Emily Wines Will Save Your Holiday Gatherings

I know a lot about spirits (the boozy kind). But wine scares me, particularly around the holidays when you’re obligated to show up with something that’ll please a diverse crowd of people and pair with a menagerie of dishes that might be savory, sweet or both. You need a wine expert to put you at ease. And you might as well take advice from one of the best: Emily Wines.

Yes, that is her real name. Wines is one of fewer than 300 Master Sommeliers worldwide and one of only 15 who passed the exam on her first attempt. Smart and opinionated, yes, but she’s no snob — she loves under-the-radar $20 bottles, an array of sparking wines and even a few canned styles just as much as four- or five-figure bottles (she can pick those, too).

And while you probably can’t talk to her personally, Wines leads a new class (“A Sommelier’s Snob-Free Guide to Wine with Master Sommelier Emily Wines”) on the educational streaming platform MasterClass (we’ve taken a boozy MasterClass before and found it really useful). The hourlong session will educate you on wine basics and put you at ease about buying, serving, pairing and storing bottles. After watching it, I certainly felt more confident.

We wanted to get a deeper dive into bottle picks for the holidays, so we spoke with Wines via Zoom earlier this month. The good news is that no matter what you’re doing or what you’re eating for the holidays, there’s a wine that’ll please you, your friends and your family.

InsideHook: How often do friends and colleagues hit you up for wine advice?

Emily Wines: I have a little joke thing going with a group of friends that’s called Text a Somm where I give certain friends the right to text me anytime about what you should get.

On to the holidays! What’s the biggest mistake people make when buying wine this time of year?

I would say not having a diversity of wines. If you don’t know who is coming to your dinner, you might have someone who only likes a really fruity white wine or people who like dry reds. It’s important to have a mix of wines because you never know what people are going to gravitate toward.

If someone is making a very traditional Thanksgiving dinner — turkey, sides, etc. — what would you recommend?

Thanksgiving is an interesting one because there are so many different dishes on the table. There’s no one wine that goes with everything. But I would say there are two different routes I would suggest for the entry-level wine drinker. One would be a fruitier style white wine, something like a riesling. That works well with a lot of the sweet flavors that show up in a Thanksgiving dinner, things like Waldorf salad and sweet potatoes. And then the other thing I recommend is a bright, fresh red, something lighter, like pinot noir, grenache, gamay, which are all very popular at Thanksgiving for this reason. That’s because these are wines that taste kind of like cherry and cranberry — there’s a tangy and a sweet-tart note to them, which is kind of like cranberry sauce.

What if the turkey is fried?

I’d make sure there is something with a good amount of acid to cut through all that richness. You could go as wild as a sparkling wine. You can do sparkling rosé. I love fried foods with sparkling wines, but you could also do something like a bright pinot from a cooler place like New Zealand. Although, myself, I’m kind of partial to doing all-American wines at Thanksgiving.

An Expert Picks the Perfect Wines for Thanksgiving Dinner

Sommelier Kate Dingwall chooses seven bottles that will enhance the meal — and please your pickiest guest

Is there such a thing as a crowd-pleasing wine that’ll work with any meal?

If you want to bring an inexpensive wine that’s kind of an easy crowd-pleaser and really versatile with a lot of different foods, I recommend something like a Côte-Rôtie from Southern France. They’re good values and friendly. Spanish wines are often pretty approachable and easy to drink. It’s a warm place. Those are wines that have a lot of ripeness that appeals to the American palate. As far as sparkling goes, Prosecco or cava are inexpensive and easy drinking.

You did a great job explaining in the MasterClass why wine labels are sometimes hard to decipher. What else should I know when I go into a wine store?

It helps to understand what kind of wine store you’re going to. If it’s a store that focuses on big brand names, it’s going to give you a different approach versus a store focused on natural wine or more unusual wines. Also, find someone who works there and say, “Hey, this is what I normally like to drink. What do you have that’s similar?” And read shelf talkers. If you like big, bold wines, look for shelf talkers that use some of that language. Basically, look for tasting notes that reflect the things you like.

I almost feel like with all the variety of dishes and courses, you could find a wine that’ll pair well with something during a holiday dinner.

You can bring any type of wine. What I would say is, before the meal, drink sparkling wine or high-acid white wines. It stimulates the palate and makes you hungry. Then graduate into richer or fruitier whites, and then go to the reds. And don’t forget dessert! I love nuttier dessert wines like a tawny Port. They go great with pumpkin or pecan pie.