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Wine Talk by Art of the Table
November 17, 2010
It's a picturesque, Norman Rockwell if you will, dinner table with laughter and smiles and mounds of food to be thankful for.  The turkey is wonderful and golden, the bread is fresh, the mashed potatoes are fluffy and a heart attack waiting to happen (butter and creme...yum) and the rest of the spread is sprawled neatly across the festive table runner.  It's a lot of hard work, but it's worth it when you sit down, share a meal with the ones you love and toast to the things you are thankful for.

But what is in your glass for the toast?  What are you "cheering" with?  Hopefully, something else you can be thankful about!

Thanksgiving dinner can be hard to pair wine with.  There are a lot of flavors on the table, and one wine may work with one dish, but clash with another.  Commonly, Beaujolais Nouveau is poured.  We aren't against that at all...in fact, we'll have a few cases for sale for the tradition of the season.  But being the wine lovers we are, we need variety.  We need something we can get really excited about and give our 2 minute rant about how cool it is and why it's good, all the while our family pretends to care.

We've come up with a few wines that we feel are very approachable in both the taste and price department and awesome with the traditional foods served for the holiday. Red, white, pink and bubbly...we've got you covered.

See you soon!

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Bubbly from Spain
...is otherwise known as Cava. 
 
Cava is an amazing value and full of body and flavor.  Actually, it's one of our absolute favorite bubbly options (minus grower champagnes...I mean, really!)  The earthiness of Cava is great with foods and backs up the mild acidity and citrus tones incredibly well.  Cava will pair with anything on the Thanksgiving table.  Really, everything.  It's versatile and irresistible.  Here are a couple that really write home without robbing a bank.
 

Canals Nadal, Brut Cava
Bubbles!  Good bubbles, too.  Really full-bodied Cava with tones of lemongrass, peach, light notes of chalk and a bone dry, big poppy bubble finish.  Cava is very under appreciated and certainly worth a taste if you like really good bubbles, but don't want to pay the price of something like a grower Champagne.
$19.00
Other great Spanish sparklers we stock...

Marques de Gelida, Vintage 2005
La Xarmada
Vino Espumoso de Calidad (not Cava, but an incredible Brut Verdejo from Rueda...it's the only one imported to the U.S.!)
 
Whites and

Rosé

Drum roll!
White wine and rose may in fact be easier to pair with Thanksgiving dinner than red...that's it, I said it! 
The clean acidity lends itself to cleansing the palate better than a red, especially a tannic, bold red (save the Cab for after dinner!)  Here are a few selections of Sauvignon Blanc,
Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and Rose.
Clos Robert Chardonnay, Central Coast, CA
An oaky Chardonnay we actually enjoy.  While the buttery and toasty qualities are present from the oak, you still get to enjoy the acidity and freshness that the juice provides.  The balance is rather spectacular, and it makes for an enjoyable evening sipping away.  Or a great wine to enjoy with the turkey and buttery mashed potatoes.

$11.75

 

Joseph Mellot-Destinea Sauvingon Blanc, France

You may think you want a Sauv Blanc from New Zealand, but you don't.  What you really want is a super food friendly Sauvingnon Blanc from the Loire Valley of France.  Just as crisp, and way cooler.  It highlights the grapefruit and lemon with a nice chalky minerality.  An all around great wine on the table to cleanse the palate.  And honestly, a great wine to enjoy alone.

$11.50
A few more desirable white wine options...

*Honig Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley, CA

*Joseph Mellot "La Chatellenie" Sancerre, France

*Antonin Rodet Chablis, Burgundy, France

*Haut Pasquet Blanc, Bordeaux, France

*Arona Sauvignon Blanc (with a very small amount of Riesling), New Zealand

  • *Acrobat Pinot Gris, Oregon


    Chateau D'Angles Rose, La Clape, France
    •

    It's pink!  Well, more of a light salmon, but you get the idea.  This is a wonderful little wine, full of muted tart fruit flavors.  It doesn't overpower, and it remains fairly structured on its own or paired with food. This wine balances acidity and body being able stand up to full flavors, while cleansing the palate well enough to go from a bite of green beans to the beloved cranberry jelly.

    $16.00
    Just a couple more roses we're currently in stock on...
    *Chateau de Lancyre    , France
  • *Wirra Wirra's Mrs. Wiggly, Australia
    • Red wine for your table spread
     Finding the perfect red wine for Thanksgiving can be tough.  Bold wines over power just don't pair well with general with Thanksgiving fare.  Light red wines can work, but can get lost in the mix and have a hard time finding their place.  Pinot Noir is often a good choice because of it's high acidity and fruit forward approach.  This isn't always the case, but we are here to suggest a few that will do just fine...along with a few other wines that will do more than "just do".
    Jean-Paul Dubost Tracot "La Ballofiere" ~ Morgon, France
    Beaujolais (not of the Nouveau ilk) with strength and character, yet finesse.  Produced from the grape Gamay in volcanic rock driven soil, this wine is expressive to say the least.  Plum and pear pulp peak at the beginning of the palate and refine into a black cherry finish with moderate acidity.  This is one of the best red wine styles out there to pair with Thanksgiving.
    $19.25
    Domaine Henri-Delagrange Bourgogne Hautes ~ Cotes de Beaune
    Hands down, this is one of the best wines for under $30 at Art of the Table.  Thanksgiving dinner, grilled meats, this Pinot Noir is great with nearly anything.  This wine is awesome.  The grapes are fine to small in size when harvested and pressed, everything is hand picked and carefully selected and the balance achieved is really something special.  The flavor profile is mineral driven with fine
    fruits and violet tones on the nose and palate.
    It is described as "a wine for pleasure"...indeed.
    $27.75
    Tinto Lena ~ Leon, Spain

    50% Tempranillo, 50% Garnacha.  This is a simple wine, and it's pretty darn good for the pennies.  Cherry and blackberry fruits with a slight cedary spice back up this wine that goes down so smoothly.

    The 1 liter format makes it a very approachable wine for parties, social gatherings (family Thanksgiving...), grilling for the masses, or just a nice wine for you and yours at a great price.

    $10.50

     

    A few more to check out when you're in...

    *Philippe Colin Bourgogne Burgundy, France

    *Gerard Bertrand Pinot Noir Burgundy, France

    *Cooralook Pinot Noir Australia

    *Morande Pinot Noir Chile

    *Acrobat Pinot Noir Oregon

    *Domaine Serene Evanstad Vineyard Oregon

    *La Villatade Minervois France

    *Protocolo Spain

    *Condado de Haza Spain