Holiday Favorites

The season of merriment is almost upon us once more, and what could be more welcome in the merriment-challenged year 2021? There are many planned celebratory events; here are three of our favorites.

• WINTERFEST AND THE TUNNEL OF LIGHTS

If you’ve seen the holiday classic movie The Polar Express, it will come as no surprise that Winterfest and the Tunnel of Lights in East Windsor, Connecticut, is a popular holiday event for every age group. This illuminating trolley ride may quickly become an annual family tradition. You can ride a closed car or opt to brave the cold in the open “electric sleigh.” Either way, you’ll get to take in the sights while enjoying the sounds of traditional Christmas carols. Once you return, your journey continues with a trip to the Visitors Center, which is transformed into a Winter Wonderland featuring decorations, model trains—and even more holiday music. CONNECTICUT TROLLEY MUSEUM 58 North Rd., East Windsor, CT 06088, 860.627.6540

• HOLIDAYS AT THE NEWPORT MANSIONS

Here’s an annual spectacle that entices families from all over the region. From the Outdoor Magical Wonderland, complete with festive colored lights and 28 glowing, glittering spruce trees, to the Children’s Cottage, where visitors can take a peek at Santa’s Workshop, the air is full of festivity. Both The Breakers and The Elms are dressed to the nines with lavish decorations of flowers, ornaments and wreaths to showcase the beauty of the season. Holiday music is plentiful, historic paths are illuminated for easy, festive wayfinding and the fifteen-foot-tall “poinsettia tree” is in “full bloom” at The Great Hall of The Breakers. NEWPORT MANSIONS 424 Bellevue Ave., Newport, RI 02840, 401.847.1000

• ZOOLIGHTS

Holiday lights always manage to make everything feel merry and bright, while seeing animals never ceases to amaze and delight every member of the family regardless of age. Naturally, combining the two makes for a memorable seasonal experience, and that’s exactly what you will discover and enjoy at Stone Zoo’s Zoolights extravaganza. A stroll through this scenic winter setup is filled with dazzling displays and tree-lined paths lit by twinkling lights, which run across the zoo’s 26 acres. On their journey, visitors will encounter the spectacularly lit Yukon Creek, black bears, a bald eagle, Canadian lynx, arctic foxes and, of course, the season’s official mascot: reindeer! STONE ZOO 149 Pond St., Stoneham, MA 02180, 617.541.5466

HIGH-END HOLIDAY WINES

A toast to holiday time and good times to come! We can all join in that spirit with equal enthusiasm—but we’re not all equally sophisticated oenophiles. That’s why there’s no shame in turning to an expert such as master sommelier Michael Meagher of Sommelier on Demand Hospitality Services in Boston. A member of the Board of Directors at the Court of Master Sommeliers, America, with nearly 20 years experience in the industry, Meagher knows all about top-quality reds, whites, rosés and sparkling wines ideal for holiday enjoyment. Here are a few of his palatepleasing picks for the festive season:

• CHAMPAGNE

Pierre Péters, Cuvée Spéciale “Les Chétillons,” Blancs de Blancs, Champagne ($165) This wine is one of the hidden gems in Champagne. With all of the fruit coming from some of the best villages for Chardonnay (Mesnilsur-Oger Avize, Cramant), this tête de cuvée stands atop many sommeliers’ “desert-island wine list.” While it’s an exceptional bottle with which to celebrate a special occasion, it can also make an ordinary moment memorable.

• WHITE

Catena Zapata, Chardonnay, “Adrianna Vineyard: White Bones,” Mendoza, Argentina ($100) It’s known for producing oceans of Malbec, but Argentina is quietly producing some of the world’s most exciting white wines. These grapes are grown at around 5,000 feet above sea level, and the long, sunny days and cold nights up there make the quaff unquestionably elegant and balanced, with all of the fruit and exuberance we’ve come to expect from an Argentine wine.

• RED

Ridge “Monte Bello,” Santa Cruz Mountains, California ($220) An iconic wine from one of America’s best producers, this is still considered a bargain among top California Cabernet

Sauvignon-based wines. Located in the Santa Cruz Mountains tucked up above Silicon Valley, Ridge has been setting the standard of excellence for Cabernet since the 1960s.

• ROSÉ

Château d’Esclans “Garrus,” Côtes de Provence ($100)

When no one wanted rosé to be taken seriously, Chateau d’Esclans went out and made one of the most serious wines in all of France—that just so happened to be a rosé. Cultivated from century-old vines in a single vineyard, aged in new French oak (sounds more like Burgundy than Provence), Garrus is a rosé that breaks all the rules about what a rosé “should” be.