The 5 best wines to pair with your holiday meals

This year, take the stress out of the holidays with 10 Acres online market

Does the idea of holiday meal planning stress you out? Are you clueless about picking out wine?

Local restaurant group 10 Acres is offering help, with an online market that provides restaurant-quality meals for you to enjoy

at home—without all the prep work. Instead, simply re-heat or assemble the restaurant’s most popular meals right at home.

The online market is your one-stop-shop for holiday meal prepping, complete with a carefully curated wine list by 10 Acres’ sommelier and wine director, Adriano Cartuliares, available with a food purchase. The market wines are offered at liquor store prices, which saves shoppers an extra trip to the liquor store during the busy holiday season. An added bonus, all market orders over $200 also get a free delivery.

Cartuliares has been with 10 Acres for nearly seven years, supervising a dynamic wine list that is always changing and improving. In addition, he spends much of his time visiting local vineyards and cultivating relationships with local vintners to find the best of what B.C. has to offer, some of which can’t be purchased in liquor stores.

“The 10 Acres wine program exemplifies our passion for the farm-to-table concept and echoes our ethical farming culture. We look for wines that represent the land they came from. Sustainable farming, low carbon footprint, organic and biodynamic wines are some of the criteria that we consider when choosing wines,” Cartuliares says.

“Meeting the people behind the wine is also very important for us.”

Looking for a nice bottle to buy with your 10 Acres Market food? Here are Cartuliares’s top five recommendations for pairing with your holiday meals and events:

Sperling Vineyards, Pinot Blanc “Guy LaFleur 60”, Brut, Okanagan, BC, 2012

Bubbles are the first thing that comes to mind when we think of celebrating the holidays. This pinot blanc brut from Sperling Vineyards is an exclusive offering for 10 Acres.

This wine pays homage to famous hockey player Guy LaFleur and his time spent on the ice. The 60 in the wine name is a nod to Guy’s 60 goals scored in 1978, and to the 60 months of lees aging of this traditional method Brut sparkling.

“This is the perfect sparkling to bring to your holiday gatherings with friends or family, not only for its bright citrus palate, but also for its icebreaking abilities,” Cartuliares says.

This unique wine is sold exclusively to 10 Acres and cannot be found anywhere else.

CATEMA, Chardonnay “Alta”, Mendoza, AR, 20

This Catena Chardonnay “Atla” is the perfect wine to pair with your holiday feast if turkey is on the menu. The richness of this classic chardonnay, along with its hints of honey, sweet spices and floral finish, will marry all of the flavours of your holiday dinner in perfect harmony.

LOCK & WORTH, Semillon “Losthorn”, Okanagan, BC

This tasty Okanagan white wine is another must for your holiday dinner table. Its zesty lime zip and balanced acidity make it the perfect wine to bring together not only the family, but also the flavours of your meal.

1 MILL ROAD, Pinot Noir “Home Block”, Okanagan Valley, BC

Looking for something to give as a gift? “This is the wine to bring to the in-laws or the boss’s house to impress them this holiday season,” Cartuliares says.

This specialty pinot noir from 1 Mill Road is a wine that’s difficult to find at your local wine stores but absolutely one that should be snagged when available.

This more decadent style of pinot noir has similar tasting notes to an Oregon varietal, with red and blackberries, balanced spices, velvet tannins and a juicy acidity. This heavier style of pinot noir has a persistent finish that carries on the flavours for a long time.

NARRATIVE, Pinot Noir/ Chardonnay “XC Method”, Brut, Okanagan, BC, NV

“This wine is a show stopper,” Cartuliares says. This sparkling pinot noir is not something you see very often, which is exactly why

you should bring it to your next holiday party.

Driven by fresh cut red fruits, toasty notes persistent perlage and electric acidity. Made by the Okanagan Crush Pad, which is one of the innovative and sustainable wine projects in the Okanagan.

For more wine recommendations and to order your holiday meals today, visit 10acresmarket.ca.

10 Acres is a locally-owned and operated restaurant group that strives to showcase what’s local and seasonal by using ingredients produced by its sustainable 10-acre farm, located in North Saanich, to provide its guests with a locallyfocused culinary experience.