Wine stocks: The real North Pole is in Napa Valley

(CNBC) - Yeah, the holidays. The wonderful time of the year when we force ourselves to have conversations with family and artificially act like we care. Other than hearing the occasional entertaining tale about a cousin sleeping with his secretary, most stories are a dud.

But, thank God we have booze to get through it!

Alcohol aficionados like to point out the celebratory mood of many as being the reason for a pop in consumption as we close out the year; and that may very well be. But one thing is for certain: Regardless of the reasons, people love to drink during the holidays, and wine seems to be the beverage of choice.

For example, in the weeks leading up to Christmas last year, wine sales increased by 67 percent. But for wines priced between $15 and $20, wine sales more than doubled. And, for the fine quality bottles priced greater than $20, sales nearly tripled.

In other words, not only did consumers purchase more wine, but they go for the fancy stuff.

All of these good times equates to big bucks for the wine industry—some $8 billion in revenue of good times. No wonder the likes of Starbucks, Amazon and Facebook Gifts are now getting into the space.

Investors looking to take part in the profits, rather than contribute to them, are seeking ideas. Here are a few notable names to consider for your wine portfolio.

First up is Constellation Brands. Sure, the name doesn't exactly spew wine, but Constellation is home to some of Napa's more popular labels: Robert Mondavi, Clos du Bois, Blackstone, Estancia, and Ravenswood — and it happens to be the world's leading wine producer.