52 Wines For 2013 (Plus Holiday Picks)
Every week we give you countless recommendations for what wines to look for in the store: we've picked the best red blends, the best chardonnays, the best rieslings... we could go on and on. Not only that, but we break it down to make buying wine easy for special occassions, the holidays, or different seasons, not to mention our selections to make it easy on the wallet. But what if we could give you the ultimate wine list of 2013 — every wine you'll ever want to drink in 2013?
Click here for 52 Wines for 2013 (Plus Holiday Picks) Slideshow
We went to our best sources — our collection of wine writers, winemakers, and sommeliers — to hear what they want to be drinking in 2013. We asked them to think of the best offerings for each season, and each holiday, and the result? The "bucket list" of wines from people who do this for a living.
In the traditional sense, these wine recommendations generally stick to what you already know to be drinking each season: lots of bubbly for the holidays (a given) turns into bolder red varietals to pair with the comfort foods of winter. (Ports were also a notable recommendation from several of our sources, as they're perfect for drinking by the fire.) Then, the recommendations slowly transition into softer reds with lots of fruity notes, and eventually, into white wines as the season turns to spring. At that time we get into chardonnays, sauvignon blancs, rosés, and grüner veltliners, which have all the tastes of spring we hope for: bright citrus, minerality, and lots of fruit. As the season changes to summer, the wines change, too: bright rosés, tropical chardonnays (really), strawberry and peach-tinged pinot grigio. You can't get enough of a light, refreshing wine for summer.
But because summer has to come to an end sometime, the wines transition back toward the red end of the spectrum. Whites still reign at the beginning of an Indian summer (we can only presume), but rosés turn into fuller rosés, like a lambrusco. The fruit notes change from tropical and light to the season's best offerings: cassis, rhubarb, pear, and light florals. Pinot noirs tend to reign above all in the fall, but lambruscos, côte wines, and pinot meunier get everyone excited for a change of season. And then, back into the fuller reds, ports, and sparkling wines to wave off 2013 (another year already?!).
We're truly excited to be working with some of the country's best wine experts to set the trend of what to be drinking in 2013. So polish off the wine glasses, make sure your corkscrew is good to go, and get excited for a full year of better wine. Sure, the grand total of all the wines — $2,718 — may be more than our paycheck, but we can dream.
Click to the next page for the full list.
Editorial note: Prices were provided by the sources, and may vary.
January 1: NV Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label; Champagne, France; $90
January 7: 2008 Alpha Estate "Axia" Syrah; Florina, Greece; $18
January 14: 2010 Ravenswood Old Vine Zinfandel; Dry Creek Valley, California; $35
January 21: 2009 Kabaj Rebula Goriska; Brda, Slovenia; $45
January 28: 2001 Rioja Alta Viña Ardanza Reserva Especial; Rioja, Spain; $28- $30
February 4: 2011 Anselmo Mendes Alvarinho Contacto; Vinho Verde, Portugal; $20
February 11: 2007 Gerard Bertrand La Forge; Corbières Boutenac, France; $70
February 14, Valentine's Day: NV Taylor Fladgate First Estate Port; Porto, Portugal; $18-22
February 18: 2008 Barolo Rocche dell' Annunziata; Piemonte, Italy; $90
February 25: 2011 Sottimano Mate; Piemonte, Italy; $17
March 4: 2008 Il Poggione Rosso di Montalcino; Tuscany, Italy; $64
March 11: 2008 Frescobaldi Rufina Nipozzano Chianti; Tuscany, Italy; $19
March 18: Domaine Laroche Sauvignon Blanc de la Chevalière $11.50
March 25: 2005 Michele Satta Cavaliere; Tuscany, Italy; $67
March 31, Easter: 16. 2009 Bastianich Vespa Bianco; Colli Orientali del Friuli DOC, Italy; $39
