Tag Archives: white 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!

A summer wine to enjoy!

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I miss the ‘walk around’ consumer and industry tastings!

In Covid-19 times, wineries are selling you an abbreviated selection of their collection, complete with a login so you can taste along with the winemaker via Zoom.  It is fantastic that some methodology exists where at least we can taste; however, two to six wines from the same producer (and possibly the same vintage) with the winemaker extolling the virtues of his or her wines simply leaves me wanting more.  I want to taste other wines alongside so I can sense and taste the different expressions of a grape crafted by different producers.  I want to feel the wine on my palate and sense the acid, alcohol, and fruit elements.  I want to compare the wine with bottles from various regions.  I want to discover the gem. I want to be the judge and jury.

I sat out on our back patio last night and tasted three different white wines with a friend.  (I am studying for the WSET Level 4 Diploma and she is working on her CMS Certified.) We were tasting to cement in our minds what these wines present and to determine if they were good representations of the varietals and place.  I will admit that I drink a lot more red than white, but I have been looking for white wines for warm days (coming soon) that are light but flavorful enough to begin the evening.  Not to disparage any wine, I am searching for something other than a California Chardonnay or a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, wines that seem to be at every party.  I want low alcohol and subtle flavors of fruit without the phenolic bitterness some white wines can present.

Our favorite of the night was the 2018 Trimbach Pinot Blanc from Alsace ($17.00).  The wine was pale lemon in color and, as I brought the glass to my nose, I was pleasantly surprised at the unexpected intensity of aromas.  Fresh lemon, subtle character of lemon pith, lime blossom, pear, a sense of ripe, juicy white peach with a hint of white pepper and wet stones.  The alcohol was medium (13%) and the acid subtle but tightly woven with the fruit elements, presenting a wine with pleasant and lingering aromas and flavors. 

Pinot Blanc hails from many regions but its best examples are from France’s Alsace, Germany’s Pfalz and Baden, Austria’s Wachau and in Italy’s Trentino-Alto Adige, Veneto, Friuli, and Lombardy winegrowing regions. It produces full-bodied whites with relatively high acidity, yeasty citrus and appley aromas and flavors and hints of spice. When aged, it can present lovely, honeyed tones. 

I really enjoyed this Pinot Blanc from Alsace, France, and will have fun crafting appetizers and light meals to enjoy with this gem.  Think soft cheeses with fresh, crusty bread, summer salads with creamy dressings (use some of the Pinot Blanc to make your own special dressing), and flaky fish dishes.  Who needs a ‘walk-around’ tasting?  Plan your own tasting so you and your guests can be the judge and jury!

What are you serving with your Thanksgiving fare?

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For a great start with appetizers, soup and salad, I’ll serve the La Petite Marquise Crémant de Loire Brut ($12.99 from K&L Wine Merchants).  It’s a sparkling wine made like champagne, but it sits light and fresh on the palate without the yeasty taste or a big price.  It is crafted from a blend of Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay and Cabernet Franc.

Going a bit out of the box, I picked up two Darcy Kent wines from Livermore after attending a Darcy Kent Vineyards pairing dinner at the Thunderbird Lodge in Lake Tahoe: a 2017 Gruner Veltliner from Rava Blackjack Vineyard in Monterey and a 2018 Victories Rose Malbec from the San Francisco Bay.  The Gruner is dry but flavorful with white peach, pepper and a bit of lime. The Malbec rose is lush as it was crafted with a slight bit of residual sugar which makes the wine creamy on the palate.  Both these wines will sparkle with the herbal flavors of the meal and the roasted butternut squash as a side.  Note: these selections are both low in alcohol as well.

For red wines, I am offering the Pardon & Fils Les Mouilles Julienas 2017 at $17.99 and the Domaine Pardon Cuvee Hugo Fleurie 2017 at $19.99, both from Total Wine.  Yes, this is Gamay from Beaujolais.  I love Gamay.  Not the market driven swill released in November which was nothing but a ploy to get rid of a lot of wine they could not otherwise sell.  The southern half of Beaujolais makes that inferior wine.  The northern half of Beaujolais has different soil, has slopes and the area has 10 ‘Cru’s’ which, in a fantastic year, can be hard to tell apart from a true Burgundy wine.  The two wines I have chosen are from Cru vineyards: Fleurie and Julienas. 

I will open the wines and explain what we have to our guests. I will encourage them to take small tastes of each wine before dinner. Then, all the bottles will go on the dinner table for them to revisit with the meal. It becomes an empowering game for our guests to be able to evaluate the wines and usually makes for some lively conversation because, of course, no one ever has an opinion!

For dessert, I will be serving a 2004 Château Tirecul la Gravière “Cuvée Chateau” Monbazillac. It’s 500 ml and it’s priced at $19.99 from K&L. It has some age on it and will be lucious with some Marscapone on top of that pumpkin pie.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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!