The holidays are my favorite time of the year and for many reasons. I love being able to spend extra time with my family and friends, I enjoy decorating the house for Christmas, preparing and eating festive food, watching Christmas movies and even wearing my holiday t-shirts and hoodies. Another reason I love the holidays is that it’s a time to celebrate and although we all may celebrate in different ways, the intentions are good and the time spent is so worthwhile.

In addition to the delicious food that is prepared, I also like to have a wine available to enhance my meals. Who doesn’t love a glass of wine? If you don’t then maybe you just haven’t tried the right one, but if you do then you know that wine is a universal beverage that is perfect for celebrating, relaxing, and even to disconnect after a long, hard day. As much as I truly love the holidays, I must admit that it can be a bit more stressful than any other time of the year, so wine does come in handy during the month of December! They say that relaxation helps to reduce stress levels so my thoughts are that I’m on my way to better health with a glass of wine.

I recently discovered some tasty wine from Oliver Winery. Oliver is one of the largest wineries in Mississippi with a great philosophy ~ all styles of wine deserve the highest craft and respect. They make their top-rated wines in the gentlest way possible and each one shares a common characteristic ~ Fruit forward taste! I love it!

I had the opportunity to try several flavors and all were fantastic, especially the Apple Pie. This is a seasonal wine so quantities are limited but after tasting it I definitely see why they are almost sold out. It’s like a freshly baked apple pie without the baking! Moscato is already a favorite wine for me and this heavenly Moscato wine is very sweet and flavorful with a hint of spritz! I could go on and on about how good Oliver Wine is but I’m in no way a wine connoisseur so I’ll just say, try it for yourself and you won’t be disappointed! Be sure to visit the Oliver Winery website and follow on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram! Now for some Oliver Cocktail Recipes:

Mulled Hard Cider • 3 bottles of Oliver Original Beanblossom Hard Cider •bottle of water (fill an empty Beanblossom Hard Cider bottle) •cup to 1 cup Mulling Spice Mix* (to taste) • Honey (to taste)

Mix all ingredients in crockpot or stovetop; stir well and heat on low until ready. *Oliver Winery sells the mulling spice mix, but it can be replaced with classic spice mixes of cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, etc. The recipe is a 3:1 ratio of cider to water and can be adjusted to the number of bottles of cider you have on hand!

Mulled Mead • 1 bottle Oliver Camelot Mead (or other Orchard Stand Wines) • 1 cup apple juice • 1/2 cup orange juice • 2 Tbsp Mulling Spice Mix, or to taste

Mix all ingredients in a crockpot or saucepan; stir well and heat on low until ready. For a fun garnish, add orange or lemon slices, cinnamon sticks, star anise or fresh ginger pieces.

Mulled Shiraz • 1 bottle Shiraz • 2 cups water •cup Mulling Spice Mix (or to taste) •cup brown sugar (or to taste)

Mix all ingredients in a crockpot or stovetop; stir well and heat on low until ready. Other additions include orange or lemon slices, cinnamon sticks, or ginger pieces.

Sweet Tea Sangria • 2 parts sweet iced tea • 2 parts Oliver Soft White or Orchard Stand Peach • Juice of 1 fresh orange • Frozen sliced peaches and strawberries

Fill a pitcher halfway with sweet iced tea. Add half pitcher with your favorite sweet white wine: Oliver Soft White or Orchard Stand Peach are our favorites in this delicious drink. Stir in frozen fruit and squeeze in orange juice. Garnish with fresh mint.