For many of us, the holiday season means it\u2019s time to splurge. From food to gifts to good wine, this is the time when spending a few extra dollars becomes a guilt-free, cut-loose practice we might otherwise shelve for the other eleven months of the year.<\/p>\n
Although splurge levels are relative to the individual consumer, they can generally be defined as anything over-and-above your customary price range. So, for example, if you normally spend no more than $10 to $15 on a bottle of wine, then paying even $20 to $25 could be classified as a \u201csplurge.\u201d<\/p>\n
Today I\u2019ll offer a few red wine suggestions for those who might consider breaking into the $20 to $30-a-bottle category a splurge and then a couple more in the $50-and-up price range.<\/p>\n
Milbrandt Vineyards<\/strong> has a number of excellent reds that I sampled during a visit to their tasting room in Prosser last month:<\/p>\n The Estates 2012 Malbec <\/strong>(about $26) \u2013 Explosive, wild berries on the nose and complementary flavors of plump blackberry and blueberry highlight this full-bodied red. A soft, lingering finish belies the wine\u2019s 15.5-percent alcohol content.<\/p>\n Vineyard Series 2011 Primitivo <\/strong>(about $28) \u2013 This relative of the zinfandel grape carries all of its classic characteristics: jammy\/brambly berry flavors, spicy accents, and a spritz of white pepper on the finish. Outstanding!<\/p>\n Vineyard Series 2011 Mosaic<\/strong> (about $28) \u2013 This brilliant grenache, syrah, mourv\u00e8dre blend displays blackberry fruit, hints of smoky spice, and a touch of licorice root. Best of Class and double gold medalist at this year\u2019s Tri-Cities Wine Festival.<\/p>\n Mendocino County, California\u2019s Parducci Wine Cellars<\/strong> also has a couple of nice current releases from their \u201cTrue Grit<\/strong>\u201d line that are worth a try:<\/p>\n 2012 Reserve Petit Sirah <\/strong>(about $29) \u2013 Reserved flavors of berries and red plum are capped with a flourish of toasted vanilla. The lighter-than-expected body style was a pleasant surprise.<\/p>\n 2012 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon<\/strong> (about $30) \u2013 Chocolate cherry, black plum and a splash of espresso are backed by supple tannins on the slightly chewy finish.<\/p>\n Finally, be sure to spend the extra dollars for two pinot noirs from Durant Vineyards<\/strong> in Dayton, Oregon. Their 2012 Olivia Grace Pinot Noir<\/strong> (about $60) and the 2012 Bishop Pinot Noir<\/strong> (about $65) are completely over-the-top in terms of quality and elegance.<\/p>\n The Olivia Grace shows expressive flavors of strawberry, raspberry, rhubarb and cranberry without any trace of harsh acidity. While the Bishop displays essentially the same flavor profile, I\u2019d give it a preferential nod only because it\u2019s slightly headier and perhaps a touch jammier. <\/p>\n Both wines carry a seemingly endless finishing note with a dreamy, velvety texture and each represent a superb winemaking effort. Buy them now\u2026you will not be disappointed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For many of us, the holiday season means it\u2019s time to splurge. From food to gifts to good wine, this is the time when spending a few extra dollars becomes a guilt-free, cut-loose practice we might otherwise shelve for the other eleven months of the year. Although splurge levels are relative to the individual consumer, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1868","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-from-the-bellingham-herald"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1868","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1868"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1868\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2016,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1868\/revisions\/2016"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1868"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1868"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1868"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}