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Lunar New Year is one of the most important celebrations of the year for many countries within East and Southeast Asia and in the United States. The holiday is considered a time when immediate and extended family members come together to welcome prosperity and abundance into the coming year of the lunisolar calendar. And though many families share large feasts with traditional Lunar New Year recipes as part of the celebration, some have more recently chosen to pour celebratory wines to embrace the coming year. So, we tapped experts and our Wine Enthusiast Tasting Department to share their picks for the best Lunar New Year wine.
What Is the Lunar New Year?
The celebration, also known as the Spring Festival, is observed over 15 days beginning with the first new moon of the lunar calendar and ending on the first full moon. It is marked by many customs passed down from generations prior. These traditions may vary by culture but commonly include large feasts, cleaning rituals to rid the previous years’ bad luck, bright red envelopes that contain money (also known as hong bao or lai) for good fortune and ends with an illuminating Lantern Festival full of dancing and fireworks to commemorate the first full moon.
Between lion dances and colorful lights, perhaps the most anticipated part of it all is a highly symbolic and thoughtfully prepared feast.
