Thanksgiving Day Wines

[Abra]

Although the local stores are all out of this wine, I called Syncline today and they have a couple of cases left, so they're shipping me half a dozen bottles. This, and the Yellow Hawk Mescolanza di Rosso will be my Thanksgiving wines. Neither will be traditional or expected, but both will be delicious.

[TrishCT]

Whatever wine you want to serve is the right wine.  Generally, though, you want a wine with plenty of acidity -- the usual suspects end up being Riesling, Beaujolais, Pinot Noir, and Champage.  Some people also like to serve Zinfandel since it is (or at one time was) "American."

The thing with Thanksgiving dinner is that there are usually so many flavors and such going on, that it's good to have a variety of wines and let your guests pick for themselves.

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Would you be so kind as to recommend a Riesling and Pinot Noir? Moderately priced, readily available if possible. Thanks, kindly. I am making Thanksgiving dinner for 20...none wine connoiseurs. I have about eight bottles of the sparkler Bugey Cerdon Renardat-Fache stored up, and because I love these people I might open a couple bottles of that also.

[TrishCT]

No riesling or pinot noir recs....anyone...?

[KatieLoeb]

No riesling or pinot noir recs....anyone...?

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For riesling I'd go with a Halbtrocken if you can find it. Or in a similar vein a nice Scheurebe goes very well with turkey.

For Pinot Noir my personal preference is for something less austere and "Burgundian" and more "New World-y" (CA or OR) because the more fruit forward style matches better with the usual side dishes like cranberry sauce or the earthiness of mushrooms in the stuffing.

[TrishCT]

Thanks, Katie!

[300rwhp]

I would recommend a wine from Thelema (mountain vineyard) named Ed's Reserve. It is a chardonnay but with something that in my opinion makes it the perfect compliment for turkey dinner. Thelema is a south african winery so it may be difficult to find but if you do give it a try should cost much either.

[Brad Ballinger]

Would you be so kind as to recommend a Riesling and Pinot Noir?  Moderately priced, readily available if possible.  Thanks, kindly.  I am making Thanksgiving dinner for 20...none wine connoiseurs.  I have about eight bottles of the sparkler Bugey Cerdon Renardat-Fache stored up, and because I love these people I might open a couple bottles of that also.

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Sorry, Trish. I've been laid up in bed with a bad cold, and haven't been online for a couple of days.

Most Rieslings you'll find will be moderately priced. Katie's recommendation of a halbtrocken or even a trocken is a good one, but you can do all right even with ones that have more sugar than those (just limit yourself to kabinetten or spatlesen). There are a lot of German wines from the 2003 vintage on shelves now. That was a very ripe vintage, and the wines will be lush, in general. If you find some 2002 around, I'd opt for those, particularly from the Pfalz. But you don't have to restrict yourself to Germany. There are some good Alsatian Rieslings that are moderately priced, and I would put Trimbach at the top of my recommendation list. Also Barmes-Buecher. And from Australia, Pike's is affordable and pretty decent. From California, I really like the Rieslings from Smith-Madrone.

For Pinot Noir, if you are going to keep it domestic, I like Sanford for moderately priced, solid pinot noir. Also, Adelsheim out of Oregon.

[TrishCT]

Thanks Brad and 300! I can go wine shopping now!

[Susan in FL]

I'm finally getting around to finalizing the menu for Thursday, and I'm undecided on the wine to go with our first course soup, Celery Root Bisque with Thyme. This is the recipe, although there is a typo/mistake online -- there are no croutons with this soup.

We're serving bubbly with the hors d'oeuvres, and I thought of carrying that over into the soup course, but I would really rather have something different for each course.

Can you help me, please?

[dockhl]

Susan~

What is your menu?

Kathy

[carswell]

Viognier works well with cream and herb flavours. Domaine des Goubert's Cuvée "V" is one of the best French vigoniers outside of Condrieu. California also has success with the grape; Calera's is one of my favourites.

[Brad Ballinger]

Gruner Veltliner.

[Susan in FL]

Gruner Veltliner.

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I don't know what that is.

