Last-Minute Xmas Wine Picks

You either have all your wine-buying done for the holidays and you have nothing but time on your hands, or you are completely panicked and require help.

If you fall into the latter category we may be able to help -- but given the huge buying surge that will take place this weekend, inventories may not be able to keep up with demand. With two of the last four shopping days falling on a weekend, replenishing sold-out stock will be a challenge. Our advice is remain calm, expect empty shelves and agitated store clerks, and be prepared to look for alternatives.

Your best bet is to ask for help. Store clerks know what is available and what is sold out and, by extension, have good advice as to what you may want to buy as a replacement. You can enhance your interaction with the in-store wine consultants by heading to the store with some basic information about what it is you are hoping to purchase.

In the case of dinner wines, let the store clerk know which foods are involved. Are you talking turkey or ham, beef or fish or will the menu be vegetarian? Always have a price in mind -- $10, $15, $40 or perhaps as much $100 -- as this lets the expert focus on a certain level of wine. If you know which grape or blend of grapes you would like, even better. The more information you can give the clerk, the easier the search.

Now here are my last-minute picks for all you procrastinators. My first priority is quality, but after that I've tried to temper my selections based on the probability that you may actually find this wine in government liquor stores -- at least until everyone reads this column.

We begin with a British Columbia specialty, pinot blanc, and our pick is the Sandhill Pinot Blanc Sandhill Estate Vineyard 2006. A versatile wine, you can use it for entertaining or for serving on the big day with turkey or ham. Look for floral, peach, vanilla, lees aromas and a soft, full bodied, slightly oily texture. Buttery canned peach flavours flecked with spice, vanilla and nuts finish slightly sweet. A friendly, consumer-style white, and there are more than 7,000 bottles in stores across the province.

How about a killer red wine value you can buy by the case? Montalto Nero d'Avola Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 from Sicily is the ticket. This is your basic, updated, spaghetti red from Sicily that mixes cabernet sauvignon with néro d'Avola. Look for a slightly overripe cherry fruit and chocolate-flavoured red spiked with leather and spice. Impressive value and the fact that it comes under screwcap seals the deal. Think pizza, chicken, pasta and party. Great value, and there are 1,300 bottles in stores.

Frenchman Thomas Perrin was recently through town and while we tasted a number of his firm's icon labels, it was the workhorse Réserve Perrin Côtes du Rhône Rouge 2005 that impresses for the price. Spicy, meaty, peppery, chocolate, black cherry aromas morph into a dry, moderately rich, slightly tannic red with smoky, meaty, earthy, dark chocolate, black fruit flavours. This is a youthful, chunky-style wine with some residual tannin and acidity to disperse. Drink now with roasted meats or hold two to three years. There are 1,100 bottles in the system.

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned the price drop on Liberty School cabernet -- from $29 to $23 -- and reviewed the good, but now long-gone 2003 vintage. In fact, the very good 2004 is disappearing from shelves province-wide and is now being replaced by the excellent 2005, so this week you can't lose.

The perfect turkey wine could be the Bogle Vineyards Chenin Blanc 2006 from California. Its fresh, round, crisp palate with a touch of sweetness is perfectly offset by its grapefruit, mineral, honey, buttery green apple skin flavours. Lively, elegant, food-style wine with some finesse and flavour. Good value and there are 900 bottles around.

It seems everyone loves cabernet and the Paso Robles-based Hope family have done a terrific job with their delicious stylish Liberty School 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon. It is swimming in peppery, sweet black fruit and soft tannins. It's a real crowd-pleaser and there are more than 2,500 bottles in the system.

Finally make the Taylor Fladgate 10 Year Old Tawny your holiday secret. Don't let its pale, tawny colour fool you. After spending an average of 10 years in wood the purple hues are gone and, in exchange, you get a mellow, elegant, sophisticated port chock-full of raisins, nuts and chocolate but with lively acidity and a caramel honey finish. Serve slightly chilled and be prepared for your guests to rave about it. There are 1,400 bottles in stores.

Price: $17

UPC: 058976380270

Score: 86/100

Remarks: Round, soft, full-bodied and slightly oily peach and butter flavours.

MONTALTO NERO D'AVOLA CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2005, SICILY

Price: $11

UPC: 8030423000754

Score: 87/100

Remarks: Think pizza, chicken, pasta and party. Great value.

RESERVE PERRIN COTES DU RHONE ROUGE 2005, COTES DU RHONE, FRANCE

Price: $18

UPC: 631470000131

Score: 87/100

Remarks: Peppery, smoky, meaty, earthy, dark chocolate, black cherry flavours.

BOGLE VINEYARDS CHENIN BLANC 2006, CALIFORNIA

Price: $18

UPC: 080887494925

Score: 88/100

Remarks: Lively, elegant, food-style wine with some finesse and flavour.

LIBERTY SCHOOL CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2005, CALIFORNIA

Price: $23

UPC: 657891700207

Score: 88/100

Remarks: A crowd-pleaser, packed full of peppery, sweet black fruit and soft tannins.

TAYLOR FLADGATE 10-YEAR-OLD TAWNY PORTO, DOURO VALLEY, PORTUGAL

Price: $40.00

UPC: 05013626111284

Score: 93/100

Remarks: Taylor's Ten-Year-Old is dessert in a bottle.