April 7: Nikolaihof 'Hefeabzug' Grüner Veltliner; Wachau, Austria; $25
April 14: 2011 Donnhoff Niederhäauser Brucücke Riesling ; Rheinland, Germany; $60
April 21: 2011 Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc, 2011; Malborough, New Zealand; $28
April 28: 2010 Alexakis Vidiano; Crete, Greece; $12
May 5: Lucien Albrecht Alsace Riesling Reserve; Alsace, France; $17
May 12, Mother's Day: 23. 2008 Domaine J.F. Mugnier Nuits-Saint-George Close de la Marachale Premier Cru; Burgundy, France; $85
May 19: 2011 Quina de Soalheiro Alvarinho; Vinho Verde, Portugal; $22
May 26: 1. 2009 Hunt Cellars Moonlight Sonata Chardonnay; Pasa Robles, California; $37
May 27, Memorial Day: 2011 Zuani Vigne Collio Bianco; Fruili-Venezia-Giulia, Italy; $24
June 2: 2008 Quinta Do Pinto Vinhas do Lasso Branco; Lisboa, Portugal; $16
June 9: 2011 Domaine Sigalas Assyrtiko-Athiri; Agean Islands, Greece; $25
June 16, Father's Day: 2008 Clio Bodegas El Nido El Nido; Jumilla, Spain; $105
June 23: 2011 Etude Pinot Noir Rose; Carneros, California; $26
June 30: 2008 Sogrape Vinhos Dão Callabriga; Dão, Portugal; $13
July 4, Independence Day: 2011 or 2012 Dr. Franks Dry Riesling; Finger Lakes, New York; $15- $17
July 7: 2010 Bisson Pigato Colline del Genovesato IGT; Liguria, Italy; $26
July 15: 2011 Ponzi Pinot Gris; Williamette Valley, Oregon; $36
July 22: 2011 Villa Bucci Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore; Marches, Italy; $20-$23
July 29: Domaine Tempier Bandol Rosé; Bandol, France; $34
August 4: 2010 Cantina Roccafiore Fiordaliso Bianco; Umbria, Italy; $21
August 11: Domaine de Montille 'Les Cailleret' Premier Cru de Puligny-Montrachet; Burgundy, France; $125
August 18: Gai'A "14-18h"; Peloponnese, Greece; $13
August 25: 2008 Gillardi Harys Syrah; Piemonte, Italy; $60- $70
September 1: 2011 Blackbird Vineyards Arriviste Rose; Napa Valley, California; $25
September 2, Labor Day: 2009 Kesselstatt Josephöfer Mosel GG Riesling Trocken; $67
September 8: 2010 Robert Mondavi Pinot Noir Reserve Caneros; Napa Valley, California; $60
September 15: 2010 Petite Cochon Blanc White Rhone Blend; Napa Valley, California; $21
September 22: 2011 Weingut Weiningerr Rosengartl Alte Reben Gemischter Satz; Vienna, Austria; $95
September 29: 2010 Lini Lambrusco Lambrusca Rosso; Emilia-Romagna, Italy; – $18
October 6: 2003 Chateau Musar; Bekaa Valley, Lebanon; $50
October 13: Whetstone Pinot Noir "Jon Boat"; Sonoma , California; $36
October 20: 2010 Do Ferreiro Rebisaca Albarino Rias Baixas; Rais Baixas, Spain; $42
October 27: Domaine Chandon Pinot Meunier; Carneros, California; $55
October 31, Halloween: 49. 2009 Domaine Rene Rostaing Cote Rotie La Londonne; Rhone, France; $75
November 3: 2010 Masseria Li Veli Askos Susumaniello Salento IGT; Puglia, Italy; $21
November 10: 2010 Domaine Auguste Clape Cornas; Rhone, France; $146
November 17: 2009 Henry Fessy Morgon Cru Beaujolais, Beaujolais,France, $17
November 24: 2003 Hunt Cellars 2003 "Tawny" Zinfandel Port "Zinful Delight" and 2005 Hunt Cellars Cabernet Port "Good Vibrations"; Pasa Robles, California; $50 and $80
November 28, Thanksgiving: 2010 Montinore Estate Pinot Noir; Williamette Valley, Oregon; $17 – $19
December 1: NV Domaine Spiropoulos "Ode Panos Brut" ; Mantinia, Greece; $20
December 8: 2010 Gundlach Bundschu Mountain Cuvee Red Blend; Sonoma, California; $24
December 15: 2009 Cantina Terlano "Porphyr" Lagrein Riserva; Trentino Alto-Adige, Italy; $55- $60
December 22: 2003 Bernard Levet Cote-Rotie la Chavaroche; Rhone, France; $96
December 24, Christmas Eve: 2009 Taylor Fladgate Vintage Port; Porto, Portugal; $99
December 25, Christmas Day: 2006 Ferrari Perle Brut Metodo Classico; Trentino, Italy; $38 – $42
December 29: NV Champagne Serveaux-Fils "Cuvee Pinot Meunier "; Champagne, France ; $65
December 31, New Year's Eve: NV Joel Falmet Tradition Brut; Champagne, France; $36 – $48"