Tag Archives: red wine

What fun and delicious wines will grace your Thanksgiving table?

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I am certainly looking forward to enjoying Thanksgiving Dinner with family and friends. However, I am going to change up the wine offerings this year. As the dishes served are standard Thanksgiving fare offered and anticipated as well as those family favorites, I do not want to mess with the menu or the family ‘food traditions.’

To keep it simple, I will be serving the following:

For the happy hour (before the serious eating commences):

Veuve Cliquot Demi Sec NV – this Champagne is lush on the palate and has enough sweetness to soften the acidity with just a touch of yeasty character. The mousse is lively and gives the champagne a delightful crispness not expected in a demi sec. The aromas and flavors evoke peach, caramel, pear, and Meyer lemon, which linger beautifully, and the finale is a long, pleasant finish. It is a delightful Champagne and will please both connoisseurs as well as those new to this style.

I recently purchased this at Total Wine & More for $65 for a 750ml bottle (with the ‘buy six’ discount). If you do not need a whole bottle, it is also available in a half bottle size (www.wine.com). Serving in a beautiful champagne flute or Grandma’s cut crystal will add elegance and scream festive! This beautiful wine is a combination of Pinot Noir, with Chardonnay, Meunier, and reserve wines from the cellar. It hails from the Champagne region of France.

At the table, I will be serving a white and a red wine:

Famille Hugel Classic Gewurztraminer 2019 (or slightly older) – this white wine beauty from the Alsace region of France is an aromatic variety that delivers tropical fruit, peach, pear, melon, honey, ginger and exhibits notable minerality. The wine is clean and fresh with a spicy element to complement all those savoy flavors present in Thanksgiving fare. It has great weight on the palate and offer low acidity, so it will not overpower the savory elements of your meal. If making a simple salad, you can also use this Gewurztraminer as the ‘acid’ part of your salad dressing, adding it to extra virgin olive oil and spices of your choice.

I recently tasted this in Alsace in the town of Riquewihr at the Hugel Family winery tasting room. You can purchase it easily through www.vinvino.com or at Raley’s markets. The price ranges from $23 to $26 per bottle.

Domaine Pardon Cuvee Hugo Fleurie 2020 – this is not the Noveau Beaujolais wine released on the 3rd Thursday in November each year. This is a serious Gamay wine crafted from the vineyards in the North of Beaujolais in the Cru of Fleurie (there are 10 Crus in Beaujolais making delicious wines). I recently paired this wine for an event where the driving element of the main dish was the spice, Saffron. It absolutely sang with the food, and I know it will do the same with your Thanksgiving meal. It has just enough tart raspberry and cranberry elements coupled with a spicy and earthy finish for all those delicious, crazy flavors in our American Thanksgiving extravaganza. While aromatic and flavorful, the wine offers a light to medium body and the acidity keeps the palate fresh and lively.

Often, Gamay from Beaujolais will rival Pinot Noir at about one-third the price. The wine does not have an overabundance of tannin, so it is a very versatile food wine. I purchased this at Total Wine & More for $23 (with the ‘buy six’ discount).

For dessert:

Dow’s 10 Year Tawny Port – while there are many amazing dessert type wines, after such a big meal with a menagerie of textures and flavors, and a glance at the dessert table which may include pumpkin, pecan, and apple pies, something with enough flavor and just rich enough will set the tone and finish your dinner. Dow’s port will not disappoint and will give just enough bang for the finale. The wine exhibits aromas and flavors of dried apricot, baked cherries, plum cake with a definite nutty characteristic. It is aged in oak barrels and is a blend of older wines that are an average of 10 years.

I have used this port wine for many events, and it is a bargain at around $30 a bottle. I found it at Save Mart, www.wine.com and Total Wine.

While there are many wines available that will give you a great pairing experience, I hope you will try one or more of these recommendations. Remember, there are no absolutes when pairing wine and food but many variables. Those include the food and the elements in the dish but most importantly, the people you love and are hoping to please.

Happy Thanksgiving!

What’s your ‘Wednesday’ wine?

