Drink and be merry

Holiday Cheer

Avondale Pinotage
South Africa, 2006
$12
Velvety  red

An easy-drinking, velvety wine whose layers of oaky smoke and blackberry unfurl gradually, like something that costs much more. The pinotage grape is a lesser-known hybrid grown mostly in South Africa, and this particular wine is organic, so you get a few of snob points on this one, too. A versatile red that goes especially well with rich, roasted meats.