Six things to drink this year at Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is flat-out our favorite holiday for wine and food pairing. Our opulent national meal for the last Thursday of November offers so many choices for pairings, we get a bit of the proverbial “kid in a candy store” syndrome each year, as we try to choose what will be best to serve to friends and family gathered around our holiday table. Here is our short list of candidates to bring home for our Thanksgiving Day!
The traditional Thanksgiving feast is a big rich affair, so like all things wine, there are two approaches, balance the richness with something light, crisp and possessing good acid; or embrace the rich meal and take it right over the top.
Chenin Blanc is a varietal that helps hold the richness in check. The 2014 Monmousseau Vouvray ($17, $15.30 if you are in our wine club) from the Loire Valley is a lovely choice. Vouvray, a town in the Loire, is known for producing great Chenin. When it is made there it is always left with some residual sugar in the wine, contributing just a hint of sweetness. The sugar is balanced by bracing acidity, making it perfect with rich food. For your guests too who might prefer a bit of sweetness to their wine it is perfect. The wine has apple and citrus notes and is delicious.
If you prefer a white wine that is dry, the Dry Creek Vineyards Chenin Blanc ($14, $12.60 wine club price) is just the ticket. Like the Monmousseau it has firm acid, and is noted with golden delicious apple flavors, but the finish is really crisp and clean because the wine is fermented dry. While it will hold up great and present a refreshing alternative for the main course, the wine will be great as an aperitif as well.
In red wine, choices abound, but one of our favorites is vintage Beaujolais. The vintage productions could not be more different than the somewhat thin nouveaux bottlings that are released this time of year. The 2014 Beaujolais from Henry Fessy ($15, $13.50 wine club price) is a great choice. Light bodied with subtle earthiness and yummy cherry flavors throughout, the wine has good acid and depth, making it perfect with turkey.
Pinot Noir and poultry — especially slightly gamey selections like turkey — is one of the great food and wine pairings there is. Appellation Wine Company produces several great Pinot Noir bottlings, and while the wines were briefly out of the market during a distributor change, they are back and better than ever. The 2013 Baileyana Firepeak Vineyard Pinot Noir ($25, wine club price $22.50) is a blockbuster Pinot with earth and cherry aromatics wafting from the glass and reappearing over the palate, with a silkiness in the mouth that is extraordinary. The wine finishes with elegance and subtlety, and when paired with turkey or duck, it raises the profile of the entire experience.
The 2013 Tempus Grenache ($27, wine club price $24.30) is yet another alternative that will shine at your holiday table. Grenache, a Rhone varietal, is a medium-bodied selection that pulls together a savory character in the wine to go along with light smokiness and rich fruit flavors that are cherry-focused and works really well with big rich meals. The Tempus Grenache is a less familiar choice that many of your guests may not have had, which always makes for fun conversation around the dinner table.
I recently tried the 2012 Powers Coyote Vineyard Cabernet ($25, wine club price $22.50) from Washington state. Cabernet is also a less predictable choice at Thanksgiving, but I have to tell you with the uber ripe vintage of 2012, this wine is juicy and rich, the perfect wine if you do want a rich and elegant experience for your guests. The wine is firmly structured, but the juicy and silky fruit flavors of cherries and plums will be great with your turkey.
For each of these wines, I could have written about at least another one or two in every category that span price points for every budget. Stop by the shop to check out these choices, but also many others that start at $9. Or check with your favorite wine professional about all the great wines available for this most American of holidays and most American of meals.
If there is a topic you would like to read about, or if you have questions on wine, you can email George@thedinnerpartyshop.com, or make suggestions by contacting the Healthy Community section at the Coeur d’Alene Press.
George Balling is co-owner (with his wife Mary Lancaster) of the dinner party, a wine and tabletop décor shop by Costco in Coeur d’Alene. George has also worked as a judge in many wine competitions, and his articles are published around the country. You can learn more about the dinner party at www.thedinnerpartyshop.com. You can get all of these articles and other great wine tips by friending us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/#!/dinnerpartyshop.