Viognier works well with cream and herb flavours. Domaine des Goubert's Cuvée "V" is one of the best French vigoniers outside of Condrieu. California also has success with the grape; Calera's is one of my favourites.

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I do know Viognier, and I imagine I will have an easier time finding a California Viognier than a good French one. I should have included in my post a reminder that I do live in central Florida -- the Daytona Beach area to boot-- which is not exactly a land of upscale wine shopping options. I think this may be a good possibility.

Susan~

What is your menu?

Kathy

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Thanks for your response, as well. I am running short of time, and will get back to you and let you know the rest of the courses I have planned.

[Brad Ballinger]

Gruner Veltliner.

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I don't know what that is.

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Sorry, Susan. Gruner Veltliner is an Austrian wine made from the grape of the same name. The wines, which are dry, generally have a pleasant acidity level. They generally have some aromas/flavors of lemon, apple, and root vegetables. And some of the better ones will show off some white pepper aroma and flavor.

[KatieLoeb]

Gruner Veltliner.

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I don't know what that is.

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Sorry, Susan. Gruner Veltliner is an Austrian wine made from the grape of the same name. The wines, which are dry, generally have a pleasant acidity level. They generally have some aromas/flavors of lemon, apple, and root vegetables. And some of the better ones will show off some white pepper aroma and flavor.

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Gruner Veltliner is also known for its lovely minerality. And it pairs well with almost any type of food from scrambled eggs to caviar.

I have a PDF file of an article I wrote about Gruner Veltliner not long ago. I'd be happy to PM or e-mail it to you if you'd like.

[Susan in FL]

Brad, Katie, and All,

My shopping today was amazing. I found Gruner Veltliner! After having never heard of it, I made a slight mental note and went on about my business of food and wine shopping after work today. I went to like five stores today minimum. Crossing off items from my lists as I found them, I got to the point of seriously looking for Viognier, some dessert wine -- I wasn't sure what, hearts of palm, shelled pistachios at a price I was willing to pay, and celery root. Then I narrowed it down to Viognier and celery root. Then I went to a wine shop and found EXP/Dunnigan Hills Viognier and bought it. Then I thought of another wine shop that just opened in our area and checked it out. ...Awesome! I overheard a conversation of the owner and another customer and she said the word Austrian. I jumped in and she was talking about Gruner Veltliner. I have no idea if it is any good, but it is Lois (Loimer?), very green, and I bought it. I traveled damn near 100 miles today looking for stuff, and my last stop when I was desperately looking for celery root (I see it all the time when I'm not looking for it), was Target. Target was the place I found the celery root.

So anyway, it's a bit of a moot point now Dockhl, but my menu is

Hors d'oeuvres: Dried Apricots with Maytag Blue & pistachios on them, Belgian endive leaves stuffed with smoked fish dip, and fresh local shrimp-something;

Celery Root Bisque;

Turducken!! and mashed potatoes with chive cream, a gravy of some sort, green beans and wild mushrooms, roasted cauliflower, sweet corn pudding, and heart of palm salad;

and a brownie and cheesecake -type thingie for dessert.

The dessert wine I found was Campbells Rutherglen Tokay.

Comments? Good or bad... that's it. I love to shop, but I shopped 'til I dropped and I'm not going to shop any more for at least two or three days.

[KatieLoeb]

Susan:

Congrats on finding all that you were seeking! That always feels good.

The R.H. Phillips EXP Viognier is quite tasty, although it will be a bit more fruity and lush (in a more New World style) than a French viognier would be, I'm certain you'll enjoy it and it should go quite well with your turkey dinner. It's very "peachy" and floral. I'm quite fond of it.

Loimer is a great producer of Gruner Veltliner. Should be a fine introduction to the grape for you. I believe "Lois" (like voice, not like Superman's girlfriend) is an abbreviation of Langenlois, the region of Austria where this wine is produced. This might not be as drinkable on its own as the viognier might be, but it really comes alive with food. Lots of minerality and white pepper flavors. Delicious.

Enjoy your feast!

[Susan in FL]

Thanks for the further feedback, Katie. I have one more question that I forgot to include in that long post last night (I was soooo tired). I planned to serve bubbly with the starters. Now that I found both Viognier and Gruner Veltliner, I'm not sure which to serve with the soup course. Knowing the two I'm choosing from, which do you think would go better with the celery root bisque with thyme?

