Phat Pheast

Blah blah blah what wine to serve with your turkey blah blah.

There is always something annoying about wine opi to the turkey-centric thanksgiving dinner.  Take a step back and think for a moment:

Just what exactly does turkey taste like?

If we’re talking industrial, DD-breasted birds from Butterball, I think the best flavor descriptors are either a) watery, faintly poultry-like or b) dry, faintly poultry-like.  What this means from a wine perspective is this: Damn near any wine will be fine with most turkey.  Bring me an heritage gobbler, and then we can really talk wine & turkey pairing.  However, for the best Thanksgiving wine experience, I suggest focusing on the sides. 

Here is a handy-dandy list of suggested wine-to-side-dish pairings:

• Stuffing (traditional/Stove-Top style): Young, crisp Pinot Noir or Alsatian Riesling
• Stuffing (low country-style with sausage and sage): Chianti or California white Rhone blend
• Butter/buttermilk mashed potatoes + brown gravy: Cava, Cremant, Barbera d’Asti or d’Alba
• Roasted sweet potatoes (not yams): Beaujolais Cru, Tempranillo (e.g. Rioja from Spain)
• Candied yams: Superfruity California Merlot, Australian Shiraz
• Cornbread & butter: Young, un-oaked Chardonnay
• Jell-O Salad: tapwater, Mountain Dew

Finally, a good rule of thumb for Thanksgiving imbibing is, “When in doubt, go light, fruity and/or bubbly.”

Three wines that will be on my Turkey Day table:

1. Segura Viudas Aria Brut Nature, NV ($10)
2. Domaine Weinbach Riesling Cuvee Theo, 2004 ($30)
3. Georg Breuer Spatburgunder (Pinot Noir), 2004 ($20) [German Pinot Noir - give it a try!]

Tell me what wines will be lubricating your feast of thanks tomorrow.

Comments

[wineguy]

I usually like to offer a white and a red, and living in Santa Barbara my first thought is always the Burgundian wines. I have a delicious 2004 Chardonnay from Ken Volk that won some gold awards at Orange County; I also have the ever-satisfying Chardonnay "Cuvée Diana" from Longoria. I imagine either one of those will do for a white. On the red side, I have a 2004 Pinot Noir La Coline Vyd from Tantara -- Tantara was a great hit last year at Thanksgiving, so perhaps I should repeat it again. Or I might get out a Sea Smoke.

Before dinner might be an opportunity to try out a little Italian "toasting wine" that Ardison Phillips turned us on to -- Moscato D'Asti Moncalvino. Slightly sparkling, sweet but not cloying, and very low in alcohol (in the 5-6% range), it's a lovely way to start out a lengthy feast.

And for dessert (if we get that far...)? The possibilities are varied, but I might lean toward a bottle I brought back from Vancouver last January -- Paradise Ranch Okanagan Valley Icewine.

[jeff]

hey - good call on the Tempranillo with the roasted yams! But where's the Grenache? I can't imagine a roasted stuffed turkey without Grenache, but that's just me. (Wineguy: seek ye the Jaffurs 2004 Grenache.) Have a happy! - j

[winehiker]

At Tarragon Restaurant in Sunnyvale, I expect to pair my gobbler tomorrow evening with Veuve Cliquot Ponsardin. Being that it's my mom whom I'm entertaining, we'll just order a half bottle.

But after I return home, I'm going with a red. Anything red.

A thoughtful post, Beau.

[Alison]

We're taking a couple of local bottles to the feast in Pittsburgh tomorrow. Both are from Chrisman Mill Winery; one is their Ensemble white (made from Chardonnay grapes, if memory serves), the other is their Norton red.

[Dan]

2004 Byron Pinot Noir. Yummy. I'm got three ready to pour.

[beau]

wineguy-
After dinner, try dunking your biscotti in the Moscato. Totally unnecessary but damn tasty. And I envy your Okanagan Icewine selection - sounds perfect.

Jeff-
D'oh! I have to confess to nearly always overlooking Grenache. Why is that?

w-hiker-
Can't go wrong with the Widow. But splurge for a whole bottle - it is a holiday after all (and maybe mom will be buying??)

Ali-
Y'unz have a happy turkey day!

Dan-
Savor the Pinot.

Happy Thanksgiving fellow imbibers.