November 2005

In the previous post, several types of wines were suggested for your quest to complement the turkey and trimmings on the Thanksgiving table. Beaujolais, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Gris were a few of the higher recommendations. As promised, you’ll now find out the two wines that I’m having on turkey day. And just to keep you on your toes, they are not any of the types previously mentioned. Sometimes you have to think outside the box!

The Red: Columbia Winery Merlot
15.99

N: Strong, forward, attractive nose. At first this wine seemed a little closed, however after letting the bottle sit for about an hour after opening and pouring out two glasses, the nose opened up quite a bit on the next pour and showed more complexity. Sweet blackberry and raspberry fruit, distinct earth, roasted green bell pepper, touch of vanilla spice and sweet tobacco hints.

P: Smooth as glass texture. Soft and supple in the mouth. Fruit-forward and jammy, with flavors of black and red raspberry, mild sweet earth. Acidity is mild to medium, tannins are soft to medium; both elements and the alcohol level are appropriate for the amount of fruit throughout the palate and through the finish. In other words, this wine is very well balanced.

Don’t confuse this winery with Columbia Crest — this is light years ahead of that plonk. At around fifteen bucks, it’s a little more expensive than most wines I review, but it is worth every penny. And hey, it’s Thanksgiving, it’s OK to spend a little extra for the holiday. After Thanksgiving, match it with ground turkey (tacos!), leaner meats such as chicken or roast pork and meaty fish (salmon, swordfish).

The White: Weingut Kofererhof Kerner 2004
22.99

N: Fresh, ripe, vibrant fruit aromas of peach, citrus, red delicious and green granny smith apple.

P: Fresh, ripe array of apple and ripe peach flavor. Almost like a fresh fruit salad, with apples, peaches, green grapes, pineapple, and even a touch of maraschino cherry and some citrusy lime … but not sweet as it finishes bone dry. Touch of mineral and the slightest hint of sweet grassiness adds nice complexity. Good level of acidity holds things together and provides the support for matching with a number of foods. Smooth as glass texture.

Before you pass this wine off as a “German” wine, let’s get something straight: this wine is from ITALY. And in fact, it is more like a wine from Austria than Germany. So what the hell is Kerner, and how do you say Kofererhof? It comes from the Alto Adige region in northeast Italy, the same place that brings us Pinot Grigio, believe it or not. And if you think Pinot Grigio is a good white wine, this bottle will blow your mind. I highly recommend it as an aperitif, and suggest you match it with fish, poultry, and pork prepared simply or in white/wine – based sauces. It will also be a fine match for veggie dishes, and Asian cuisine (it cries for Thai and Indian). I only wish it were under twenty bucks, but hey, you get what you pay for … and what’s a special occasion if you can’t splurge a little? Open this up right after the kickoff of the Falcons-Lions game, and enjoy it through the appetizers and the first few tastes of turkey.

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Ah, the perennial feast of the United States — for the foodie it is the ultimate holiday, with its succulent roast turkey surrounded by what seems to be every side dish known to mankind. And those “other” dishes are what makes the wine match a serious challenge.

A wine to go with roast turkey is easy enough: go with a mild-to-medium-bodied red, such as a Pinot Noir from Burgundy, or try a full-flavored white, such as a white Burgundy, a Califoakian Chardonnay, or a Pinot Gris from Alsace. However, the turkey is not the only thing on the table, so what wine can you choose that will go with everything?

There’s an easy answer to this: don’t try to match everything with one bottle. Instead, choose a few bottles with differing characteristics.

OK, that was too easy … and chances are you’re not going to buy eight different bottles of wine to go with the myriad dishes. So, if you’re invited to someone’s home for Thanksgiving dinner, what is an appropriate wine to bring?

The first choice is Champagne; what better way to celebrate a holiday than with bubbles? Forget the cheap stuff — spend some money and get a full-bodied, legitimate Champagne from France. A vintage brut cuvee, rose, or Chardonnay (often called “blanc de blancs”) can carry you through the day, or get a “non-vintage” for about half the price. Choose one from a reputable house such as Pommery, Mumm, Bollinger, Moet, or Perrier-Jouet. Or, if you’re willing to look a little harder, find a sparkler from Billecart-Salmon or Besserat de Bellefon, two houses that are lesser-known but will provide a great bottle to start the day and will have the power to drink throughout the meal (so maybe two bottles would be better!).

