Thanksgiving wine 2011

It's time for the Wine Curmudgeon's annual holiday wine plea: Remember, Thanksgiving is about friends and family and being grateful for what we have. It's not about impressing everyone with your wine geek-ness, how much you spent on wine, or serving a wine that no one has ever heard of before. Wine is there to make the meal better, not to scare the hell out of your guests.

Or, as I as note every year: "If Aunt Dorothy likes white zinfandel, who are you tell her she can't have any?"

More, after the jump:

• Regional wine: Thanksgiving is a harvest festival, right? So why not celebrate your local harvest? I tasted two excellent Idaho reds recently -- Fraser Vineyard petit verdot 2009 ($24, sample), which was bright and lively, not easy to do with petit verdot; and Woodriver Cellars cabernet franc 2008 ($20, sample), fresh and terroir driven. The point here is not that everyone should rush out and buy Idaho wine, but that you should try your local wine.

• A lighter red: House Red 2009 ($10, purchased), the Washington state red blend that seems to be on sale everywhere I look. It's simple, black fruity, and food friendly wine, which isn't damning with faint praise. Apparently, given how much flaccid, syrupy wine I've had in this style lately, it's not easy to make a basic, lighter red wine.

• An everyday white: Falesco Vitiano Bianco 2010 ($10, purchased). This is one of the Wine Curmudgeon's all-time favorites, and seems a natural with turkey, dressing and gravy. Makes me wonder why I never thought of it before.

• Sparkling wine: Bouvet-Ladubay Brut Rosé NV ($15, purchased). Bubbly from the Loire region of France that is a step up in quality from $10 cava, with cranberry fruit and very lively bubbles. Quite impressive for the price.

• Sweet wine: Pacific Rim Riesling 2010 ($10, purchased). Solid, well-made New World-style riesling (which means less crisp) that isn't overly sweet, but that should please sweet wine drinkers.

More about Thanksgiving wine:
• Thanksgiving wine 2010
• Thanksgiving wine 2009
• Wine of the week: Chateau de Riviere Chinon 2009
• Wine of the week: Tortoise Creek Pinot Noir Les Oliviers 2010
• Toasting Thanksgiving

The photo is from jzlomek of Pennsylvania, via stock.xchng, using a Creative Commons license

Comments

[Jeff]

I ain't telling Aunt Dorothy nothing. That woman... well.. and BTW, I had a Clos Du Bois Petite Verdot the other day that was really lively. Very aromatic, floral on the nose; dry yet sumptuous. It's not often you see these and moreso, done so well.