New Year's Eve Celebrations

Looking for a perfect way to ring in 2025? We have 5 festive ideas that pair perfectly with CRU Wines!

 

Fondue Night

Break out the fondue pot for this cheesy event. Dip apples, fresh vegetables, bread, summer sausage and more in cheese fondue.

Expert pairing: CRU Winery SLH Chardonnay

 

Crab Feed

Spread newspaper on the table and break out the crab legs, butter and corn for a delicious evening.

Expert pairing: CRU Winery Sierra Madre Vineyard Chardonnay

 

Black Tie

Pull out all the stops and put on a Black Tie affair. Dress to the nines, decorate with black and gold accessories and put together a menu to remember, complete with bacon wrapped filet and caviar.

Expert pairing: CRU Winery Solomon Hills Vineyard Chardonnay & Pinot Noir 

 

Wine Tasting

Host a wine tasting for your friends and family! Select 4 different wines, we recommend a mix of red and white. Line the wines up lightest to heaviest for the best pairing experience. Want to make it even more memorable? Pour the wine in black glasses and have your guests guess the varietal.

Expert pairing: Highlight a variety of wines with different flavor profiles such as Sierra Madre Vineyard Pinot Gris, North Canyon Viognier, Sarmento Vineyard Chardonnay, Bien Nacido Vineyard Pinot Noir and Rancho Real Vineyard GSM.

 

Appetizers and Desserts

Why bother with the full meal? Just stick to appetizers and desserts! This celebration is even more fun when done as a potluck, have everyone bring one appetizer and one dessert and dig in.

Expert pairing: CRU Winery Regan Vineyards Pinot Noir

Brie and Goat Cheese Jam Bites

This easy and delicious appetizer is the perfect bite to pair with Grenache or Pinot Noir!

To draw out the earthy flavors of the wine, we used two savory jams, caramelized onion and bourbon bacon. These savory jams are available at most fine food stores.

Ingredients:

• 2 Sheets Puff Pastry
• Caramelized Onion Jam
• Bourbon Bacon Jam
• Goat Cheese, cut into small bites
• Brie Cheese, cut into small bites
• Phresh finishing salt

Directions:

1. Lay out defrosted puff pastry and cut into squares about 2" x 2".
2. Put puff pastry squares into mini muffin tin coated with non-stick cooking spray, pressing down slightly.
3. Press goat cheese into half of puff pastry squares.
4. Repeat with Brie cheese in other half of puff pastry squares.
5. Top with caramelized onion or bourbon bacon jam (we topped half with caramelized onion and half with bourbon bacon jam).
6. Bake at directions on puff pastry dough (we baked at 350 degrees for 15 minutes).
7. Remove from oven and sprinkle with Phresh finishing salt.
8. Serve with CRU Winery Pinot Noir or Grenache.

Fall Grazing Table

Entertaining this fall? Check out this fall grazing table, it’s festive, delicious and will impress all your fall guests. We incorporated a few small fall details to really make it stand out. With savory and sweet elements, it’s perfect for pairing with CRŪ Winery Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Late Harvest Viognier.

Cheeses
We selected rich and savory cheeses for this fall board:
Caramelized Onion Cheddar, Beer Gouda (a semi soft cheese washed in beer), Brie topped with Blackberry Jam and Caramelized Onion Goat Cheese.

Meats
Prosciutto and Salami

Fruits
We chose seasonal fruits with big flavors.
Pears and Golden Berries.

Crackers
There’s a lot of big flavors on this board so we chose simple water crackers.

Accompaniments
Candied Pecans, Dried Cranberries, Fig Spread, Hot Honey.
We also added in maple cookies and seasonal chocolates for a sweet element.

Fall Elements
What really makes this board stand out are the festive fall elements. We carved a small pumpkin and used it to hold hot honey, used a pumpkin cookie cutter to cut a decorative element on the Brie, added pumpkin shaped Brie bites (see our reel on how to assemble these delicious bites) and chose leaf and pumpkin shaped sweets.

Pear, Burrata and Prosciuitto Salad

A quick and savory dish that pairs delightfully with our Sarmento Vineyard Chardonnay. This “salad” has layers of flavors that draw out both the fruit and creamy flavors of the wine.

Pear, Burrata and Prosciutto Salad

Ingredients:
1 pear
1 5-6 slices prosciutto
1 ball burrata
small handful basil leaves
olive oil
lemon juice
red pepper flakes

Instructions:

1) Thinly cut one pear and lay on plate
2) Add thin strips of prosciutto
3) Tear burrata into bite size pieces and add to salad
4) Add small handful of basil leaves
5) Drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice
6) Top with a pinch of red pepper flakes

Rose Charcuterie Board

This Rose inspired charcuterie board is perfect for summer!

We chose each food on this board to pair with the 2023 Jose's Rose of Grenache and highlight the wine's fresh, juicy fruit flavors.

Board Ingredients:

Cheeses: Goat Cheese, Salty Fresh Cheeses
Fruit: Watermelon, Basil & Mozzarella Bites, Strawberries
Dried Fruit: Freeze Dried Figs, Pineapple "Chips"
Meats: Prosciutto, Salami
Spread: Rose Petal Confit
Crackers: Water Crackers