Staff Pick
Jason MacPhee
Wine Category Manager
🎄🎅 🎬 Christmas Movie Pairings
Christmas Movie: National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
Tomato Wheels is a Lambrusco brand founded by Canadian Indigenous entrepreneur Moirae Choquette. Made with 85% Salamino and 15% Malbo Gentile, it’s got wild blueberry and blackberry on the nose, tart fruit on the palate, a soft bubble, and a hint of chocolate and tannin for balance.
Guaranteed Clark Griswold wouldn’t have flipped out over a one-year Lambrusco-of-the-Month Club subscription. Honestly, that’s basically what you get from my Staff Picks. This month? Tomato Wheels and Dry Turkey. I mean… does it even get better than that?!” Really, does it?
Staff Pick
Lucas Mader
Category Manager for Beer and Spirits, Cicerone
🎄🎅 🎬 Christmas Movie Pairings
Christmas Movie: The Polar Express
I have an (almost) 4 year old boy, and I’m not exaggerating that I’ve watched the Polar Express over 30 times this year alone. Oddly, much of that was during the Summer (you know how you watch Christmas movies in the Summer?). Most of the Polar Express charm has now been lost on me, but I still love the Hot Chocolate song that they sing – “Hot! Hot! Ooo we got it, Hot! Hot! Yeah We got it”
Thanks to our friends at Meletti distillery, I can enjoy my own decadent chocolate beverage this Christmas season. Made with pure Dutch chocolate and sweet Italian cream, this chocolate liqueur pours as thick as Tom Hanks conductor characters moustache, and it tastes of pure liquefied chocolate. Pour it in your coffee, over ice cream, over ice, or in an espresso martini.
Staff Pick
Kathryn Harding
Director of Customer Experience, Sommelier
🦃 Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving pairing: Brussels sprouts
The Le Morette Lugana is mid-weight on the palate with notes of white flowers, fresh lemonade and peach. The palate is mid-weight but finishes with bright fresh acidity that is the perfect pairing for locally grown Nova Scotian roasted Brussels sprouts. The wine’s brightness cuts through the sprouts’ earthy core while its fruit complements the slight sweetness that emerges when they’re caramelized This creates a perfect balance. Both will be on my table this Thanksgiving!
Staff Pick
Alanna McIntyre
Product Specialist, Sommelier
🎄 🎅 🎬 Christmas Movie Pairings
Christmas Movie: The Holiday
Unlike Cameron Diaz’ character, Amanda, who prefers rocking out to The Killers while guzzling red wine directly from the bottle; my ideal winter’s night is more subdued. Fireplace on, calm music, crafting with snacks and wine on hand. This has been my go to Chard lately; a white Burgundy I can actually afford that never disappoints and suits all occasions and foods. Medium bodied, creamy texture, apple pear notes, fresh butter and light hazelnut; concentrated and balanced. Make up a cheese and charcuterie plate, pour yourself a glass and voila! You’ve just set the stage for a great night at home. If you’re entertaining, your friends will love the wine and the vibe. If you’re sipping solo cheers to you for treating yourself so well!
Staff Pick
Ryan Almeida
eCommerce Manager
🎄🎅 🎬 Christmas Movie Pairings
Christmas Movie: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
In past years, I’ve picked some historically bad but funny Christmas movies from my childhood (ahem, Jingle All the Way) and this time around, I’m going with the classic from 1964. I have great memories of checking the CBC holiday movie schedule and getting ready to watch this on a Sunday evening in December. To pair with this nostalgia, I recommend Feudi di San Gregorio Rubrato Aglianico. If you’re watching this on tv, you’re definitely going to be hit with some commercials so this is perfect to sip slowly as the movie and ads flood your screen. Expect intense fruit, tannins, and umami flavours from this holiday companion.
Staff Pick
Kate Fraser
Retail Supervisor, Spirits Specialist
🎄🎅 🎬 Christmas Movie Pairings
Christmas Movie: A Muppet Family Christmas
The Muppets are incredible in everything they touch. This little gem tends to get overshadowed by their Christmas Carol masterpiece, but throw it on when you want a lighter, song-packed Muppet adventure. My favorite moment is when the Sesame Street gang barges in and the house somehow becomes even fuller and more delightfully chaotic.
And since it is the holiday season, I like to treat myself to something a bit special and the Hine Rare VSOP is the perfect thing. It’s EXCEPTIONAL. Truly great cognac, and that’s the only tasting note you’re getting from me. Cheers.
