Wine for Your Feast

It is time for one of the largest meals of the year. If you are choosing a wine to serve with your Thanksgiving meal, trying to match wines with so many textures and flavors can be difficult. Here are some tried and true favorites that seem to work with most Thanksgiving meals, and some new recommendations to spice things up a bit.

Some people like to pour one type of wine throughout the entire meal. If this is the case for you, champagne and sparkling wine is a safe route to go. Starting with a toast all the way through to dessert, sparkling wine brings elegance and great versatility to go with all meals.

Other people like to offer a selection to their guests, especially if there are a large number of people.

If this is the case, you can open a bottle of red, white, or rosé, and let your guests choose which wine they like the best. Safe bets here for red are Pinot Noir, Syrah, Zinfandel and Beaujolais Nouveau.

New and different choices could be cru Beaujolais and Cabernet Franc.

For white wines, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Pinot Grigio and Pinot Gris are always great choices.

For new and different choices, try an Albariño or Viognier.

And, of course, most dry rosés are also a good choice when there are lots of different flavors in a meal.

Sparkling Wine Choices:

ROEDERER ESTATE BRUT Mendocino, Calif. – This crisp and elegant wine is fresh, lightly fruity, with great finesse and depth of flavor. Made of 60 percent Chardonnay and 40 percent Pinot Noir.

ROEDERER ESTATE BRUT ROSÉ Mendocino, Calif. – This full, round, smooth wine combines peach and red fruit flavors and spicy crisp acidity to create a balanced and rich sparkling wine. It’s 55 percent Pinot Noir and 44 percent Chardonnay.

GRUET BRUT New Mexico – Made by Laurent Perrier, this is a focused and richly styled sparkling wine, with tropical aromas and baked apple, cinnamon and herb notes. A great value!

GRUET ROSÉ New Mexico – This medium-bodied wine has dictate strawberry flavors. It is tangy and tart, with fruit and toast flavors. Another delicious wine value!

Red Wine Choices:

SOPHIE BERTIN PINOT NOIR San-cerre, France – This pretty Pinot Noir is ruby red, clear and bright, with hints of violets and spice, fresh and full of fruit. The fruit is pure and clean. An outstanding value!

PLANET OREGON PINOT NOIR Williamette Valley, Ore. – This is a brilliant red wine with fresh red berries, cinnamon and hint of woodsmoke on the finish. It has raspberry and cherry flavors, tangy acidity and a touch of blood orange flavors.

DOMAINE DU CLOS DU FIEF MICHEL AND SYLVAIN TETE JULIENAS Beaujolais, France – While many people enjoy Beaujolais Nouveau with their turkey dinner, I really enjoy a good cru Beaujolais. There are 10 cru Beaujolais regions. These wines are made from the Gamay grape, but typically have more concentration and finesse than Beaujolais or Beaujolais Nouveau. This Julienas is made from 50-year-old vines. It is a beautiful, smooth wine, with bright cherry flavors and clean fleshy fruit.

White Wine Choices:

BLUE QUAIL SAUVIGNON BLANC Potter Valley, Calif. – This Sauvignon Blanc is grown at 1,100 feet, where temperatures drop by 40 degrees each night, prolonging ripeness so crisp acidity can develop. It is redolent of orange blossoms, honeydew melon, pear and spicy citrus. It has remarkable natural acidity and a deliciously long mineral finish. Made with organically grown grapes, estate-grown and family-owned since 1970. Great value!

BODEGAS LA CANA ALBARIÑO Rias Baixas, Spain – Aromas of lime zest, green apple and ginger. It has good clarity and is bright and nervy on the palate with citrus and quince flavors.

DARIOUSH SIGNATURE VIOGNIER Napa Valley, Calif. – Viognier is a rarity in Napa Valley. This beautiful wine is smooth and seamless, with peach and apricot flavors and fresh floral notes.

Rosé Wine Choices:

GERARD BOULAY “SIBYLLE” SANCERRE ROSÉ Sancerre, France – This delicious rosé is made from 30-to-40-year-old Pinot Noir vines. It is packed with the wonderful Sancerre qualities of great acidity, flavor and fragrance.

BY OTT ROSÉ Cotes de Provence – This wine has a fruity nose with notes of apricot and grapefruit. It has a lovely structure with good fruit and mineral qualities, followed by some spicy flavors on the finish.

BEDROCK WINE COMPANY “ODE TO LULU” ROSÉ California – An amazing rosé wine made from 75 percent Mourvèdre and 25 percent Grenache. It is pale salmon in color, with delicate Bing cherry, raspberry and red currant scents, and hints of red apple and white pepper. Great freshness and a peppery finish.

Tips for serving:

Temperature does make a difference in the taste of wine.

Serve sparkling wine at 40-50 degrees. You can chill it in the freezer for 30 minutes but don’t forget it. It will pop.

Serve red wine at 60-70 degrees, not too cold. You can chill light red wines for 30 minutes before drinking, or you can keep them chilled and remove them an hour before serving.

Serve white and rosé wines at 50-60 degrees. You do not need to keep them on ice. Many wines open up as they warm up, showing more delicate flavors.

Enjoy your holiday season!

Please drink responsibly.