It's that time of year when it's acceptable to watch holiday movies every night. Celebrate the holiday movie season the right way with our five favorite holiday movie and wine pairings. Light a cozy fire, turn on your favorite holiday movie and pour a perfectly paired glass of wine to go with it. We also added our favorite spiced popcorn recipe, which is the perfect salty and sweet snack for whichever pairing you choose first.
1. Love Actually and Private Reserve Chardonnay
Love, drama, heartbreak, redemption. This holiday classic takes you through a rollercoaster of emotions alongside its all-star cast so you need something comforting to get you through. Enter our Private Reserve Chardonnay. Its creamy texture and flavors of lemon curd, rich citrus, and hints of brioche and crème brûlée are exactly what you need for this tearjerker.
2. Elf and Nightingale Dessert Wine
There’s only one thing to pair with Buddy the Elf’s four main food groups: candy, candy canes, candy corns, and syrup and that’s a dessert wine like our Nightingale Botrytised Semillon / Sauvignon Blanc. If you don’t have a sweet tooth like Buddy, fear not. This dessert wine tastes of preserved Meyer lemon, burnt caramel, and honey, with further aromas and flavors of apricot, and melon framed with touches of spice.
3. How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Knights Valley Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
When someone is trying to ruin Christmas, you need some easy drinking. As the Grinch schemes to steal the joy from Whoville, sip on our wild Knights Valley Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. With expressive notes of ripe black cherry and boysenberry and hints of cinnamon and vanilla bean, it’s basically Christmas spirit in a glass.
4. A Christmas Story and Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
A classic deserves a classic. This movie is set in the 1940s with Ralphie Parker attempting to convince his parents, teacher, and Santa Claus that a BB gun is the perfect Christmas gift. It can only be paired with something of equal quality, our Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine sets the standard for remarkable, rich Napa Cabs with its polished tannins, depth, and balance. In our opinion, our Private Reserve really is the perfect Christmas gift, and we believe the adult Ralphie Parker would agree.
5. The Polar Express and Knights Valley Red Blend
All aboard the Polar Express! As you journey to the North Pole, you need something that is up for the wild ride. Our Knights Valley Red Blend is a unique blend full of flavors that will surprise and delight your palate like cranberry, pomegranate, and rose hips, and has a rich structure that balances bright acidity with soft, silky tannins. We like to think it’s what the intrepid Polar Express conductor would sip after a long night of adventure.
Spiced Popcorn Recipe
Ingredients
- 6-8 cups cooked popcorn
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Pinch of cayenne pepper
- 3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, melted (optional)
Directions
- In a small bowl, mix together spices (chili powder, cumin, cinnamon, salt, and cayenne pepper). Melt butter and drizzle over cooked popcorn. Toss with spice mix until completely covered.
- If you want to add a chocolate drizzle to your spiced popcorn, melt chocolate in microwave in 20 second bursts until it’s smooth. Use a fork to drizzle chocolate over popcorn. Serve while warm or chill so the chocolate can set completely.
