Thanksgiving Wine
Posted by Wine Welfare | Filed under Holiday Wine
Giving Thanks to Vino!
We’re doing three reds and a white this year, seeing as how many of you might already have a white that you love chilling in the fridge in anticipation of that bird. All of these wines are easily available in local grocery stores and wine shops, so you don’t have to go fretting about ordering them online. We just wanted you to know the prices beforehand. By the way, if you were to buy all four, it would all come out to less than $60. Not too shabby. So, without further or do, we give you 2009′s Thanksgiving Wine Recommendations from Wine Welfare!
Leitz Out Riesling 2007
An under-the-radar Riesling. Not too sweet and not too dry. The Leitz Out has just enough brilliant honey, spice and lemon flavors to combat the mouth-puckering acidity. This wine will be delicious for your appetizers beforehand, be they cheese and crackers, some pickled vegetables or some crudites. Or, if you want to get even more out of it, serve with the meal. Try swirling it around with a bite of turkey and salty gravy, and you’ll see why we love it so much. Sounds weird, we know, but trust us, Riesling CAN go with turkey and stuffing.
Rosenblum Cellars Vintner’s Cuvee Zinfandel
No Thanksgiving is complete without a bottle of Zinfandel: the quintessential Thanksgiving wine. We don’t know why, but Zinfandel sells more at this time of year than any other wine out there. The demand explodes, which leads us to believe that, while not exactly the perfect pairing when it comes to turkey, it certainly matches well with the other more rustic and fruity foods on the table. Rich, blackness in the color. This wine is thick. Pop it and you’re opening up a jar of blackberry, cherry and cranberry jam with a bit of cinnamon. You’ll also notice some spiced orange coming through, which would match perfectly with a orange-cranberry relish. Great tannins round it out. If you’re giving people a selection of wines this year, make sure the Rosenblum Zin is there.
Deloach Pinot Noir Russian River 2007
A solid, standard Pinot. Nothing too fancy here; just straight-up delicious. Pinot works quite well with turkey, and throw in some herbed stuffing and a good gravy, and you’ve got yourself a complete Thanksgiving meal. Beautiful dark color (almost too dark for a Pinot, particularly at this age), with brilliant tart fruits: Blackberry, sour cherry, and even some rhubarb. To balance out the fruit salad, Deloach threw in some mushroom and, if we’re not mistaken, an almost avocado-like taste. Good spice on the back end with a nice, smooth finish.
Beringer Cabernet Sauvignon Knights Valley 2007
We’ve been waiting a long time to show you this one, and we’ll do a full review on it soon, but the Beringer Cabernet Sauvignon Knights Valley is, in our opinion, the best value Cabernet on the entire market right now. Though there may be too much toasty oak for some people, the wine delivers on all fronts. A rich red color, vanilla cream nose with lots of blackberry, cassis, chocolate and buttered toast coming through. The tannins are there just enough to balance out the fruit and heat. This is a well-crafted Cabernet, one of the best, and it’s well worth the ridiculously low price to put it on your Thanksgiving table.
So there you have it, folks. Four spectacular Thanksgiving wines for you to enjoy. May you eat, drink, be merry and stuff yourselves beyond belief this year.
Happy Thanksgiving from Wine Welfare!
Cheers!
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We keep things simple:
December 4, 2009 at 4:49 pm
[...] Roasted = Tough one. This is where your own palate and preference comes into play. While the obvious answer seems to be whites, roasting a chicken gives it a richer flavor because you generally are using some kind of oil and herb mix. If you are leaning towards the white realm, try the Tolosa No-Oak Chardonnay. If you’re heading for red country, pretend it’s a roasted turkey, which pair great with Rosenblum Zinfandel. [...]