All of us at Sutter Home encourage and appreciate our fans for being responsible this holiday season.  To keep everyone in the party mood, make fun festive cocktails with Fre Wines, an alcohol-removed option.

Fre Wines Mistleto-jito

• Collins glass
• 1 heaping tablespoon diced strawberry
• 3 large blackberries
• 5-6 blueberries
• 3 mint leaves, torn
• 1/2 ounce lime juice
• 3 ounces Fre Merlot
• 3 ounces Tava Tahitian Tamure
• Muddle berries, lime juice and mint in the bottom of a tall glass.  Add 3 ounces of Fre Merlot, then fill glass with ice.  Top with Tava Tahitian Tamure.  Garnish with a lime wheel and sip through a colorful straw.

Also, take the Fre Wines icare Designated Driver Pledge on the Fre Wines Facebook page. Show your commitment to a safe holiday season!

Here’s our list of the top 5 holiday traditions everyone should take part in!

1. Baking Cookies:  Make it a family affair!  There’s nothing like getting everyone in the kitchen at once, and during the holidays you can make any kind of cookie imaginable.  You also get the reward of eating them at the end!

2. Watching Holiday Movies:  People look forward to this every year, so we suggest planing a whole week were you watch a new one every night.  Who doesn’t still love watching A Christmas Story!?

3. Opening a Present on Christmas Eve:  It’s too hard to wait all the way till morning!

4. Snowball Fight:  Or you know, watching a snowball fight while you sit inside and drink wine counts too.

5. Bubbly Moscato Toast:  Nothing says let’s celebrate like Bubbly Moscato, and there’s nothing better to toast than being surrounded by family and friends.

So Cheers to all of you, and let us know what your favorite holiday tradition is!

‘Tis the Season!  There’s no better time to spice your wine bottles up than now, so here’s a few tips on how to make an ordinary hostess gift one to remember:

1.    Wrap it:  Everyone enjoys gifts during the holidays, so why not wrap the bottle of wine you’re about to hand over.  Even better, plant a big bow on top to show you mean business.

2.    Dress it up:  Yes, we mean literally.  We want to see bottles of Sutter Home Merlot with white beards and a Santa hat!  You may need to plan ahead and get creative but nothing says happy holidays like a Chardonnay Elf!

3.    Bags:  Cute wine bags are everywhere right now!  They come in all colors and patterns and allow you to make a fun statement with your gift.

4.    DIY:  Now this may be the most unique and cheapest way to give a wine bottle.  All you have to do is buy a silver or gold permanent ink pen and go to town.  Write your own message right on the bottle for a more personal gift.

What varietal are you planning on giving this holiday season?

Sutter Home 187ml Mini Bottles!

You all know they’re perfect for everything, but we’re going to give you another reason to love them.  Imagine waking up Christmas morning, heading to the fireplace where your stocking’s hanging, and seeing a Sutter Home 187ml mini bottle peeking out the top!  Come on, if that isn’t the greatest Christmas morning gift, we don’t know what is!

Our Sutter Home Wine Cocktail Contest is officially on and we want to see what you’ve got!  Create an original cocktail using Sutter Home wine, enter it on our Facebook page, and you’ll be in the running to become the Sutter Home Wine Cocktail of the month!  What are you waiting for, start mixing!

To help you get started we thought we’d tell you one of our favorite wine cocktails:

• 3-4 ounces of Sutter Home Bubbly Moscato
• 1 ¼ ounces cherry juice
• ¼ ounce fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 whole clove

Muddle clove, sugar and lemon juice in the bottom of a cocktail shaker. Add cherry juice and ice, shake well. Double strain into a rounded champagne coupe. Top with Sutter Home Bubbly Moscato. Garnish with a lemon twist.

When it comes to cocktails we all know presentation matters. You’re more likely to drink something if it looks good, which is why cocktail garnishes are so important! Here’s a few that we think would look (and taste!) good with any Sutter Home Wine Cocktail:

1. Blueberries: Have them float on top or use their flavor as part of the drink (time to use the muddler!) Tastes great with Merlot.
2. Cranberries: They make any drink more colorful and festive, plus they’re delicious.
3. Lemons or limes: Can be cut into a wheel and placed on the side, or squeezed into a cocktail to provide that extra flavor.
4. Mint: Tear the leaves and have them float on top of white wine. Brings an extra touch of color and flavor.

What do you use as a garnish, anything crazy like jalapeños or cherry tomatoes? Let us know, and don’t forget to enter our Sutter Home Cocktail Contest Thursday!

Interested in learning how to make a cocktail? Here’s a few necessities you need to get started:

1. Shaker: You need this to mix all your ingredients together, and it also cools your cocktail quicker. Depending on what cocktail you’re making, you should shake between 5-10 seconds, and don’t be shy, put some power into it!

2. Jigger: This is used to measure the liquor before you pour it into the shaker. The amount is usually equal to a shot glass, though you can find different sizes.

3. Bar Spoon: Have you ever seen those really long spoons with the decretive handles? That’s what you need! Bar spoons are used to mix and layer alcohol and their length allow them to reach the bottom of any glass.

4. Strainer: Allows you to pour the drink in a glass without the ice. Before you buy one make sure to check your shaker (some have build in strainers.) Also use ice cubes because crushed ice can clog the strainer.

5. Muddler: Used to mash fruits, herbs etc. at the bottom of a glass to add flavor to the drink. Come on, that just sounds like fun!

Now that you have the basics you should be all set to start mixing when we launch the Sutter Home Cocktail contest this Thursday!

We don’t know if it’s the color or the deep cherry flavor, but as the weather gets colder there isn’t a wine we prefer more than Merlot!  Want to learn more?  Watch this video.
When it comes to food, Merlot is one of the easiest wines to pair.  It’s medium body and smooth tannins fit nicely with many meat dishes, including lamb, chicken, and steak.  It’s also a perfect compliment for anything with tomato sauce, like pasta or pizza!
Merlot will be the wine to get us through the cold months!  Which varietal will get you through?

Just because December’s here doesn’t mean we’ve forgotten about October! Our capsule program runs until the end of the year, so make sure to send in your capsules or receipts and we’ll donate $1 to the fight against breast cancer for each one. Need a refresher on what a capsule is? Watch this!

We also still have our Sutter Home for Hope Checklists up, so you can plan a fun night in while raising money for a great cause.

Our ribbon of life is coming together, but we need more pictures! Go to our Facebook page, upload a photo, and you may see yourself in our campaign next year! (Everyone featured must be +21.)

There isn’t a better pairing than wine and chocolate! Check out our new site to find everything you need to know about the two including, wine and chocolate 101, the best way to pair them, and tips on how to throw an amazing wine and chocolate party. You can also take the quiz to find out what wine and chocolate personality fits you!

We also wanted to kick of the holiday season right, which is why we have our Crave Weekly Sweepstakes running right now! Go to our Facebook page and enter for a chance to win great prizes throughout the entire month of December!