• Sponsors
    • Build Your Own Event
    • Virtual Events
    • Client Reviews
  • Guests
  • Events
    • Calendar
    • Event Reviews
  • Resources
    • Blog
    • Interviews
    • Virtual Events Infographic
    • 2020 Highlights
    • Advent Calendar
  • About
  • Contact

5 Best Wines for Winter Nights

winter wine by fireplace

What better way to get you through the dreary cold winter than a night in with some great food and delicious wine to match? Whilst a lot of us complain about the never-ending winter, we at Chief Wine Officer like to celebrate the cold months by indulging in great wines that complement the season. On that note, here are our 5 favourite winter wines!

1. Tawny Port

You might say that port is a Christmas wine, but we say it’s an all-season winter wine. “Tawny” means that the port has spent more time ageing in a wooden barrel than its “Ruby” counterpart. Tawnies have a nutty, spicy flavour and are perfect to match with soul-warming wintery puddings (think molten lava cakes) as well as with cheese boards.

The ageing process also gives tawny port a mellow character, making it (almost dangerously) easy to enjoy on its own. Time to stop pigeon-holing port as a Christmas staple and embracing Tawny as a winter classic!

2. Oaked Chardonnay

hardonnay can be un-oaked (aged in steel or plastic tanks) or oaked, meaning that it’s been aged in oak barrels. Unoaked chardonnays typically have a refreshing, minerally flavour profile that you might associate with a warm summer evening spent outside with friends in the garden. The oaked variety, however, has a distinguished, sweet yet spicy, buttery yet toasty profile. Even just describing these flavours gives you a fuzzy wintery feeling inside.

The winter weather is a sign to uncork the wine and get the fire going!

3. Cabernet Sauvignon

Most of us think of “big” reds when we hear “winter wines”. That’s why the beloved “Cab Sav” naturally has a place on this list. With woody flavours of cedar and oak, complemented with rich fruity and vanilla notes, this full-bodied and complex variety is a favourite to pair with steaks, roast or grilled lamb, cheese and mushrooms. You won’t be surprised to find out that it’s one of the most widely grown and popular varieties in the world.

4. Pinot Noir

For somewhat opposite reasons, Pinot Noir has a place on this list next to Cabernet Sauvignon. As opposed to Cab Savs, Pinot Noirs tend to be crisper, tangier and lighter in colour. What makes wines of this grape variety excellent for winter is that their lighter characteristics render them the perfect choice to balance out the hearty and boldly-flavoured dishes that are typical of the season – think casseroles, stews and meats such as beef and duck.

Wine is always in the spotlight at Chief Wine Officer… Who’d have guessed!

5. Champagne & Sparkling Wines

Winter is the festive season, and is there anything more festive than a glass (or several) of champagne? Apart from being celebratory, champagne also pairs well with almost any food because of its high acidity, which acts as a palate cleanser.

If you previously thought of it as a drink you’d only have on its own, as an aperitif, or with oysters, you’ll be happy to find out that sparkling wines are actually a go-to wine for anything bar your breakfast cereal.

An added bonus is that champagne has been proven to lift your mood: it contains magnesium, potassium and zinc, all of which contribute to the little feeling of joy that bubbles up after your fist sip. Feeling down that winter is still here? Sit back, open the champagne and enjoy it while It lasts.

 

Want to Get Even More Wine Savvy?

If you’re curious to find out more about wines, we run business networking dinners with a side of wine tasting and education in cities across the globe. You can visit our events calendar to sign up!

Share

Related posts

winter wine recommendations
January 8, 2021

22 Winter Wines (Recommended by Our Wine Experts)


Read more
December 8, 2020

5 Films for Wine Enthusiasts (& Novices)


Read more
December 2, 2020

CWO Advent Calendar


Read more
JOIN OUR COMMUNITY

Search

Upcoming Events

  1. Holistic Cyber Security for the Organisations of Tomorrow

    January 26 @ 6:30 pm - 8:15 pm
  2. Embracing App Modernisation for Success in 2021

    January 27, 2021 @ 6:00 pm - January 27, 2022 @ 7:45 pm
  3. Increasing Adaptability And Insight For The Modern CDO

    January 27 @ 6:30 pm - 8:15 pm
  4. How to Maximise Your Data for the Greater Enterprise Good

    January 28 @ 6:30 pm - 8:15 pm
  5. Surfing the 5G Wave: Modernizing Data Analytics in Telco

    January 28 @ 6:30 pm - 8:15 pm

View All Events

Explore CWO

  • Become a sponsor
  • Register as a guest
  • See our database
  • View events calendar
  • Visit our blog

CONTACT US

UK
23–24 Smithfield Street
London, EC1A 9LF
+44 207 329 3933

USA
4500 140th Ave #101
Clearwater, FL 33762
+1 727 475 4316

marketing@chiefnation.com

BROWSE OUR SITE

  • Become a sponsor
  • Register as a guest
  • See our database
  • View events calendar
  • Visit our blog

VIP EVENT EXPERIENCES

Chief Wine Officer is run by Chief
Nation, and is a leading VIP event experience designed to bring C-level executives together. We run some of the best B2B networking events in the world including all major global cities. Contact us to discuss your event requirements.

  • Privacy policy
  • Terms and conditions.

FOLLOW CWO

Connect with Chief Wine Officer on social media.

JOIN OUR COMMUNITY
© Chief Wine Officer 2005–2020. All Rights Reserved.
      Whether you’re a guest at a CWO event or a guest on the CWO website, you deserve the best possible experience. That’s why we use cookies.
      They’re to make things run smoothly and help us understand more about what you want from your visit. You can accept or decline – either way you’re very welcome to stay and explore. Accept Decline Privacy
      Privacy & Cookies Policy

      Privacy Overview

      This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
      Necessary
      Always Enabled

      Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

      Non-necessary

      Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.