Drinking Upscale for the Holidays

To accompany holiday meals, what you drink should be a notch or two above the ordinary. Nothing is more festive or special than bubbly and the best comes from France in the form of Champagne. For still wine, try single vineyard offerings that use the words “Chateau” or “Domaine” on the label. This means all fruit that went into making the wine came from one property. For French wines, especially Bordeaux and Burgundy, you might vie for “classified growths” (Grand Cru and Ier Cru for examples). Sweet wines are always a perennial, Christmas favourite, so try some Vintage or Date of Harvest Port from Portugal, fabulous Sauternes from France or amazing, world-famous Canadian Icewine. Happy ho ho.