K&L Newsletter: Holiday Pairing Picks

The holidays ask a lot of what’s in your glass. Wines need to welcome guests, carry meals, and hold their own long after the plates are cleared. This guide reflects our aapproach to seasonal pairings, moving from sparkling wines that start the evening right, to whites and reds that complement the table with ease, and finishing with Scotch that’s meant for lingering conversations. Each section highlights bottles we trust for holiday meals with a focus on versatility, balance, and value.

• Sparkling Wine Picks
• White Wine Selections
• Red Wine Pairing Picks
• Holiday Scotch for Before and After Dinner
• In Case You Missed It: K&L Gift Guide

When it comes to holiday meals, sparkling wine is the ultimate insurance policy. It works beautifully as an aperitif while guests arrive, but it also shines at the table, where its acidity and texture make it one of the easiest wines to pair across a wide range of dishes. From salty snacks and seafood to rich mains and unexpected flavors, sparkling wine is a sommelier’s cheat code for tricky pairings. If you’re looking for one bottle that can carry you through the entire evening, start here. And if you haven't tried our new Maison 76 yet, it is one of the best value Champagnes we’ve ever offered in our 49-year history.

White wines do a lot of the heavy lifting during the holidays. They’re natural partners for classic dishes like roast poultry, seafood, vegetable sides, and anything with herbs, citrus, or cream in the mix. Good acidity keeps things lively at the table, while a range of textures allows whites to handle everything from light starters to rich mains. This selection leans on wines we reach for year after year, combining freshness, balance, and versatility with prices that make sense for entertaining.

Red wines tend to anchor the meal once the main courses hit the table. They shine alongside roasted meats, hearty vegetable dishes, mushrooms, and anything pulled from the oven with a bit of caramelization. The key during the holidays is balance. Wines with freshness and structure hold up to rich food without overwhelming it, and having a range of styles on hand lets you match the mood of the table as the evening unfolds. This selection reflects the reds we lean on most at this time of year, spanning approachable everyday bottles to classic benchmarks, all at prices that make them easy to pour generously and share around the table.

And if you want two of the most reliable “wow” values to bring or pour, look for our K&L Discovery Series and Anonymous Wine Collective label series, values built on our decades of winery relationships.

2025 has been one of the most challenging and rewarding years for our spirits customers. We’ve fought against the tide to create new opportunities and renew old alliances, and the result is one of the most compelling selections of spirits anywhere in the world. From our hand-selected single malts to small-batch mezcal, no store anywhere in the world can claim to be creating more value for their customers.

For the holidays this year, we celebrate a newly minted whisky season with an impeccable lineup of eleven single casks of Scotch from our dear friends at Douglas Laing in Glasgow. The wonderful and historic bottler has never failed to bring exciting casks to market, but we’ve turned up the value this year—overcoming rising costs and bureaucratic hurdles to offer a wide variety of unique casks at market-beating prices. These are some of the most unique and delicious barrels we’ve ever sourced from the storied bottler, and the prices send a message to the market at large.
Read more On the Trail

This year’s K&L Holiday Gift Guide showcases the bottles our buyers are most excited to give (and to receive). Below you’ll find Champagne benchmarks, hand-selected Domestic gems, top-flight Tuscan classics, and versatile Loire Valley wines. Consider this your roadmap to the most compelling gifts of the season.

Read more On the Trail

Monday, December 15th – Discover Italy Tasting (Redwood City, Culver City, Hollywood)
Wednesday, December 17th – Italian Icons Tasting: Featuring Sassicaia (All Stores)
Thursday, December 18th – Giovanni Rosso Tasting (All Stores)
Friday, December 19th – Ad Vivum Tasting (All Stores)
Saturday, December 20th – Tyler Winery — Wines of the Sea Since 2005 (All Stores)
Saturday, December 20th – Michel Couvreur Spirits Tasting (Culver City)
Sunday, December 21st – Bardstown Bourbon Tasting (Culver City)
Wednesday, December 24th – Angel’s Envy Spirits Tasting (SF)
Friday, December 26th – Sparkling Wines of the World Tasting (All Stores)
Saturday, December 27th – Grand Champagne Tasting: Essentials for NYE (All Stores)
Thursday, January 22nd – UGCB Annual Bordeaux Grand Tasting (SF)

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