These are Our Top 10 Party Wines Of 2025

Coming in at #1 on our Top 10 Wines of 2025 is none other than Cabernet Sauvignon, the undisputed king of wines. 

Why? Because no other grape has the pedigree, the power and the sheer audacity to age more gracefully than half of Hollywood. Born in Bordeaux from the scandalous vineyard fling of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc, this red aristocrat delivers black cherry, cedar and the occasional hint of “chewing a pencil” (that’s the graphite talking). 

Whether flexing its tannins in cool Bordeaux or turning jammy in sun drenched Australia, Cab knows how to work a room. And when it teams up with Merlot for a blend, it’s basically the Avengers of wine. So yes, it’s #1, because when you’re bold, noble and capable of aging like a fine tuxedo, the throne is yours by default.

Coming in at #2 on our Top 10 Wines of 2025, just behind the bold Cabernet, is Chardonnay, the chameleon of the wine world. 

Why did it earn its spot? Because it can go from “I’m from Burgundy, darling” one minute (think world-class vineyard pedigree), to a no nonsense Chablis style that snaps your palate awake with flinty acidity. 

It’s trained in the fine art of oak and malolactic fermentation, so sometimes it’s slick as butter on toast, other times, it’s mineral taut and classy. When it sunbathes in warm regions, it veers toward tropical fruit explosions like pineapple and mango. 

Chardonnay even doubles as a worthy pillar in Champagne, proving it can spark a party as well as wear a tux. Its global adaptability means it’s a passport toting globetrotter of grapes. 

But the real kicker? Its stylistic evolution, once the buttery diva of the ’90s, is now rocking a sleek, refined look that even the snobbiest sommeliers applaud. That versatility, pedigree and transformation earns it that solid #2 slot.

Landing at #3 on our Top 10 Wines of 2025 is Merlot, the velvety charmer who always slides in after Cabernet and Chardonnay with zero attitude and maximum flavor. 

Named after the French little blackbird (because Merlot grapes are as dark and mysterious as a midnight tweet), this grape is the lovechild of Cabernet Franc and the elusive Magdeleine Noire des Charentes, basically grape genealogy that reads like a soap opera. Whether it’s strutting its stuff in Bordeaux’s elite Pomerol (looking at you, Château Pétrus) or playing smooth operator in Napa and California.

Merlot always brings plush black-cherry fruit and chocolatey whispers to the party. It’s the gourmet guest that’s equally at home solo or blending into a Bordeaux mix, soft, approachable, and universally adored. No wonder it slinks into #3: it’s cozy, classy and cuddly in a glass, without an ounce of pretension.

Gliding into position #4 on our Top 10 Wines of 2025 is Sauvignon Blanc, the wild child turned global superstar. 

Why not higher? Because even the wildest among us needs structure. Born in the Loire Valley (and christened sauvage blanc for its untamed zest), this grape shows up in styles that range from “fresh cut grass and nettles”, in its classic Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé forms to “passionfruit, gooseberry and tropical fireworks” when dialed up in Marlborough. 

This grape’s talent for acting as a terroir translator means you can taste chalk, gravel, or flint in one glass and jalapeño level aromatics in the next. Food pairing? It’s the ultimate chameleon, goat cheese, tacos, sushi, or herbal Thai curries, it’s down for the party. Sauvignon Blanc sits at #4 because it's the cheeky, wild at heart wine that’s both a vineyard’s memoir and your dinner’s best friend.

Sliding into spot #5 on our Top 10 Wines of 2025 is Pinot Noir, the light bodied heartbreaker of the wine world, who’s beautiful, mysterious and a tad high maintenance. 

Born in Burgundy, with a name that hints at pinecones and ink-black allure, Pinot brims with red-cherry perfume, whispers of mushroom and forest floor, and maybe a flirt of smoke or spice if it's been aging somewhere fancy. 

Cultivators call it the "heartbreak grape", thin skinned, drama prone, needing perfect cool climate conditions in places like Willamette Valley, Russian River or Central Otago to actually behave. Yet, when tamed, it dazzles, not just in still red but strutting its stuff in Champagne as the ethereal driver of depth and romance.

