Corkscrew Chronicle: Start the new year right

There are great wines that are forgotten until the increased taste experiences of the holidays bring them back to our awareness. Consumers normally will purchase premium bottles after the holidays until the credit card bills arrive. With 2020 having been so difficult, I am offering wine suggestions to extend the holidays to mid-January with the enjoyment of an exceptional bottle. Here are some of my favorites that you might savor before the bills come due: Champagne: Bollinger's Special Cuvee ($80) is aged in oak and shows toasty, creamy nuances. The Lanson Green Label Organic Champagne ($70) is an experience in complexity. Moet's Dom Perignon ($187) is crisp, elegant and stylish and quite complex. Ayala ($50) is a personal favorite for its nuance and creamy, toasty notes. Riesling: J.J. Prum is one of the Mosel's top producers, making wines that age gracefully with bracing acidity and length. Look for the Graacher Himmelreich Kabinett ($40) for its mouthwatering flavors. Chardonnay: a favorite is the Chateau Montelena, Napa ($60) that is wonderfully balanced. The Far Niente, Napa ($60) is always stunning and complex. From Oregon the Bergstrom "Old Stones" ($45) shows exceptional minerality, bracing acidity and lingering finish. From the old world look for the Chanson Meursault, Burgundy ($70) with its mineral, creamy texture and firm acid-enhanced finish. Pinot noir: From Ohio look for the St. Joseph Reserve ($38) for its plumy, clove, cedar and rose notes. New Zealand's Dog Point Vineyard releases a lovely, low-yield Pinot ($43) from hand-picked fruit that is superbly rich and integrated. The Domaine Drouhin, Oregon ($45) is a classic example of the New World made by Old World experience. Full reds: Look for the Malbec blend from Decero named The Owl and the Dust Devil, Argentina ($30) for its ripe, dark fruit and forward flavors. Luca Malbec, Argentina ($35) is ripe and darkly-fruited with firm structure and complexity. Ghost Block Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa ($75) shows rich red fruit with notes of cocoa with silky structure. Peju Provence Cabernet Sauvignon ($63) is classic Napa example with dark fruit, oak and structure. The Villa Calcinaia Vigna Bastignano Gran Selezione, Tuscany ($57) is the ultimate quality level from the region, a truly rich, complex and lovely red. Dessert wines: Vermillion Valley Vineyards 2017 Chardonnay Late Harvest ($22-375ml) — a lightly sweet late harvest wine perfect with delicate desserts such as cookies and cakes for those who enjoy subtler dessert wines. It is balanced between elegance and power with hints of pineapple and golden delicious apple. Kosicek Vineyards offers two Vidal ice wines from 2020: A blend of first and second press harvested at 41 percent sugar with 20 percent residual sugar for ($30-375 ml.) that shows a rich and unctuous palate and aromas/flavors of pineapple, citrus and sweet apple. They also have released a spectacular first press bottling that reached 51 percent sugar with 35 percent residual sugar ($100-375 ml.), the highest sugar level they have experienced. Its nose is tight but grew in the glass. Very rich on the palate with much more texture than the first wine, it shows extreme concentration with lovely, sweet apricot and pineapple with a luscious finish. Try both of these wines with chocolate, blue cheeses and carrot cake. Porto: Two styles to look for. Late bottle vintage by producers such as Warres, Dow and Fonseca (priced in the mid-$20 range) are ready to drink on release. From the Portuguese house of Noval a classic is a 10-year Tawny ($37), aged in cask with rich and mellow flavors. Noval developed this wine style. The holiday bills will be coming regardless. Enjoy one last hurrah to life before reality sets in. Gary Twining is a certified wine educator who worked 34 years in the wholesale fine wine industry. Email him at winingwithtwining@hotmail.com.