Dozen Dozen – Out of the Dry

To get off to a great start to enjoying fine alcoholic beverages throughout 2024, here are some great ones to enjoy – whites, reds, sparkling, rosés, even a whiskey from Michael Bublé.

2022 Scagliola “SiFaSol” Moscato d’Asti Canelli ($9). Lovely aromas and delicious vanilla and honey flavors with a long finish.

2021 Mourchon “La Souce” Côtes du Rhone Blanc ($17). Very smooth, almost creamy, with light flavors of apples, tropic fruits and orange citrus and a crisp finish.

2018 Böen “Tri-Appellation” Chardonnay ($20). Not your standard Chardonnay, with rich fruitiness of quince and ripe gooseberries blended with notes of cheese and white Vermouth from oxidation. Quite likable.

2022 Rabble Central Coast Sauvignon Blanc ($20). Not your typical Sauvignon, but enjoyable one with sweet kiwi flavors, some CO2 effervescence and good acidity.

2022 Tasca d’Almerita “Mozia” Sicilia Grillo ($25). A little soft on entry but blossoming into flavors of apples, pear and a little kiwi.

2021 Inama “Carbonare” Soave Classico ($30). Not as lively and fruity as previous vintages – a little flat – but with good minerality and light tannins.

2023 Cloudy Bay Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc ($35). A step up in quality for Kiwi Sauvignons justifies its price – with spicy flavors of lime, lime peel and tart kiwi, it has great intensity, complexity and length on the palate.

NV Arione Asti Extra Dry Sparkling Wine ($10). Frizzante, frothy, crisp, lots of herbal notes although with Moscato fragrances.

NV Piper Sonoma Sonoma County Blanc de Blancs ($20). Crisp and lemony with good minerality and a long finish with a flourish of fruitiness at the end.

2022 Adriano Adami “Vigneto Giardino” Rive de Colbertado Prosecco ($26). Loads of small bubbles and crisp flavors of candied fruits and baking spices – lovely.

2018 Enrico Serafino “Oudeis” Alta Langa Brut ($30). Nice drinking with good intensity of flavors of pear and citrus with persistent bubbles and finish acidity.

NV J Vineyards “Cuvee 20” Russian River Valley Sparkling Wine ($40). Lovely aromas, with almost lemon-custard fruity sweetness (not texture) and good balancing acidity.

2022 Sacha Lichine “The Pale” Vin de Pays du Var Rosé ($15). Light and almost elegant in structure, but also very light in flavors.

2021 Prats & Symington “Prazzo de Roriz” Douro Red Wine ($18). A food wine – very fragrant with tart red berry flavors, good acidity and dusty tannins.

2021 Domaine des Pasquiers “Sablet” Côtes du Rhone Villages ($19). Smooth body, but with tangy fruit and lots of tannins.

NV The Quilt “Threadcount” California Red Wine ($22). Fruit forward flavors of cherry and raspberry with savory notes and herbal bitters in the finish.

2021 Prats & Symington “Post Scriptum de Cryseia” Douro Red Wine ($28). Rounded cherry and plum flavors with lots of closing acidity and light tannins.

2020 Domaine Bousquet “Ameri” Gualtallary Malbec ($37). Soft, lush fruitiness that’s very agreeable, with good acidity but not much depth of flavor.

2020 Domaine Bousquet “Ameri” Gualtallary Red Blend ($37). A delightful mix of red and black fruits with flavors of cassis, blackberry and wood with walnutty tannins.

2018 Badia e Coltibuono Chianti Classico Riserva ($40). A very good riserva, especially for the price, with lovely elegance and flavors of violets, cherries and toasty oak with Sangiovese’s signature raspiness at the close.

2021 Cloudy Bay Marlborough Pinot Noir ($43). A little aggressive, with rich, dark cherry flavors, making it a bigger if less elegant Pinot.

$2019 Marchesi di Gresy “Martinega” Barbaresco ($70). An outstanding red – still tight and tannic in structure – with gradually released Nebbiolo flavors of dried cherries, oak and a slice of bacon.

2020 Prats & Symington “Cryseia” Douro Red Blend ($102).  Great Douro combo of lightly spicy red and black fruits with rich texture and great length on the palate.

Fraser & Thompson North America Whiskey ($30). Singer Michael Bublé’s contribution to the spirits world, it is lightly caramel in flavor and pleasant and smooth, though not with a lot of personality – 42% APV.

Prices listed are generally SRP or from wine-searcher.com. As more wineries are now shipping direct-to-consumer, check the winery website if you can’t find a bottle in your retail store.