“As a sommelier at Woodberry Kitchen and wine buyer at Grand Cru, Jack Wells often gets called upon to bring wine to holiday gatherings with his friends and family. In the early days, he’d often reach for personal favorites—obscure and interesting bottles, like orange wines, Pet-Nat, reds from Jura and whites from Juraçon. Then his family started dropping hints that the bottles he loved might not be ideal for a crowd. ‘I began to realize that my geeky-ness wasn’t making people more interested in wine,’ he says. ‘It was too much too fast.’

“Regardless of your knowledge of wine, the holiday season can be a tricky time for buying bottles that’ll make everyone happy. While Wells suggests avoiding extremes or wines that might play to your own inner wine geek, he also cautions not to be too selfless when choosing a bottle, unless you want to spend the evening drinking something you dislike. ‘A customer will often say things like, “I’m having a friend over for dinner, and she likes big, bold Cabernets, so let’s get a big bold Cabernet, even though I’m more of a Pinot Noir drinker.” Let’s find a happy medium between Cabernet and Pinot Noir so you don’t have to struggle through dinner.’

“Here are some bottle Wells recommends for a crowd…

Pierre Sparr Brut Rosé
“’Don’t be afraid to pop some bubbles for a holiday meal,” says Wells. “With racy acidity and a slight biscuity texture, this wine will pair well with all of your holiday meat dishes and sides.’”

Read the full article at Imbibe.