Your Guide to New Year’s Eve with Penns Woods: Top Pairings, Champagne Alternatives & More

What to drink and how to pair like a pro on New Year’s Eve—that’s on everyone’s mind as we toast farewell to Chanukah and Christmas, bid adieu to 2015 and get ready to take on 2016.

The Penns Woods Winery tasting room team has soul-satisfying suggestions for spot-on non-bubbly pairings. Yup, you read that correctly: we believe you’ll love these not-your-ordinary New Year’s Eve sips. Hello, new traditions!

Eat Dessert First

New Year’s Eve is a celebration, and when we think party, we think dessert. Wow your friends and family with these tempting treats.

Our merlot-based Lacrima Dolce dessert wine teases with hints of chocolate and cinnamon. Its beautifully balanced tannins mean it’s not too sweet, so pair it with vanilla ice cream and fresh berries. Need something more warming this winter? Sauté those berries in a bit of balsamic before you spoon them over ice cream.

Rich, chocolate desserts—we’re talking molten lava cake, flourless brownies, mocha tortes, double chocolate-espresso truffle pie and more—are begging for our Merlot Reserve 2013. The wine is big, bold and complements with tones of ripe blackberry, dark cherry, chocolate tannins and even a touch of smoke, vanilla and leather at the finish.

Celebrating Italian-style with panettone bread? Our Bancroft Moscato’s fruit-forward aromatics and flavors of ripe peach, pineapple and honeysuckle pair perfectly with the traditional savory bread-cake’s candied oranges, raisins and lemon zest. Mangia!

And truth be told, we may not produce a sparkling (yet!), but we do appreciate the bubbly. Take yours to the next level by mixing equal parts of your favorite champs with our Bancroft Moscato Rose. It’s refreshingly sweet—but not too sweet—so it goes great with brut (driest), extra-dry (less dry than brut), sec (sweet) or demi sec (sweetest). Indulge in that with cherry pie and enjoy a little slice of heaven. You’re welcome.

Consider These Main Courses

New Year’s Eve conjures up vision of rich foods, but sometimes simple can be exquisite. Tempt your guests with either or—the choice is yours!

Ringing in the New Year with surf and turf? Earn best host kudos with our Chambourcin. Its gorgeous garnet color, notes of pomegranate and sage with an earthy and peppery finish can take on buttery lobster, saucy prawns, demi-kissed filet mignon or garlicky roasts.

We have two recommendations if you’re presenting a simple but satisfying baked ham. Choose our Chardonnay Reserve to intensify the richness with tastes of crisp green apple, nutmeg, toasted nut and creamy vanilla. Or, sip our Sauvignon Blanc to cleanse your palate with bright acidity and minerality following flavors of tangerine peel, passion fruit and grapefruit.

Make Penns Woods’ Favorite App

We fell in love with this during our fondue pairings at the tasting room. You’ll be enamored when you see how easy it is to make (don’t worry—we won’t tell!). It’s made marvelous with our Chardonnay Reserve, so quaff that as you’re nibbling it, too.

Penns Woods Winery Fondue

Ingredients:

• ½ lb Emmentaler cheese (shredded)
• ½ lb Gruyere cheese (shredded)
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 cup Penns Woods Chardonnay Reserve
• ½ teaspoon dry mustard
• Pinch of nutmeg
• Pinch of black pepper

Preparation:

1. Over medium heat, add wine and garlic to a pot and bring to a gentle simmer. Remove the clove of garlic after 2 minutes of simmering.
2. Gradually stir the cheese into the simmering liquid. Once the cheese is smooth, mix in the mustard, pepper and nutmeg.
3. Serve with an assortment of fresh breads, apples or vegetables, such as broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and asparagus.​

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Cheers to a wine-filled, food-focused, happy and healthy 2016 from your friends at Penns Woods Winery!

Penns Woods Winery is a family-run Pennsylvania winery. With more than 40 years of experience in the wine business, winemaker Gino Razzi and his daughter, Carley Mack, produce award-winning wines from Pennsylvania-grown grapes. Penns Woods wines can be found in restaurants throughout Philadelphia and its surrounding suburbs. Stop in to your local state store and pick from a limited selection of wines, or visit our tasting room for the full offering. The tasting room in Chadds Ford provides an all-around vineyard experience and hosts live music, food and wine pairings and other exciting events each weekend. Score Penns Woods Winery news in your inbox by signing up for our newsletter today!

--Nina Malone