Opportunity in a Bottle

(Family Features) As the season of giving approaches, you can provide the perfect wine pairing for your holiday meal. Show your thoughtful spirit and good taste by offering up a great bottle of wine as a gift to show your appreciation.

Wine, which makes a great holiday gift, can be served with your own holiday spread to make the feast extra special. The following pairing suggestions are perfect for any occasion:

Chardonnay: A fruity, rich and versatile white wine with a round mouthfeel, Chardonnay – such as O Wines’ 2011 Chardonnay, which is steel-tank fermented – is a great food wine that can be easily paired with seafood, chicken, pasta or cheese.

Riesling: Made dry orsweet, with intense fruit flavors of green apple, pear and lime, Riesling is a crisp, clean white wine that is lighter than Chardonnay and pairs nicely with spicy foods, poultry and pork.

Pinot Grigio: Simple, light-bodied, dry and crisp, Pinot Grigio, also known as Pinot Gris, is a white wine that most often accompanies seafood, pasta, vegetarian dishes or chicken.

Merlot: A soft, supple red wine with nice fruit flavors of plums and blackberries – and occasionally mint, chocolate and eucalyptus – Merlot goes well with meat dishes such as beef and lamb.

Cabernet Sauvignon: A more assertive red wine than merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon can have flavors of blackberries, plums, black currants and cassis, and also pairs well with hearty meat dishes.

Syrah: Sometimes known as Shiraz, Syrah is a very versatile, spicy, rich, darkly delicious red wine that pairs well with a wide variety of foods, including grilled meats.

Another popular wine trend is blends, which combine the best of several varietals for a unique and complex flavor. For example, O Wines’ 2010 Red Wine, which is aged for 22 months in oak barrels, is a rich, flavorful blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah that pairs well with hearty pastas, grilled burgers, pizza and meat skewers.

Not just a delicious accompaniment on your holiday table, some wines help invoke a sense of charity and holiday spirit of giving a gift that gives back.

Sourced from vineyards in Washington State’s Columbia Valley, O Wines – the O represents opportunity – provides college scholarships to low-income, capable young women so they can achieve their greatest potential through education.

“The mission of O Wines is to give young women the confidence and opportunity to succeed and improve their lives through the power education,” said Stacy Lill, O Wines founder.  

Each purchase of the 2011 Chardonnay or 2010 Red Blend helps send young women to college through the O Wines Opportunity for Success Scholarship program. Since 2008, O Wines has raised more than $300,000 and awarded 53 college scholarships. Most of the scholarship recipients are the first members of their families to attend college.

For more information on O Wines and how to contribute to the college scholarship program, visit owines.com.

Photo courtesy of Getty Images (couples toasting with wine glasses)