The Holidays aren’t that far away. What kinds of wines should I pick up on my trips to the Wine and Spirits store?

With the change of weather, it’s fun to change wines. I’m ready to put away the light fresh crisp whites and dry rosés of summer, and start moving into reds. One of my favorites this time of year is Beaujolais Nouveau with turkey. These light current vintage reds come out in November, in time for Thanksgiving, but if you can’t find the “Nouveaus,” any recent vintage Beaujolais pairs beautifully with the delicate bird and typical range of sweet to spicy side dishes and stuffing. Also, the nip in the air and festive holiday mode brings out the mulling recipes, which work well with just about any clean inexpensive red wine. If you mull the wine with spices & fruit (or a mulling mix) in a crock pot at parties, it makes the whole house smell great. For more serious holiday gatherings of family and friends, what could make the occasion more fun than a wine tasting, showcasing some varietal, region or vintage? Let me know if you need any tips on how to set it up and what wines to use!


I love dry and flavorful red wines, but I am no high-end wine buyer. What should I look for in a “house wine?”

Well, all the wines in MY house are house wines! Cheap or expensive, I drink them all whenever I think they will go with what I’m cooking. But I think you’re referring to either one wine that you keep a big stash of, or a collection of various inexpensive wines that can be used on an everyday basis. Both of these “house wine” strategies can work if you follow these two guidelines:

1) go for newer, lesser known regions where prices are much lower than older, classic, more established wine areas I was delighted to find Hardy’s signature shiraz bag-in-a-box from Australia to be dry, fruity and very pleasant at under $10/bottle, and the Montes Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile is incredibly good and under $12/bottle). Other good options are Italian Chiantis, Spanish tempranillos and southern French syrahs, all in the $10-$15 range.

2) pick a price range you’re comfortable with and experiment with everything you can find in that range. What I do is go into my local shop, pick up one of everything I see under that price, take my cases home and try them out over the next few weeks. Some I end up dumping, but somewhere in there I’ll find a few things I really like, and then I go back and stock up on those to keep in the house.


On a recent trip to Europe, we enjoyed wonderful table wines throughout Greece. I know there are rules about what kind of wine can be sold in the U.S., but what kinds of wine are closest to the fresh reds we enjoyed?

Loved this question since we were in Greece for a month last year and loved the wines we had everywhere. Greek wines are hard to find here but I would recommend you look for the Boutari or Atlantis brands....but not many people know about these delightful wines and consequently they don’t sell fast, so make sure you look for recent vintages to avoid that “baked” sherry characteristic that comes from sitting in a wholesaler’s warehouse too long. Greece uses a lot of grapes particular to that country, but if you are open to other regions that do similar style light fresh reds, you might want to try some Hungarian reds (also with unpronounceable grape names), or experiment with some of the local regional wines. Many of Pennsylvania’s wineries produce reds that are light dry and fresh when consumed young. Chambourcin and Pinot Noir are good examples.