If you’re stuck scrolling websites searching for hyperspecific gifts for each of your friend’s niche interests, it might be time to consider grabbing a bottle of wine instead. And for the cool, winter months red wine is always a great option — whether it’s a glou-glou bottle of Gamay to get the festivities started or a bold, savory Syrah to complement the season’s hearty fare.
Even though red wine is an easy go-to gift, there’s still some nuance within the category. Some friends might prefer lighter-bodied Pinot Noirs while others gravitate toward powerful, age-worthy Cabs for their collections. And your one wine geek family member might just appreciate any bottle with a good story behind it. That’s why we compiled a list of seven red wines that fit almost any holiday gifting scenario, from budget finds to all-out splurges.
Read on to discover the best red wines to gift this year.
Best Budget Red: Rico Nuevo Garnacha 2022
Best Splurge Red: Corison Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2021
Best Red Wine For Beginners: Château Malherbe Rouge 2022
Best Red Wine for Geeks: Illahe Vineyards 1899 Estate Pinot Noir 2022
Best Red Wine for Dinner Pairings: Pax Sonoma Hillsides Syrah 2022
Best Red Wine to Impress: White Rose Estate ‘The Neo-Classical Objective’ Pinot Noir 2022
Best Bang For Your Buck Red: Evening Land ‘Seven Springs’ Gamay Noir 2024
Best Budget Red
Rico Nuevo Garnacha 2022
Spain is a treasure trove of great value wines, and one of our favorite under-$20 bottles this year was the Garnacha from Rico Nuevo. It comes from the mountainous Sierra de Gredos region just outside Madrid — an area known for its elegant, lighter-bodied expressions of Garnacha. This bottle delivers punchy, juicy red fruit notes of cherries, cranberries, and strawberries with subtle hints of white pepper. It’s packed with an impressive amount of flavor for the price.
Average price: $19
Rating: 92
Best Splurge Red
Corison Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2021
Cathy Corison is one of Napa’s most esteemed winemakers, and though the Corison wines are certainly a splurge, they’re a steal compared to many of the region’s cult bottlings. The winery’s flagship Cabernet Sauvignon is known for its balance between bold, powerful fruit and bright, lifted acidity. It offers complex notes of wild berries, plum, anise, forest floor, and subtle hints of green bell pepper. The wine’s sturdy structure makes it one to sit with and enjoy over an evening in a decanter but if you’re looking for a gift for someone building out their cellar, this bottle is also wonderfully age-worthy.
Average price: $125
Rating: 94
Best Red Wine For Beginners
Château Malherbe Rouge 2022
While Pinot and Merlot are often cited as the wine world’s best introductory grape varieties, this wine makes a great case for Grenache. This Grenache-based blend from Provence’s Château Malherbe showcases the southern French region’s sunny, ripe character with a palate full of juicy red fruits. Peak-season cherries, stewed strawberries, and red plums mix with notes of leather and sweet baking spics across the nose and palate. The wine is medium-bodied with soft tannins that make it more than welcoming to any curious red wine drinker.
Average price: $55
Rating: 93
Best Red Wine for Geeks
Illahe Vineyards 1899 Estate Pinot Noir 2022
While suggesting a Willamette Valley Pinot Noir might not exactly sound groundbreaking for a wine nerd, this bottle has a really interesting story behind it that any enthusiast would love to share. Illahe started its 1899 project in 2011 with the goal of making wine without the use of electricity or modern techniques. This entails picking the fruit by hand, transporting it to the winery by horse, destemming the grapes with a hand crank, and the team even devised a makeshift bicycle pump to transport the wine from the press to the barrel. In 2013, Illahe took it a step further and decided to transport the wine to its distributor in Portland without trucks as well. The process now requires a mule-powered stagecoach and five canoes to make the three-day trip. The result? A delicious Pinot Noir with rich notes of chocolate-covered cherries, blackberry jam, cinnamon, and pine forest. (And a great story.)
Average price: $85
Rating: 96
Best Red Wine for Dinner Pairings
Pax Sonoma Hillsides Syrah 2022
Festive dinners in the colder months often mean something hearty like mushroom stew, rack of lamb, or even an elaborate prime rib roast. So why not gift your host a savory, rich bottle of Syrah? This expression from Sonoma’s Pax will complement any of these decadent dishes with its complex notes of juicy blackberries, smoked meat, olive tapenade, and crushed black peppercorns. While its flavor profile is bold enough to stand up to any winter dish, the wine also maintains a lifted feel from its bright acidity that helps keep the palate refreshed bite after bite.
Average price: $60
Rating: 93
Best Red Wine to Impress
White Rose Estate ‘The Neo-Classical Objective’ Pinot Noir 2022
Let’s say you’re buying a gift for a die-hard Pinot Noir lover, maybe one who’s typically partial to wines from Burgundy, so there’s a lot of pressure to pick a Pinot that stands out. This bottle from Oregon’s White Rose Estate is the answer. The “Neo-Classical Objective” bottling is the winery’s homage to the history of Pinot Noir, sourced from vineyard sites with higher elevations and older vines. It’s made with 100 percent whole-cluster fermentation and aged in (22 percent new) French oak barrels for 15 months. The result is a deeply expressive Pinot Noir. It opens with aromas of ripe cherries, stewed strawberries, and baking spices.The palate introduces hints of vanilla, clove, and forest floor that last across the long finish.
Average price: $110
Rating: 97
Best Bang For Your Buck Red
Evening Land ‘Seven Springs’ Gamay Noir 2024
While Gamay might have a reputation as a light, easy-drinking red, this expression from Oregon offers a more nuanced take with concentrated, complex flavors. It opens with effusive notes of ripe raspberries, wild strawberries, and blood orange, followed by cedar and black pepper. The palate packs a punch of more juicy fruit character, wrapped in a layer of spice. A truly delicious, enjoyable wine for a compelling under-$50 price.
Average price: $45
Rating: 95
