Tag Archives: Thanksgiving wines

Weekend wine bargains: Thanksgiving edition, experts pick reds and whites

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Comparing the picks: A special survey of Thanksgiving selections from popular wine experts and publications.

The spotlight in on bargains and best values ranging from an Italian bubbly to an “Old Vines” Beaujolais (with a couple California favorites to boot).

 

2006 Chardonnay, Justin Vineyards & Winery, Calif. Between $15 and $20
2006 Beaujolais “Old Vines” Jean-Paul Brun, France $14
Edward Deitch — Both red and white wines pair well with a Thanksgiving feast. “But which reds and which whites? That’s a somewhat tougher question…” This two-part series examines both, including the two picks listed here and several others in the linked stories: Part 1, whites. Part 2, reds.

Bisol 2005 Prosecco di Valdobbiadene Crede Brut, Italy
Dr. Vino — A bubbly for starters. This dry Prosecco has been a sure hit at Dr. Vino’s wine classes. Along with other selections as the meal progresses. $15

Rodney Strong Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 2001, Sonoma County, Calif.
Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher — The two Wall Street Journal wine writers serve up some favorites for the CBS News Saturday Early Show. $13

2004 or 2005 Zind Humbrecht Pinot d’Alsace, France
The Dallas Morning News — This Thanksgiving wine-tasting panel’s favorite … “rich and slightly honeyed, with intriguing spice notes.” One of several listed. $14

Tip: Print out this list and bring it to you local wine shop — even if a specific favorite isn’t available, ask the salesperson to recommend something similar. Or try browsing the latest wine reports from this custom collection of hundreds of news websites — filtered for bargains, continuously updated, and quick and easy to scan:

  • Reds (from Beaujolais to Zinfandel)
  • Whites (from Chablis to Sauvignon Blanc)
  • Organic (red, white, in between)

To hit closer to home, try WNR’s Advanced Wine Search tool and see what wine finds local columnists and wine experts may be writing about in your area. Once there, just type in your city and state (within quotation marks, as in, “Napa, California”), to get results ranked by relevance.

Or dig into some perennial standbys at SFGate.com’s Top 100 Wines of 2006, the Top 100 of 2006 list (PDF download) from Wine Spectator and the list of 50 Wines You Can Always Trust from Food & Wine.

Attracted to a bottle that’s advertised in the local paper or sitting on the local wine store shelf?

Do a little background research with Wine Enthusiast’s free, searchable Wine Buying Guide—either with a specific name or by types and price. For a little extra info, try Robert Parker’s handy Vintage Chart. Or see what the online wine community says about it with the search tools at cork’d, snooth or Wine Log.

Once you’ve selected the wine, you naturally want to decide what to eat with it. For some savvy guidance, try Natalie MacLean’s Wine & Food Matcher, which boasts a database of 360,000 wine-food pairings.

The Web is about community. So take a moment to comment about your experience with a particular wine — to help steer others to or away from it. And of course, have a great weekend!

‘Turkey wine’ and other Thanksgiving wine bargains to the rescue

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Good news and bad news about Thanksgiving.

The good news: such a wide variety of delicious things to eat. 

The bad: such a wide variety of delicious things to eat — which can make pairing the right wine enough to give you mental indigestion.

But don’t despair.

Wine tasters around the nation are graciously coming to the rescue (tough work, but somebody’s got to do it).

Like white?

If you’re thinking of going with a white, for example, an eclectic  cast of tasters in Nashville — including reps of wine distributors, a wine collector, a sommelier and food columnist — came up with a tasty bunch of recommendations while chowing down with turkey, dressing, gravy and cranberry sauce to assure mouth-watering harmony.

Some of their selections fit nicely within the Wine News Review fairly frugal affordability index, or at least the holiday version of it.

Among their selections, Gewürztraminer, aka “turkey wine” because it goes so well with the main dish. One stood out:

2006 Covey Run ($8.99) — serves up a “delightful aroma of cooked cling peaches, white pepper and floral notes.” It was the tasters’ favorite: “The wine withstood competing tastes and was not as sweet as the others.”

