Spirits for the Season

It's the day after Christmas and there's a whole week of holiday celebrations still to come. You're no wine connoisseur, but you need to bring a bottle to a meal or party. Where can you turn for advice? Why, to the library of course!

My go-to guide is Good, Better, Best Wines: A No-Nonsense Guide to Popular Wines. Published in 2010 it's getting a little long in the tooth, but its philosophy is timeless: "When it comes to wine, your 'wants' are pretty simple: a good wine, at a price you can afford, that's stocked at your local wine shop or supermarket." The wines here all are consistently good, easy-to-find and priced well under $20.

But the Library is closed today, and no new hold requests are being accepted until our migration to the new catalog and customer service software is complete in mid-January. What can you do now? Never fear, Consumer Reports is always available online.

Consumer Reports covers much more than just cars and appliances. Its seasonal food and drink ratings cover everything from hot dogs and stuffing to coffee and wine. For instance, cabernet sauvignons and sauvignon blancs are reviewed in this month's CR and sparkling wines in last January's. Value-priced whites were rated this summer and reds last fall. And some months before that CR rated pinot grigios and rieslings, cabernet sauvignons and chardonnays, and syrahs and zinfandels. If you are looking for wine that you and your guests will enjoy at a price you can afford, CR's advice is hard to beat.

May the new year find you happy, healthy and safe. Cheers!

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Review by Don Beistle