This is one of the months I look forward to putting together most for the Wine Club. While every month is full of fun new discoveries, January’s South American selections are particularly exciting for me as this is one of the regions I buy for our stores. So you can imagine how I spend all year squirreling away this special Malbec or that great white blend for the New Year.
I don’t know what’s most important to you in January (New Year’s resolutions, perhaps), but high on my priority list is keeping warm. I spend most of this month turning up the thermostat, investing in new ski socks, eating hearty, spicy foods and sipping the kind of wines that warm you from the inside out. The wine-drinkers of Argentina and Chile have become well-practiced at this notion, dwelling on the foothills of one of the world’s most impressive mountain chains, the Andes. So they know a thing or two about crafting the kind of wine that will warm us on these bitter cold winter days.
The white wines for this month’s selections, a Torrontes and an unconventional white blend, have the rich, ripe fruit and creaminess that we crave this time of year, while the reds are made of the heartier, bolder grape varieties like Syrah, Cabernet, Carmenere and Malbec that carry the kind of spicy-smooth oomph we want now. Here’s hoping the New Year finds you healthy, happy and warm.
