‘Tis the season to drink great wine. So we sat down with Ingo Grady, the Director of Wine Education at British Columbia’s Tom Kundig-designed Mission Hill Winery, for his best tips about how to choose, store and ship wine this holiday season.

1. Be a people-pleaser. This time of year isn’t about serving or gifting wines you personally love, it’s about pleasing the crowd. Soft, fruity wines like dry rosés, aromatic Rieslings and pinot noir from California, Oregon or New Zealand, are likely to be a hit across up to three generations. But that doesn’t mean you have to go entirely without — after all, it’s okay to be hedonistic, even greedy, when it comes to wine. I’ll admit that I’ve sipped a German Riesling on the sly while pouring a different bottle for my dinner guests.

2. Mind your menu. On top of choosing a wine with broad appeal, it’s essential that it go with the dishes you’re planning to serve. The Okanagan’s signature merlot, for example, pairs well with cold winter nights and hearty meals like beef or lamb stew, braised beef short ribs, pasta and tomato sauce, rabbit or even wild boar. Any good wine shop should be able to make menu-specific recommendations at your price point. You’ll know it’s a success if your guests forgo afternoon skiing to pop another bottle.

3. Do your research. You just unwrapped a beautiful, ruby-red bottle — now what? Generally, New World wines are riper, with less acidity and softer tannins, and can be sipped right away, while Old World European wines have a higher acidity and more tannins, both of which soften when aged between two and 10 years. Most wine goes bad not because of corks or inherent faults but because it hasn’t been opened early enough so, figure out what you’ve got, and plan accordingly. When in doubt, my philosophy is that it’s better to drink a wine two years too early than two years too late.

4. Store with savvy. Certain wine (vintage Port, top-rated Bordeaux, Borolo from northern Italy) must be aged in a temperature- and humidity-controlled space. Depending on how much room you have and the seriousness of your mission, there are three storage options: horizontal shelving for corked bottles; a refrigerator that holds between 10 and 144 bottles in one or more different temperature zones (SubZero, Vinotemp and GE Monogram make reliable and affordable models); or your own space in a wine-storage facility like Chelsea Wine & Storage in New York or the San Francisco-based Vinfolio. Wine is resilient so even if you break some of the rules of cellaring, it just may come through for you.

5. Ship with caution. If you’re looking to ship wine, keep in mind that laws vary by state and many are in flux; the Wine Institute and Free the Grapes are easy-to-use resources for checking which regulations apply to you. Complicating matters, a lot of shippers don’t use temperature-controlled containers, which are key to making sure wine doesn’t spoil. Make arrangements in advance through a trusted independent wine shop that can ensure your wine is taken care of properly.