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Selections for Thanksgiving
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White wines preside over the Thanksgiving meal
Thanksgiving is the white wine holiday. Setting aside the tradition of quaffing down Beaujolais Nouveau on Thanksgiving, turkey with all the trimmings is a meal designed for white wine. White wine compliments turkey by contrasting its earthy, delicate flavor with an exotic, lush presence. Add gravy, buttery mashed potatoes, and pies made of marshmallows and sweet potatoes, and you have a meal in need of a white wine with intensity and sweeping acidity.
Gewürztraminer is a grape varietal that is rich in exotic flavors and perfume nuances. Traminers, as they are affectionately coined, are layered in complexity, elegant, and teeming with fruit, flowers, and notes of honey. Rich, perfumed, white wines are the perfect beverage for your holiday bird. Some other wonderful choices are riesling, pinot blanc, and pinot gris. Look to the cooler growing regions of Alsace, Germany, Carneros, Monterey, Oregon, Washington, and Austria for beautiful examples of these wines.
For those that must have red wine with that delicate slice of turkey, choose pinot noir. Cabs, zins, syrahs, and merlots are too robust. Their tannins will overwhelm the subtle flavors of the meal. Pinot noir is floral, with soft red fruit flavors, and a lighter body.
Rosé is another choice for this traditional meal. 'Pink wine,' as the Europeans call it, offers floral, delicate strawberry and raspberry flavors. Ask for rosé with a decent dose of acidity. Make sure to buy a recent vintage, since it is a wine meant to be drunk young.
White wines offer an excellent value for the money. It is easy to find a white gem under $10. When you breach the $15 price range, selections present many exciting possibilities of outstanding quality.
Muga Rosé $12
Thomas Fogarty Gew $18
Trefthen Dry Riesling $18
Columbia Winery
Riesling or Gew $8
Alsace One $8
Batterieberg
Blauschiefer Riesling $25
Mac Murray Pinot Gris $13
D. Bosler Pinot Noir $12
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