Wine Tip of the Week - Wine for Thanksgiving Dinner Redux

Happy Thanksgiving from Vintage Connections!

Last November, we posted Wine Tips for Thanksgiving Dinner  to our Wine Friends through our Vintage Connections Wine Info newsletter last week and Vintage Connections Wine Info blog.
Since we have many new readers since November 2009, we are repeating that information below, with a few updates, including some updated wine recommendations.

Recommended for Thanksgiving - "affordable" sparklings. Sparklings add a touch of class to any Holiday.  The clean acidity, bright fruit and yeasty aromas pair well with just about everything on the Thanksgiving table. The only hold out will be the cranberry sauce and dessert. But as long as you don’t take a big bite of cranberry sauce and wash it down with a hearty swig of sparkling, things should turn out all right.

If you like your sparklings with a touch of sweetness, we recommend Blanc de Blanc from Pinnacle Ridge Winery. This wine is made from 100% Cayuga grapes, has 2.5% residual sugar, and is $14. This sparkling won a Gold Medal and was judged the Best Sparkling at the 2010 PA Farm Show.

 If you like your sparkling on the drier side, Pinnacle Ridge produces Brut Reserve, made from 100% Pinot Noir and is $18. This sparkling won a Gold Medal at the 2010 PA Wine Competition and a Silver Medal at the 2010 PA Farm Show.

Both wines, plus many more wonderful wines, are available at the winery just north of Kutztown, PA.

If you want the convenience of your local Wine and Spirits store, we've started drinking and had great feedback from others about Trapiche Sparkling Extra Brut from Mendoza, Argentina.  It is widely available in PLCB stores, produce code 7724, and is only $13.99. 

We've also recently tried and like Ehrhart Cremant D'Alsace (from the Alsace region of France).  This sparkling is available at some PLCB specialty stores, so do a product search for item number 30929 and see if a local store has a few bottles. It's a Chairman's Select and is only $14.99.  Both wine are well worth their price. 

Not a big fan of sparklings?  Then go with whites in general, especially those with higher acidity and no oak. Sauvignon Blanc or white Bordeaux/Meritage (blends usually including Sauvignon Blanc) go really well with butternut squash soup and lends a pleasant flavor to salad, turkey, stuffing (not spicy) and vegetables. If you are having a creamy vegetable try “naked” (un-oaked) chardonnay. Excellent choices also include Gerwurtztraminer and Riesling which pair well with all parts of a traditional Thanksgiving dinner except the cranberry sauce and pumpkin or butternut squash soups.

Really a fan of reds? Then you have two good choices: Pinot Noir or Beaujolais (made from the gamay grape, which is a cousin to Pinot Noir). Pinot Noir usually has more body and tannins than Beaujolais, so if you like bolder reds it may be the better choice. If you want a very light red this Thanksgiving, try Beaujolais.

The smooth fruit and low tannins of Pinot Noir and Beaujolais work well with most of the holiday servings.


Note: Nouveau Beaujolais is a variation of Beaujolais and is a freshly pressed and fermented, low tannic wine. The Wine and Spirits stores have a new supply, released on November 18th.  Georges Deboeuf's is widely available in PLCB stores for $12.99 (produce code 5877).  We are buying a bottle today and will let you know what we think early next week, in time for Thanksgiving dinner.

If you buy the French Nouveau Beaujolais, drink it soon. Without tannins or aging like other red wines, it could easily go bad by New Year's.



All for now.