What wine should you serve for insert your favorite winter feast here?

Well, if it’s a feast with multiple guests it’s not a single wine, it is which wines will suit my guests and the dishes.

Every guest and every dish will give a different answer. No problem. That is why we make more than one wine. If one wine was great with everyone and everything, Ernest and Julio would have created it before I was born. The wine selection would be very small, no Total Wine.

BUT diversity can be joyous! Dinner with many different people can be delightful. Isn’t part of the joy of Winter Feasts the plenitude of various dishes?

Thanksgiving at brother Tom’s house had both vegans and omnivores, young folks and an old geezer (me), and over a dozen dishes.

I opened at least five different wines; Rosé Paradiso was the most consumed. Angelica MRS was the preferred wine with the desserts which all involved cinnamon.

Wine for gifts? Always the right size and a good chance of getting the right color. We also have an option for private labeling, what a great idea for a gift!

My number one recommendation this year for giving wine as a present is a wine we make a negative profit on: PMS (Paul’s Mocha Stuff).

It is well-liked and is doing a lot of good locally. So far it has funded supplies for over 329 Freedom Kits (freedomkitsofyakima.weebly.com) for 318 women and girls in the Yakima Valley who cannot afford menstrual supplies. And we anticipate it will generate funds for 2,500 more.

That assumes the average price of $28. You can make it more, many folks choose to pay $35-55, and everything over $10 goes to Freedom Kits. No vague “% of profit,” we lose money on every bottle, our personal contribution. I prefer to think it isn’t profit lost, but rather a giving of 19 years of work to someone less fortunate.

Now I will shamelessly say my favorite nibble with PMS is the Ugandan single-sourced chocolate with the Lavender, Coffee, Long Pepper dark chocolate bar a close second, both from Intrigue Chocolate Co., which we also sell or you can get it directly from Aaron and Karl. The variety of chocolate that they make is astonishing. Very much worth the visit if you are in the Seattle area, they are in Pioneer Square.

So, what is the Main Dish on your feast table?

Turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy? Rosé Paradiso

Prime rib? 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon (if you have an older vintage, Now is the Time)

Tamales? Rojo Paradisos

Lutefisk? You have my support! My first try would be the Sève.

Salmon, the NW classic. I prefer to grill mine over grape wood and Rosé Paradiso is the bomb. You don’t have grape wood? We do. I’ll send a bundle by request.

Ham? To celebrate the birthday of a Jewish guy who didn’t eat pork? Why not? I have Jewish relatives who do. Rosé Paradiso again.

Doing Chinese takeout? B’s Blend or Sève are what I would bring to the party (and probably a bunch of others to cover the bases).

Dungeness crab? Halibut? Those are two reasons our Oyster White exists.

Lasagna? Try the Sangiovese and the Rojo Paradisos and see who prefers which.

Missed your dish? Call Paul for a consult at 509.388.1153.