December Nick's Picks

Chateau Tour Marcillanet Haut Medoc - $23 

Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Petit Verdot from Left Bank Bordeaux, France.  The crown jewel of this lineup will make any momentous occasion you choose just hit different.  Complex, powerful yet elegant, and with impressive length; coffee, cedar, and smoked herb flavors dance through a rich foundation of black currant and black cherry, with a generous palate filling the mouth and smoothed out by full yet supple smooth tannin.

Anne de Joyeuse Original Malbec - $16 

From Pyrenees Southwest France, this all-charming dry fresh Malbec is for French and Argentina drinkers alike.  Plump juicy blackberry contrasts with violet, cocoa nib, and a subtle touch of vanilla flavor, on a palate of soft silky tannin and vibrant lighter body that doesn’t weigh down the glass and will inspire more to be poured into glass indefinitely.  Fabulous for the price!

Ruth Fernandez Jucar Clasico - $28

Tempranillo, Cabernet, and Bobal Grapes from Ribera del Jucar, Central Spain.  You will consider the bracing snap of the cold air this season a blessing after one glorious glass.  Black cherry, plum, and sweet baking spices tumble up from the glass, suffusing the flavors on the entire palate with gripping full tannins,  full texture, and an insanely long finish. 

Riverside Bulgarian Red - $21

Cabernet Sauvignon and Mavrud Grapes from Thracian Valley, Bulgaria.  Earthy, savory, yet with clean fruit and great balance, Bulgarian wine is a bottomless fount of quality for price, and this blend is no exception.  Raspberry and cherry are given color with pops of vanilla and toasted oak, revealing leather and herbaceous flavors on a dry palate with light fine-grained tannins.

St. Pauls Missianer Schiava - $16

Schiava Grape from Alto Adige, Northern Italy.  Imagine French Gamay, Oregon Pinot, and South Tuscan Sangiovese had a splendid, elegant baby, and one that will bring unique joy to wide spectrum of palates.  The nose perfumes a confounding cauldron of candied watermelon and cherry with sprinkles of smoked pepper and salt, with fresh forest floor and mushroom-earthiness-backed silky tannin and star-bright acidity.

Andrew Murray ‘Tous les Jours’ Syrah - $22

Syrah Grape from Santa Ynez Valley, California.  Bold, balanced, rich, and smooth, high-quality Syrah from California is not something to pass up.  A midnight-dark pour in the glass sets the tone for deep dense black fruits and mocha flavor, with graphite and sweet tobacco earthiness for complexity.  Fresh and lively, yet explosive in the mouth, and satisfying enough to induce partial coma.

The Rest of the Holiday 2025 Picks

Chateau la Tour Beraud Rhone - $20

Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre, and Marselan from Costieres de Nimes, Rhone, France.  Black olive, Provencal herbs, and brambly blackberry tick all the Rhone boxes, with licorice and smokey black pepper enveloping a punchy full body but supple tannins that ripen its fruit flavor and smoothen a long finish.  A find and a steal for a Rhone well worth your time.

Vina Elena Monastrell - $19

Unoaked Monastrell and Syrah from Jumilla, Spain.  A warming and full yet fresh lifting take on this dry red hits you right off the bat with ripe raspberry, cherry, and rose petals, unloading a truckload of fresh fruit onto the palate that immediately gets lifted by its medium body and vibrant acidity.  This is a red that will cure your cold weather ills while remaining effortlessly drinkable!

Chateau Gromel Cuvee Eva Blanc – $16

Barrel Aged Sauvignon Blanc from Bordeaux, France.  Toto, we’re not in Marlborough anymore.  You’ll surely get lime blossom, soft grapefruit, and soft green herbs you might expect from an SB like this, but quality fruit and a little oak makes a lusher, punchier, far more complex and structured experience, with light creamy softness thrown in.  Delicious wine.

Chateau de Chenas Moulin-a-Vent Beaujolais - $26

Gamay from Southern Burgundy, France.  Plump boysenberry and strawberry rule the landscape of this glass, with fresh rose petals, soft orange peel, and black tea smattered underneath.  This is the perfect example of a light, fun, and eternally food friendly wine that can stimulate ones mature intellect as well as their childlike wonder, as is perfect Beaujolais tradition.

Brezza Dolcetto - $25

Dolcetto from Alba, Piedmont, Northern Italy.  A delightful new dry red for anyone drinking or eating Italian, or both.  Black cherry, licorice, and a kiss of white pepper play perfectly to fine polished tannins and a fresh savory light body.  If this is table wine, we’re more than happy to have it at ours.

Domaine Bechtold Alsace Pinot Gris - $29

Skin-macerated Pinot Gris from Alsace, Northern France.  This is a truly special bottle of wine.  Pure and gentle with lusciousness and depth, this gorgeous unique glass opens with honeycomb, ripe stone fruits, chamomile, and yellow flower notes, with a coating full mouthfeel lifted by acidity that makes everything feel weightless.  A shining gem in this lineup.

Fabulas Farae Montepulciano d’Abruzzo - $25

If you think of this Dry Full-Bodied Red from Central Italy as simple throw away pizza table wine, I’m afraid this ain’t it.  Blackberry preserves, bitter chocolate and coffee notes and smoked by mesquite cinnamon stick, with a full robust body that is sanded out at the edges with smooth tannins that make for a pleasant long finish.  Pizza or not, a new happiness will hit your lips.

Vigna del Lauro Cabernet Franc - $20

100% Cabernet Franc from Friuli, Northern Italy.  Both a light, dry, approachable delight, and a fascinating take for any Cab Franc lover, dried marasca cherries and plum sauce are deepened and livened with a fragrant vein of fresh pink peppercorns throughout, with lively bright acidity, soft tannins, and light body to crank the drinkability up to 11. 

El Castro Ventosa Joven Mencia - $20

Mencia Grape from Bierzo, Spain.  Aromatic, fresh, and flirtatiously nuanced, look for juicy pops of black and red currants, cool stone minerality, dried purple flowers, and a brush stroke of leather.  Crunchy acidity melds perfectly with fine grain tannins, leaving a long finish of blood orange and dried earth that evokes a soft Spanish sunset.

One Stone Pinot Noir - $23

100% Pinot from San Luis Obispo, California.  Aside from being founded/ made by women and supporting women in the industry, there is a metric ton to love about this bottle.  A sensual soft bed of raspberry jam, cranberry, and cherry cola is adorned with rose petal notes and a tasteful touch of oak spice, bringing the juicy lusciousness home on the palate with fir herbaceous notes and a fresh yet elegantly round mouthfeel.