Make holiday wine cocktails ahead of time. Here’s how

The holidays are here and with them dinner parties and gatherings to plan for. For me, deciding which drinks to serve is as important as planning which dishes I’m going to serve. Having a nice lineup of wines on hand is vital, but there’s something especially festive about cocktails. That said, when thinking about pairings for a fully-loaded dinner, high-alcohol or high-effort cocktails can be a little much, which is why I like to serve wine cocktails, many of which can be made ahead of time.

There is one key to crafting beautiful wine cocktails: Choose the right wine.

When mixing, wine is often an afterthought, even when it’s the main ingredient in a drink. Have you ever searched for a recipe that just said “use red wine” without any recommendation on what kind? That’s leaving quite a bit up to fate.

A glass of wine, without any modifications or additions, already has various flavors, textures and aromas. Understanding what those characteristics are can help you choose the right bottle for a recipe, no matter the price point.

I’m going to break it down for you, with recommendations for stellar wines that are delicious on their own and work especially well in classic wine cocktail recipes, including my three favorites: spiced white sangria, autumn pear bellini and the last mulled wine recipe you’ll ever need.

Here’s your guide to holiday wine cocktails.

The best wine for sangria

Ideally, the white wine used for sangria should be lighter in body, perhaps a little tart, with medium acidity and bonus points if it has a lot of crisp apple or pear on the palette. It’s all about balance, and those characteristics work well with the addition of fresh baking spices and ginger beer.

Northern Italian pinot grigio, Western France sauvignon blanc and any cooler climate grüner veltliner would all work wonders for your fruity blend.

I enjoy just about everything from Negro Angelo, “the Piedmont Guy,” but their Vino Bianco is my favorite for under $20. Using arneis grapes, it’s fermented and matured in stainless steel for a super fresh taste. It’s a fantastic winter white wine to have on your table or in your sangria.

The best wine for a bellini

I like to choose a drier (read: less sweet) style of prosecco for any recipe that calls for adding a touch of sweetness. “Brut” is just a French word for “raw” and is a way to describe the residual sugar in sparkling wine. “Brut nature” is bone dry. “Extra brut” is a little less sweet. Plain old “brut” is just regular dry although not to be confused with “extra dry,” which is actually medium dry. Confused yet? Honestly, this system has always baffled me, not unlike other language often used to describe wine.

Let me make it a bit simpler: Go for Brut prosecco and it will be just fine. If the prosecco is not marked, look at the alcohol and choose something that is lower, around 11% or 12%.

I’m a huge fan of both Ruggeri Argeo Prosecco Brut DOC and Sommariva Prosecco Superiore Brut DOCG, both from the wine growing town of Valdobbiadene in Veneto, Italy. They’re so good that you won’t be mad if you end up ditching the bellini recipe all together and enjoying these bottles on their own. But we’re here to try something new and festive, so go ahead and make this easy, three-ingredient drink.

The best wine for mulled wine

Mulled wine is known to many cultures, each of whom have their own names and ways of making it. Orangenpunsch, glögg, glühwein, the list goes on and on. During my preteen years, I grew up in Scandinavia and whenever we’d go into the city during the cold fall and winter months, the open-air markets would be serving mulled wine in togo cups. The right wine for this drink can go one of two ways. You can go full force and choose a wine that already tastes like a winter wonderland, or you can opt for a dry red to balance out the citrus and brown sugar.

I prefer to use something young, unoaked and fruit-forward, rather than something dark, deep and jammy.

My go-to is Austrian blaufränkisch or you can explore and go for something like a South African pinotage. That said, I’ve also been known to use La Vieille Ferme Red Bag In Box, especially when I’m serving more than a handful of guests. There’s no reason to break the bank over mulled wine, just choose thoughtfully and it’s sure to be festive and delicious.

Have a wine tip or question? Email wine@azcentral.com. Follow Amelia Goe on Instagram @agoewaffles.