Sparkling Wine + Hor d’Oeuvres Pairings for the Holidays

There is nothing that I love more during the holidays than sparkling wine paired with hor d’oeuvres for snacking! In my family, a tradition of ours every Christmas Eve is to make delicious small bites and open presents from one another. This year I am excited to bring the bubbly and pair some wine a few of these delicious and easy appetizer ideas!

All of the wines featured in this post are from 90+ Cellars. This brand is awesome and diverse, while also being very affordable. You can also find similar styles of these wines at your local wine shop.

Extra Dry Prosecco + Shrimp Cocktail Shooters

Shrimp cocktail is one of my favorite appetizers! I also love how easy it is to put together. A unique way to make this snack cute (and a little more germ friendly) is to place them in little individual cups. Just add your cocktail sauce on the bottom, add a few shrimp, and top with a lemon wedge! Spice it up by adding horse radish or make it your own with a homemade cocktail sauce recipe.

Brut Prosecco + Smoked Salmon Crostini

As you can probably tell from the first two hor d’oeuvres, pairing seafood and bubbly is always a good idea! They are both light weight, and sparkling wine add the perfect crisp finish to washing down a flavorful piece of fish. For bite size pieces, I love to make my own crostini by slicing a baguette, topping with a little olive oil (and sometimes some garlic salt), then broiling in the oven for a few minutes.

Ingredients:

• Bread or Cracker
• Cream Cheese
• Smoked Salmon
• Everything Season
• Dill

Simply top all of these ingredients onto your piece of bread, and voila!

Sparkling Rosé + Brie, Apple, & Prosciutto Crostini

Sparkling rosé always reminds me of the holidays and puts me in a festive mood. For even more festivity, add some cranberries to your bubbly! For this pairing, we have another easy crostini option. Creating different crostini is an easy crowd pleaser!

Ingredients:

• Bread or Cracker
• Fig jam (optional)
• Brie (or triple cream)
• Granny Smith Apple slices
• Prosciutto

Same as the recipe above, top all ingredients onto the bread and you’re good to go!

Lambrusco + Cheddar Sausage Balls

Alright you guys, this is my favorite pairing of them all! Lambrusco is a lightly carbonated red wine from Northern Italy. It’s perfect for the holidays. This wine is light, fruity, and will pair so well with a bunch of different sweet or salty holiday appetizers! I paired mine with Sausage Cheddar Bites. This is one of my favorite recipes my nana used to make, my mom makes, and now you bet I’ll be making alll the time!

Recipe for Sausage Cheddar Bites:

1 lb Breakfast Sausage

1 lb Hot Pork Sausage

1/2 cup bisquick

1 cup cheddar cheese

Directions:

Combine all ingredients together and roll into balls. Depending on the size of balls, cook at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Can list in the fridge for a few days and they freeze well!

Moscato d’Asti + Fruit Tart

There is Moscato and then there is Moscato d’Asti! These wines are light, floral, fruity and sweet. They are perfect for pairing with a fruity or sugary dessert during the holidays. If you guys have followed my blog for a while, you may know I am not much of a baker. I’m sorry to disappoint, but I did not make this fruit tart… sadly I bought it from the grocery store. However I can say that this was a fabulous pairing! I also know that pairing this Moscato d’Asti with a Christmas sugar cookie or frosted cupcake would be delicious. If you have any baking tips for me, please comment below 🙂

Check out the full tasting and pairing video below!

You can find all of these wines at https://www.ninetypluscellars.com/.

Since bubbly is the perfect drink for the holidays, check out my post on the difference between Sparkling Wine and Champagne for more bubbly recommendations!