The second choice, in my book, is a Beaujolais, such as a Julienas, Moulin-a-Vent, Brouilly, Chenas, Fleurie, or other cru. Beaujolais wines have good acidity and just enough tannins to stand up to a variety of foods. The fresh, fruity ripe cherry flavor matches nicely with just about everything at the table, including the cranberry sauce. In additon to a cru Beaujolais, you may also find it fun to bring along a Nouveau, which is worthwhile as a conversation piece and will be enjoyable for the less-serious wine drinkers (i.e., the white zinners).

The aforementioned Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris are not only good matches for turkey, but will also match with a variety of other foods at the table. If you choose a Pinot Noir, the suggestion — as it was with the Champagne — is to take the ducats out of your wallet and lay them down on a real Pinot Noir from Burgundy, France. As you may have seen on Sideways, there is something rather special about these wines; a good Burgundy is more an experience than a mere beverage. What better time to drink it than on a holiday, surrounded by loved ones?

Finally, if you want to have a white wine at the table, go with either a Pinot Gris from Alsace or a German Riesling. Simple Pinot Grigio, such as from Italy, is OK for appetizers, but doesn’t have the substance to follow along to the main course. Conversely, an Alsace Pinot Gris (which is the same grape, but from a different place) has significant weight in the mouth, much fuller bodied, and adds a riper, spicier note that melds well with both the turkey and many of the trimmings. German Riesling — specifically a dry QbA or Kabinett (the designation will be printed somwhere on the label). These wines have a lot of bright, fruit flavors of apple and peach, with searing acidity and mineral notes that pair well with all kinds of foods from creamed onions to sausage and herb stuffing. Perhaps best of all, German Rieslings tend to be around six to eight percent alcohol — not much more than a beer — so you can drink them all day without feeling the effect of wines double in proof.

So there you have it, a quick rundown on several wines to choose from for the Thanksgiving feast. Stop by the site a little later to read about the specific wine I will be serving for bird day.

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It’s here! Beaujolais Nouveau est arrive!

In other words, Beaujolais Nouveau has arrived. Let’s face it, unless you have the kind of bucks that can be thrown away for Bordeaux futures, there aren’t too many dates for a wine geek to look forward to … so the third Thursday in November is a fairly special day.

If you missed the post from a few days ago, there’s a rundown answering questions all about Beaujolais Nouveau to help you understand what all the excitement is about. In a nutshell, Beaujolais Nouveau is part celebration, part preview. By tasting the very first wine of the vintage, you should get a fair idea of what the “real” Beaujolais wines will taste like when they are released in the spring/summer of the following year.

That said, let’s get to the tasting notes. The Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau 2005 shows aromas of fresh, ripe strawberry and red cherry. Fairly simple, but fresh … it certainly smells like a five-week-old wine. On the palate you get the same fresh, ripe strawberry in the flavor, mixed with red and black cherries. It really does taste like biting into a fresh strawberry. However, there is more to the wine than that.

What this wine lacks in complexity it makes up in structure and balance. The 2005 Nouveau is held together with ample, tart acidity and surprisingly ripe tannins: two elements that stay through a remarkably long finish. Why is this so surprising? Because a wine this young shouldn’t have any tannins, and only moderate acidity at best. Is this a wine to compare to a $50 Pinot Noir? Of course not, but it is much better than expected and will hold its own against other ten-dollar wines … at least for the short-term.

The grapegrowers of Beaujolais were telling us that the 2005 wines would be rivaled only by the once-in-a-lifetime “vintage of the sun” 2003. Personally, I dismissed these claims as marketing hype, but after tasting this Nouveau, I’m a believer, and looking forward to the release of Beaujolais-Village and the various Beaujolais Crus in 2006.

Until then, we have Nouveau. Enjoy this wine now through the New Year holiday. Bring a few bottles to Thanksgiving dinner, and drink it with appetizers, your first few bites of turkey, and the cranberry sauce.

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In just a few days … Thursday November 17th to be exact … Beaujolais Nouveau 2005 is arriving. If you were invited to an “arrival party”, then you might already know this.

To refresh your memory, Beaujolais Nouveau is the first wine of the vintage, and will be arriving amidst much pomp and circumstance later this week. Why all the hoopla? What makes Beaujolais Nouveau so special?

In the Wine Basics section, there is a new page with a quick summary on Beaujolais Nouveau.

Click here to find the answers to your Beaujolais Nouveau questions.

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