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People are always asking me what my favorite wine or grape varietal is.   That is an impossible question to answer when the world offers so many delicious and intriguing wines from incredibly historic places.  I enjoy drinking my way around the globe and, if the wine is sound and of good quality, tastes like the varietal(s) and is a good pairing with the food, I am happy.

However, I know people are looking for wine recommendations not an esoteric comment that makes me sound smug.  So, the following is a picture of the label of the wine we drank last night.  This is one of my favorite ‘Wednesday wines’, affordably priced (around $15), I have tasted many vintages and while I liked some vintages better than others, I have never been disappointed.

2014 Bodegas Ondarre Reserva Rioja

This wine is from the Rioja region of Spain and is a red blend of 85% Tempranillo (pronounced ‘temp-rah-nee-yo’), 10% Garnacha (Grenache) and 5% Mazuelo (Carignan which is generally grown in France).  It was aged in American and French oak barrels and, as it is a Reserva, it was aged for three years (probably in tanks with one of those years in oak).  On the palate, the wine is dry and fresh with ripe red berries, plum, dusty leather and finishes with a bit of soft vanilla spice.  The wine shows a medium to medium plus tannin structure but presents soft on the palate with just enough bright acidity and a long finish (which is surprising considering the price point).

I love Rioja wines and, while I was lucky to spend a few days in the mountain town of Laguardia in the La Rioja region of Spain, my brother-in-law, Tom Vonderbrink is my real Spanish hero.  Tom spent 40+ days on his first pilgrimage walking the Camino de Santiago – the Way of St. James.  The Bodegas Ondarre is located along ‘the way’ he walked, and the winery website pictures a pilgrim with a hiking pole walking through their vineyards.  I thought this would be a good ‘shout out’ to Tom along with a wish and a prayer that we all can get back to an adventurous life in the very near future. 

Tom, in the spirit of giving, family and friendship, I have shipped a bottle of this 2014 Bodegas Ondarre Riserva to you as a wonderful memory of your accomplishment (along with a bottle of 2016 Cune Rioja, just because).  Please enjoy and drink to all of our health and to all ‘essentials’ in this crazy world.

Santé

Sudsy

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What’s on your Easter dinner table?

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Got a text from a friend asking what wine to pair with Ham for Easter Dinner. Let’s face it, most of the time, that Ham is probably from the Honey Baked Store. While I could pontificate about the coating on the outside of the Ham, remember it’s about the people that will be at your table enjoying the holiday with you. What do THEY like?

If they are into wine, it’s going to be a tough call because the Honey Baked Ham you just bought is going to wreak havoc on most juice. So, forget the Cabernet or Merlot (because the sweet coating on the Ham will make a tannic wine taste bitter). But if you know your group will expect red wine, you could go with something from Beaujolais. Perhaps a Georges Dubeouf Beaujolais Villages or a Louis Jadot Beaujolais. (I would not upgrade to a Beaujolais Cru like Morgon or Fleurie as they will simply cost more and have more structure…unless you want to put a Cru on the table for you!) These recommended wines will not break the bank, will be fruity and ‘red,’ and will be a reasonable pairing for the Ham and all the accoutrements.

Another option is a Mumm Brut Rose which has nice body, is made from Pinot Noir, and serving it in a champagne flute makes for a festive presentation. Your family will feel special!

If you have adventurous guests coming, you could always consider a Riesling or a Gewurztraminer but I’m guessing Aunt Mabel probably would like a White Zinfandel just as well.

Why not end the dinner with something fun and different? What is your family heritage? If your ancestors were French, perhaps a Sauternes; if you are German, perhaps a Beerenauslese Riesling; and if Hungarian like me, perhaps a 5 Puttonyos Tokaji. Just a few examples but fun to end with a little ‘family ancestry’ which everyone will enjoy and will embrace experiencing something from the ‘Old World’ that Grandpa may have enjoyed. The wines mentioned could be served alongside an almond tart with Mascarpone! Save those chocolate bunnies for another night!

Happy Easter!