Christmas is a joyous and special time for me. Every year I look forward to seeing my family and having a very special meal. We always have roast beef on Christmas and every year I try a different wine as a pairing. This year we had a Vino Nobile di Montepulciano from Avignonesi.

It was a perfect match I must say although I was nervous because it was a 2003, a very hot year. The wine still had lots of fruit, elegant tannins and a velvety nuanced flavor as it slid comfortably down my throat.

The wine was made from a blend of 85% Prugnolo Gentile, 10% Canaiolo Nero, and 5% Mammolo. It spends 18 months in wood barrels and then a further nine months in the bottle before it is released.

We also had a fabulous dessert wine, a Vin Santo from Susanna Crociani. Susanna is a dear friend and her Vin Santo is my favorite dessert wine. She very lovingly sent my family a bottle for Christmas-THANK YOU. I have written about this wine many times and did a podcast with her about it about a year ago.

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas filled with great wine, family and friends, and good cheer.