My thoughts for the main course were to offer choices, Pinot Noir and Reisling -- both California -- and the traditional Beaujolais Nouveau. It's just one other couple, BTW, and Marge tends to like sweeter wines. Do you think the Viognier would best be left as a choice for the Turducken and sides?

Then of course the dessert wine, coffee, and tea to be offered with dessert... and lots of water throughout.

[Brad Ballinger]

Loimer's "Lois" GruVe is their most basic bottling of the varietal wine. It is attractive packaging -- clear bottle with a green and black label. Being the basic, or "introductory" wine, from Loimer, it should be realtively drinkable on its own. If you find yourself liking it at all, you can then pursue Loimer's higher end wines or those from other producers such as Nigl, Brundlmayer, either of the Pichlers, or Domaine Wachau.

[KatieLoeb]

Just curious what others had with their dinner. My hosts served Prosecco before dinner (which I made into Pomegranate Mimosas with a splash of Pom Wonderful juice) and a lovely Pouilly-Fuisse with dinner.

How 'bout you? What were you drinking with your turkey on Thursday? Any pleasant surprises or marvelous pairings? Come on. Dish.

[jrufusj]

Living in Tokyo, I had to work Thanksgiving Day so we and our houseguests went to the club for dinner. We'll be cooking at home this Saturday for a proper Thanksgiving.

Club wine list presented limited choice, but an interesting chance to try stuff I might not otherwise try (like the L-P or the Prieur).

SA Laurent-Perrier Brut Rosé

98 Paul Blanck Riesling Schlossberg VV

93 Jacques Prieur Corton-Bressandes

85 Taylor VP

Notes have been posted in a separate thread.

All but the Blanck were ho-hum but good enough. Prieur is not my style of Burg and I'm not a big fan of most big-house NV Champagnes, so expectations weren't that high. The Taylor was a bit of a disappointment. However, the good company more than made up for any wine deficiencies.

It'll be my own fault, though, if we don't have better wines/matches this Saturday.

Jim

[little ms foodie]

We brought a very nice pinot grigio from Willamette Valley and a few 1991 Domaine Drouhin Willamette Pinot Noirs that we had been cellaring, I really love pinot(s) with t-day meals.

(I'm not going to mention the white zin that the hosts had..........)

[mike volker]

'01 Simi chard

'00 Cline Big Break zin

'00 Te Awa Farm Boundry

'01 Landmark Grand Detour pn (drinking really well right now)

Best,

Mike

[TrishCT]

This is what I ended up serving for Thanksgiving (We had 20 adults).

BearBoat 2003 Pinot Noir ($17.99)

Loosen Bros. 2004 Riesling "Dr. L" ($12.99)

Renardat de Fache Cerdon Bugey sparkler ($16.99)

Corbett Canyon White Zinfandel (A guest brought it, and asked for it to be opened)

The Cerdon de Bugey which kinda tastes like strawberry champagne, was served with my starter, fresh fruit served in halved out oranges. The fruit was mostly berries--strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, with some fresh-sliced oranges, etc... A lovely match.

I didn't want to face the White Zin as I don't like it, but some of my older guests really liked it, and drank it throughout dinner.

I tried both the pinot and riesling with dinner, and the riesling, to me, was a perfect match. I had a couple glasses with dinner.

Afterwards I had a full glass of the pinot..and I was underwhelmed. I have not had good luck picking pinots. I don't know enough about them.

For dessert, everyone was drinking coffee or cider (Long drives ahead).

[Brad Ballinger]

NV Charles Baur Cremant d'Alsace Brut - Goes down so easy it's scary. Light, citrus-y, acidic, juicy without being fat.

NV Andre & Mireille Tissot Cremant du Jura Brut - Toasty, "meaty," full-bodied, a bit nutty. Good.

NV Henri Bouillot "Perle d'Aurora" Cremant de Bourgogne Brut Rose - Very light pink/salmon, citrus-y, floral, dry dry dry, good mineral backbone.

2005 Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau - My wife needs this stuff every year. I didn't try it.