On the Wine Side - Holiday Time at Exit 9! Fri, Dec 12, 2025 It is the most wonderful time of year if you enjoy wine. Wine for dining. Wine for gifting. Wine for gatherings big and small. Whatever the occasion you're shopping for, we at Exit 9 have recommendations galore. If you're coming to the store this Friday the 12th or Saturday the 13th (or both), you can try some exceptional wines, including one of my all-time favorites, Veuve Cliquot Champagne! If you love the smell of fresh-baked bread and the tingle of fine bubbles, you'll love the Veuve. It's being tasted along with some other delicious sparklers from Moet & Chandon (France) and Chandon (California). That's between 3 and 6 pm on Friday. On Saturday, between noon and 3, stop by and try the line from Meiomi. The Pinot Noir is irresistible - juicy and smooth and elegant - and their other wines are equally seductive. There will be lots of other goodies, too. Then, coming up on the 18th and 19th, you can taste wines from Duckhorn and Decoy; Rombauer; and Austin Hope. Wow! Find the full selection of wines (and liquors) being tasted this weekend and next here. If you're looking for lovely wines at great values, scout out our Green Tag Gems throughout the store. They're wines that we have special access to that are as good if not better than the more recognizable brands. And if you buy 6 or more, you get an extra 10% off. You can't go wrong with any of the Verga Italian wines, for example - reds that are fabuloso, but also whites and Prosecco and Moscato - wines guaranteed to work with any kind of foods you might find on the table, from pizza, wings, and chips to gourmet osso bucco or veal chops, and of course dessert spreads. Holiday meals are extra-special, and the wines you choose to serve with them can be, too. Consider going "big" as a gift for your guests and yourself. In our Fine Wine Room in the front of the store we have some stand-out selections, including many Cabernet Sauvignons from California that are perfect for prime rib. The Jordan is a great choice, or how about the Daou Soul of a Lion? The Oren Swift wines are always impressive, especially the Mercury Head, which has a Mercury head dime imbedded in the bottle (the wine is a Napa Cab). Or bring home a Barolo from Piedmonte in Italy, considered "the king of wine and the wine of kings" - wines that reveal haunting aromas of roses, tar, cherries, leather, truffle, and earth. I'm a big fan of the Mirafiore Barolo. You can't go wrong with a French Bordeaux, either. There's a lovely 2019 Chateau de Pressac Grand Cru from Saint Emilion, where Merlot is the dominant grape. C'est aussi bon. Want to go really big? We have Opus One. Opus One is Napa’s version of a luxury sports car: precision-engineered, obsessively crafted, undeniably gorgeous, and absolutely aware of its own status. It’s a wine that was developed in partnership between Robert Mondavi (Mr. Napa himself) and Baron Philippe de Rothschild of Château Mouton Rothschild (Bordeaux royalty). It’s essentially the marriage of old-world pedigree and new-world power. If it's been that kind of year, Opus One is that kind of wine. Whatever direction your wine needs take you, we're here to help. Our goal is to help make your holidays merry and bright and just right. Some of the best holiday gifts aren't wrapped, they're poured. Cheers! By Tyler Duma