If Riesling were a party guest, it’d stroll in from Germany, wearing a monocle and whispering sweet nothings of petrol notes about its aristocratic lineage, especially if it’s aged, while loudly touting its razor sharp acidity that can cut through even the spiciest curry with the grace of a sommelier doing ballet on a mountaintop in the Finger Lakes (or Alsace, or Clare Valley, pick your glacier). 

It’s the friend who swears up and down that Clos Sainte Hune is the bee’s knees, the one who’s lost count of how many times they’ve quoted Wine Folly for pairing suggestions and the aristocrat who nonetheless sneaks onto dessert menus as a cheeky Eiswein (Ice wine in German) after party, courtesy of noble rot. 

Oh, and by the way, Riesling lands at #6 on our Top 10 Wines of 2025 because, while it’s versatile, elegant and mischievously complex, there are just five other wines sharper, richer or weirder (depending on your vintage tolerance).

Picture this: Malbec sashays onto the scene like a wine soaked superhero, born in dusty Cahors, France, throwing on a vintage beret, then hopping over the Andes to Argentina’s Mendoza and Uco Valley, striking awe with its inky plum and blackberry swagger. 

Thanks to a dash of genius from Domingo Faustino Sarmiento and his vine-nerd sidekick Michel Pouget , it planted roots and eventually found itself thriving on the world’s highest vineyards in Gualtallary and Luján de Cuyo . Meanwhile, Catena Zapata raised the bar, giving Malbec a red carpet moment in tasting halls everywhere. 

So stylish, in fact, that in 2025 the fashion world coined a “ Malbec color ” for its luscious burgundy hue. All this makes Malbec grab the #7 spot on our top 10 wines of 2025,  because it’s not just delicious, it’s a grape that dresses well, tells a story, and gives a killer spicy leather chocolate finish with every sip.

One more time, picture this: Shiraz, that cheeky grape with a dual identity crisis, struts out of the Rhône Valley carrying a French passport but arrives in Australia donning a kangaroo pouch, ready to win a barbecue tasting with jammy fruit bombs in the Barossa Valley. 

Meanwhile, somewhere in ancient Iran, a vineyard in Shiraz is waving its petals, claiming poetic license thanks to the smell of nightingales and gardens where Hafez and Saadi might’ve sipped their vintage before composing odes. All recipes is having its own identity therapy session “Hold on, is Syrah really Shiraz?!” while cellar dwellers argue whether they’re sipping history or marketing genius. 

Yet despite this international grape soap opera, we’ve demoted Shiraz to #8 on our Top 10 of 2025, not because it’s lost its swagger, but because it refuses to choose an accent, insists on mixing jam with pepper, and still somehow out poems half the list with its centuries old charm.

Prosecco struts onto the stage, wearing the invisible crown of the Glera grape, whispering sweet nothings about the glittering DOCG hills of Conegliano-Valdobbiadene (with a quick wink at Asolo) while doing the Charmat tank method tango. 

It casually side-glances at Champagne, muttering “I’m cheaper but bubblier,” before flirting outrageously in two fashions: as the flirtatious Bellini with peach purée or the zesty Spritz with its orange-slice swagger. 

Let’s be real, this is the wine equivalent of your fun loving cousin at the party. And yet somehow, despite this charisma blitz, it serenely lands at #9 on our Top 10 wines of 2025, borne there mostly because it grew 2 % in sales while the rest of the wine world threw a tantrum, it’s practically a champagne-wannabe for the masses, and frankly, who doesn’t love bubbles you can pronounce?

Imagine Rosé as that too pretty for its own good wine that pops up every summer, strutting its maceration, saignée, direct pressing and even sneaky blending chops like it's auditioning for a reality show, only to be unapologetically dry while everyone’s expecting a ginormously sweet white Zinfandel throwback. 

It knows exactly how long to flirt with the skins to toggle between pale onion-skin pastels and deep, brooding hues, showing off its pedigree from Grenache, Syrah and Pinot Noir (with a cameo by Sangiovese —yes, the groupies). Whether it’s lounging poolside in Provence or leaning into food-pairing season, this rosé can sip with seafood salads in summer or cozy up to fondue in winter without breaking a sweat. 

And yet, for all its blemish-free glamour, we begrudgingly admit it only clinches the #10 spot on our Top 10 Wines of 2025—but hey, its wardrobe of color, myth-busting dryness, and grape-variety swagger still earns it a spot by decent reason and delicious irony.