Second was a 2006 Columbia Winery Cellarmaster’s Riesling ($13.99) — tasters agreed that its “fruit and perfume ‘rocked’ with the multi-flavored meal.”

Versatile Pinot

Stacy Slinkard, wine guide at About.com, offers a list of 10 Thanksgiving wine suggestions, nine of which are $10 or under.

Her number one recommendation is a California Kendall Jackson Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay 2005, ($10), finding it a “delicious compilation of fruit and smoke, full-bodied and balanced.”

She also cites a few reds, including another Californian, a Rex Goliath Pinot Noir, ($9), which she finds supple and versatile enough “to go with everything from hors d’oeuvres to the main dish.”

To start off the festivities with some bubbly cheer, she suggests a Korbel Champagne Brut ($10), “a champagne stand by that is perfect for party goers.”

Don’t worry, be happy

While acknowledging the banquet-sized range of flavors to be found on a Thanksgiving table, Peter M. Gianotti at Long Island’s Newsday, takes a don’t-worry-be-happy approach: ” … drink what you like, whether it’s apple cider, brown ale or bourbon.”

But if wine is your Thanksgiving drink of choice, he recommends a diverse collection of whites and reds, including a nicely priced, “berry-driven” 2006 Kendall-Jackson Vintner’s Reserve Pinot Noir ($14).

Speaking of nicely priced, he suggests a couple Italian Proseccos for the celebratory sparkling wine selection: La Vendemmia ($10), Lunetta ($13).

Of course, there are many other wine tasters standing graciously by to take the wine anxiety out of Thanksgiving. Stay tuned to Wine News Review in coming days for more of their suggestions.

Tip: Print out this list, and for that matter the lists from the links above, when you head to your local wine shop. If none is available, ask the salesperson to recommend something similar, and similarly priced.

Five tips from the ‘Ultimate Guide’ to Thanksgiving wine

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Among the many things for which we should give thanks is that we don’t have to stumble around a wine shop wondering what wine would go well with Thanksgiving dinner.

But excuse me — did I say wine, singular?

If there was ever an occasion to have more than one wine at a meal, this is it.

Take it from wine diva Natalie MacLean, author of the bestselling book “Red, White and Drunk All Over,” who serves up an “Ultimate Guide” to choosing Thanksgiving wines, plural.

Among her tips (with my links to varietal backgrounders):

  • For starters, think bubbly. Not only does a sparkling wine complement soups or salads, it’s a festive way to kill some time while the turkey’s roasting.
  • Look for a “mouth-watering” wine to pair with the dry-textured turkey meat, say a crisp Riesling or Pinot Grigio. But then again the fruity flavors of Pinot Noir, Beaujolais and Zinfandel would go well, too.
  • Given the assortment of side dishes in the typical Thanksgiving banquet, there’s no need to choose between the reds and whites — you can offer both.
  • A “big, buttery” Chardonnay from California or Chile would suit the roasted, smoky flavors of squash, chestnuts and pecan stuffing, while a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc would provide a crisp contrast to cream sauces’ richness.
  • “End on a sweet note,” like a late-harvest wine or ice wine. 

Her number one recommendation for a Thanksgiving wine? A Pinot Noir from her current list of picks, she suggested in a recent e-mail message. Depending on your budget:

  • 2001 J. Labet & N. Déchelette Château De La Tour Clos-Vougeot Grand Cru 2001 Ac, Grand Cru, France – Burgundy:
    “Exotic aromas of earth, lovely sour cherries, beets (it’s a good thing) and a certain je ne sais quois pas.” $129.95
  • 2005 Maison Champy Bourgogne Signature Pinot Noir AC, France – Burgundy:
    With raspberry, cherry-drop and beetroot scents, a “staggering value” from a respected producer. $18.95

There’s a cornucopia of wine experts decanting advice about Thanksgiving wines. Stay tuned to Wine News Review in the days ahead for more of their recommendations and picks.