Staff Pick
Stefan Nielsen
Retail Supervisor, Sommelier
🎄🎅 🎬 Christmas Movie Pairings
Christmas Movie: Krampus
If the Halloween season went by too quickly for your liking and you’re still itching for some horror (but not too horror-y), may I suggest giving Krampus a go. It’s a criminally underappreciated horror/comedy from the mid 2010’s with a stellar cast (Adam Scott and Toni Collette!) and it has excellent practical effects. Truly a perfect balance of spooky and silly! Perfectly balanced…just like Dieu du Ciel’s famous Peche Mortel Imperial Coffee Stout! A great “watching a movie” beer, it’s deep and rich and rewarding with a little kick of espresso to keep you from nodding off on the couch.
Staff Pick
Matt Hodgson
Retail Supervisor
🎄🎅 🎬 Christmas Movie Pairings
Christmas Movie: The Muppet Christmas Carol
Sometimes a playful twist on a classic gives you something unforgettable. The Muppets Christmas Carol proved that—you might not think Kermit as Bob Cratchit and Gonzo as Dickens would work, yet it’s become a holiday staple.
As a distillery from my home province, Deep Roots already had my attention. Partnering with my favourite Charlottetown restaurant to create this cocktail made it irresistible: a fun modern twist that honours the classics.
Deep Roots’ Peanut Butter Old Fashioned lands in that same spirit. Peanut-butter-infused vodka might sound odd, but mixed with brown-sugar simple syrup it becomes a rich, smooth cocktail perfect for a cozy fireplace. All it needs is an ice cube. And if you want to fully indulge, garnish with a sweet jelly cookie—maybe leaving an extra one or two for any poor little meeces.
Staff Pick
Fernando
Customer Service Sales Associate, Sommelier
🎄🎅 🎬 Christmas Movie Pairings
Christmas Movie: Lilo & Stitch
While Lilo & Stitch (the animated film) isn’t known as a Christmas movie, I would argue that it exemplifies characteristics typically found in one: the sense of belonging, the importance of family, aliens, a hot tropical beach, etc… I would often watch this with my family around the holidays so it has become tradition. A Christmas episode later came out while the tv series was airing. Best paired with the Echeverria Chardonnay that sees part stainless steel and part oak, along with tropical fruit, lees aging, and malolactic fermentation. Imagine yourselves on a sunny beach in Hawaii while drinking this lovely and NEW Chardonnay.
Staff Pick
Daniela
Customer Service Sales Associate
🎄🎅 🎬 Christmas Movie Pairings
Christmas Movie: The Bishop’s Wife
There’s no better way to kick off holiday movie season than curling up with this fantastic duo: The Bishop’s Wife and a chilled glass of Pares Balta Rosa Cusine. Cary Grant may be an angel, but this sparkling rosé is downright miraculous- bright, elegant, and fizzy enough to revive anyone overwhelmed by Christmas chaos. Its strawberry-rose aromas pair perfectly with the film’s cozy charm and gentle humour. By the time the angel starts giving life advice, you’ll swear the wine is doing the same. It is wholesome, heartwarming, and just the right amount of bubbly mischief, exactly what a holiday night should taste like. Salud!
Staff Pick
David
Customer Service Sales Associate
🎄🎅 🎬 Christmas Movie Pairings
Christmas Movie: The Holdovers
This recommendation is simple, a great film and a great wine. The Holdovers is a richly textured film grappling with abandonment, lives unlived, and grief, but also a hopeful weariness, the perfect Christmas movie. It’s also very funny. This Carménère is one of my favourite wines in the store. Rich and smooth, full of ripe berries, spices, tobacco, and a touch of anise, this is a great wine to cozy up with as the weather starts turning.
Staff Pick
Michael Kamras
Customer Service Sales Associate
🎄🎅 🎬 Christmas Movie Pairings
Christmas Movie: It’s a Wonderful Life
“Remember, George: no man is a failure who has friends.”
It’s a Wonderful Life has been a part of my holiday celebrations for as long as I can remember. Be it on cable, a theatrical screen, or a Jerry rigged projector at home; the final act of this classic has never failed to bring me to tears.
That’s why you need the perfect snacks and drinks to help you through the emotional journey! What better than a drink with all the nuance of a bulldozer-of-a-dark-beer and the lightness of a lager?! It’s the perfect combination.
