10 of my favorite Christmas movies with one bonus film many of you probably have never seen or heard of, but should take a look at. For each movie I have suggested a wine or spirit to go along with your viewing pleasure.

1. A Christmas Carol (1951): My favorite all-time Christmas movie with the incomparable Alistair Sim. It’s full of dark, brooding, Victorian London along with cheery snowy street scenes and lovely carols. A figgy and nutty Tawny Port like Niepoort Ten Year is just the thing to sip along with a slice of Christmas cake or pudding as you view this ideal Christmas movie.

2. A Christmas Carol (1984): My second favorite version of Dickens’ classic with wonderful set

This weekend with temperatures climbing towards ninety, we will taste a variety of refreshing whites and roses that will satisfy several customers.  But for those who still want a hearty red to pair with their steak, beef kabobs or burgers on the grill, we will be sampling a new Cabernet Sauvignon from Washington State.

To pick a film to discuss with this Cabernet was way too easy, but obviously fun. The wine itself is also fun in that it should not be taken too seriously. I don’t mean that it’s not very good, on the contrary. But you won’t confuse this with a $100.00 cabernet.

The lure of French value wines continues with a red Bordeaux because …well, how can it not?  How can a bargain hunting wine drinker turn down a Fall deal like this, especially a French wine with Vermont in the title?

Continuing my blog on French bargain wines leads us to La Forge Estate Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon from the Languedoc region.  Both these wines are labeled by type of grape rather than region possibly to attract more import drinkers.

Every day it is not unusual for customers to ask for California Cabernets and Chardonnays, often looking for Napa or Sonoma wines.  However, it is less likely they will inquire about Washington state wines. 

Admittedly my title for this blog may sound like an exaggeration and yes, it is.  But maybe not for the hot summer months. Roses are catching on in Western New York and we of course at Premier, have plenty of them. They are bold diplomats who answer the call of those looking for something different from the wave of Red Blends and Pinot Grigios regularly consumed.

Joel Gott is one of the most successful and creative wine producers to come along in the last twenty years or so. Along with his wife, Sarah who previously was a winemaker at Joseph Phelps, Joel created a Zinfandel in Amador County that won them the praise of Robert Parker. Soon after, Joel broadened his wine making and various other delicious wines followed along with several other ventures.

For my third and final installment discussing Holiday wines and films, I have left my favorite Christmas film until last. It is the 1951 version of A Christmas Carol with the remarkable Alistair Sim as Ebenezer Scrooge. I have watched nearly every version of this story ( the Mr. Magoo cartoon version that you Baby Boomers may remember) but nothing touches Alistair Sims version. He is the most convincing as a mean old miser, a vulnerable and fragile old man fearing for his life, and as the giddy, jubilant survivor on Christmas morning.

In the last few years, wine producers have stepped up and generously contributed some of their profits and in some cases their time to several worthwhile causes. One of the most significant causes is honoring and supporting our veterans.