Wine Pairings for Thanksgiving

My husband and I usually host our families at our home on Thanksgiving. We always cook a traditional herb-roasted turkey and gravy with a savory dressing/stuffing with fresh onions, peppers and herbs, sweet potatoes (1/2 with marshmallows and 1/2 without) and the cranberry sauce. Other family members bring desserts and various side dishes. There are always green beans and usually mashed potatoes, broccoli/rice casserole and macaroni & cheese. My mother-in-law always brings flaky rolls with strawberry butter.

When choosing wine for this day, I first consider what works best with this meal, my guests, how much I will need and what I want to spend. I try to buy a minimum of half a bottle for each adult and depending on who has come to town and how long it may stretch, I might buy more. I always buy wine that I will enjoy in case it is not consumed that day. I don't want to be stuck storing something that I don't enjoy myself.

Pairing wine with the turkey is the easiest part, something that will complement rather than cover its mild flavors. It gets tricky when you consider the sweetness, tartness or creaminess of all the individual side dishes. In recent years, I have started with sparkling cranberry cocktails, usually an inexpensive Prosecco mixed with cranberry juice. If you want your bubbles straight, Extra-Dry or Rose Champagne will pair better than other styles such as Brut.

I also open a few different bottles of wine to accommodate everyone's tastes. Top white wine picks include dry Riesling from Alsace or Washington, Argentinean Torrontes from the Salta region, lighter Italian-style Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc from California. Red Choices include Beaujolais-Villages (rather than the traditional Nouveau), a light Pinot Noir, Rioja with Garnacha in the blend, or a light-bodied Merlot or Cabernet for my die-hard red drinkers.

Most importantly, you should enjoy what you pick so you can enjoy the feast, the merriment and feel thankful for what is in your glass!

Comments

Lust Zinfandel 2007

My husband loves this wine so he purchased quite a few bottles at a recent Michael~David dinner that we had attended. Last night, I decided to open a bottle to serve with dinner. I was making a roasted southwestern pork tenderloin, sweet potato fries (w/ chipolte ketchup) and a salad consisting of baby lettuce (fresh from my garden) with strawberries, red bell peppers, red onions and walnuts tossed with a white balsamic-raspberry vinaigrette. This turned out to be a great pairing. It is a bold wine that really stood up to the strong chipolte seasoning while complementing the fruit flavors. I opened the bottle a 1/2 hour before I served it as I have found this wine to be more enjoyable when I do so. The Lust Zinfandel by Michael~David 2007 was a dark purple color with a ruby rim. It has intense aromas of very ripe mixed berries and baking spices-both allspice and ginger with hints of cedar. It has flavors of creme de cassis, milk chocolate and also more of the baking

An Immersive Introduction into the World of Asolo Prosecco

Dinner Views at Osteria Alla Baracca. I was very excited to visit the Asolo DOCG Prosecco region at the end of May on a press trip as it is an Italian area that I have not previously traveled through. Asolo is located in the Province of Treviso at the foot of Monte Grappa in the high hills to the west of the Piave River with views of the Dolomites. The grapes are grown in 17 communes surrounding the town of Asolo. The days were very warm while I was there but I needed a sweater or light jacket on most evenings due to the diurnal swing that makes it a great area for grape growing. Wines from the Master Class Tasting. Asolo was elevated to the DOCG level in 2009. The majority of the Prosecco that I have found in Houston is Prosecco DOC which is mostly from very large producers. Asolo was separated from this category and the region was given this higher status because there are terroir elements that make it distinctive in the world of Prosecco. The Sant'Anna Vineyard. Many of the vin

The Salta Tour 2012

Vine Connections and Pioneer Wine Company hosted a seminar and tasting event for Houston's wine trade and media at Backstreet Cafe yesterday. All but two of the wines were from the Salta Province of Argentina. Salta is the most northern wine region in Argentina lying close to the Bolivian border. The climate is very extreme due to the high altitude. Plantings start at 5,000 feet above sea level and climb to 9,000 feet, making these vineyards the highest in the world. The intense sunlight the area receives helps to create grapes with more anthocyanins, these are the color pigments which result in softer tannins, lower astringency and more intense flavor. The wines produced are extremely pure, concentrated and terroir specific. Torrontes Riojano which is considered the best of the three Torrontes clones is the most widely planted grape with plantings of Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon and Tannat increasing. The seminar started with a tasting of four Torrontes wines, three from diff

Wine Life - Houston

Search This Blog