What to Drink for Thanksgiving, Part 2

Selecting the right wine for Thanksgiving can be one of the bigger pairing challenges we face. You know that there are so many different flavors and textures that are part of the Thanksgiving feast, and that abundance makes paring even more difficult.

We are, however, professionals, and we are willing to do the work necessary to help you make some great selections without much fuss. And we're ok if you take the credit for making that great wine choice.

Last week, we discussed beer selections. Click here to review that post. Today, we'll offer you some red wine suggestions.

Concrete Old Vine Zinfandel. Since Thanksgiving is the All-American meal, a pairing with Zinfandel, the All-American grape, is a natural. This Zinfandel is a luscious, smooth, full-bodied wine with aromas of blackberry, bramble berry and Allspice. Deliciously mouth-filling, the wine opens up to sweet vanilla and toasty oak flavors, then follows with a concentrated core of well-balanced acidity, soft, but firm tannins and a lingering finish on the palate.

The Lodi wine country is defined and influenced by its proximity to the San Francisco Bay, situated directly east of San Francisco and at the edge of the Sacramento River Delta. Our head trained Old Vine Zinfandel vineyards were planted in the early 1900’s and are considered to be some of the oldest anywhere, yet they still producing high quality fruit.

$19.96 in the Bottle Club®.

Alongside Zinfandel, the most popular red wine chosen for the Thanksgiving table is Pinot Noir. The character of Pinot Noir leads it to pair nicely with the most dishes usually found on the Thanksgiving table. Whether your main dish is turkey or ham, with stuffing or sweet potato pie, you cannot go wrong with a Pinot Noir.

Pinot Noir is considered the most difficult grape to grow. It's skin is relatively thin, and conditions must be just right for it to thrive. And when you add the right conditions together with an excellent

winemaking crew, Pinot will shine.

That's what we have with the Lazy Creek Vineyards "Lazy Day" Pinot Noir. This is a project by Don & Rhonda Carano, from Ferrari-Carano. The "Lazy Day" Pinot Noir comes from Anderson Valley in Mendocino County where warm, sunny days and cool, foggy mornings and nights create the ideal microclimate for producing this wine. This sustainably-farmed Pinot Noir has attractive aromas of plum, raspberry, a hint of licorice and toast. Lush flavors of bright red cherry and plum, with a nice touch of spice on the finish are perfect complements to round out this medium-bodied, easy-drinking wine. 

$29.96 in the Bottle Club®.

Cambria Julia's Vineyard Pinot Noir. Cambria is a family-owned, estate winery located in the heart of the famed Santa Maria bench in Santa Barbara County. Bolstered by several decades of diligent winemaking and vineyard experience, Cambria’s wines faithfully express the unique stamp of one of the best cool-climate crus in California.

It has been said that great Pinot Noir can only reach its most eloquent expression with a good amount of vine age. We couldn’t agree more: our Julia’s bottling is anchored by one of the oldest commercial plantings of Pinot Noir in Santa Barbara County (1974), producing a wine that’s earthy on the nose and silky on the palate.

Julia’s Vineyard Pinot Noir is deep, dark purple with underlying earthy character that compliments its solid tannin structure. Red fruit and dark berry aromas and flavors carry through to a long fruity fi nish. $16.99 in the Bottle Club®.

Block 478 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir. Finding the right microclimate for growing Pinot Noir grapes can be challenging. Fortunately, California is blessed with a handful of areas that accommodate the needs of this most persnickety varietal. These range from Santa Barbara County in the  southern sector of the state, up to the Carneros district that straddles Napa and Sonoma counties, over to Sonoma’s Russian River Valley area, and up to coastal Mendocino County. And then there’s the Sonoma Coast AVA (American Viticultural Area), which consists of approximately 2,000 vineyard acres, extending from San Pablo Bay in the south to the Mendocino County border in the north. The AVA is defined by its cool climate, which provides an ideal setting for growing perfectly ripened Pinot Noir grapes.

This is where Block 478 sources the grapes for its Pinot Noir bottling — a medium-bodied wine with both sweet and savory notes, plenty of fruit-forward flavor, and a degree of finesse that proclaims, "Special occasion!"

100% Pinot Noir. Aromas & Flavors:  Savory, Sandalwood, Cedar, Red Cherry and Assorted Red Berries. $12.96 in the Bottle Club®.

Smith & Son Wine Co. Pinot Noir. This one is a personal favorite of Brandon Bartfalvi, Senior Wine Manager at our Lawrenceville store. His review: "A ripe, forward style, offering flavors of strawberries, ripe cherries, spice and vanilla. A medium-bodied wine with good acidity and soft tannins. A real crowd pleaser, done in a lush, easy-going style."

$14.96 in the Bottle Club®.

Our final red wine falls outside of these two categories. It's not American, and it's not a Pinot Noir. It does, however, have a close association with Thanksgiving simply because of calendar proximity. We're talking here about George Dubœuf Beaujolais Nouveau. Beaujolais Nouveau is the first wine released of the most recent harvest, so this year it's the 2015 vintage.

Georges Dubœuf's love affair with Beaujolais is no secret. His legendary palate, his ability to spot a good wine and his continuing enthusiasm made him an emblematic figure in the wine industry. His wines are renowned for their consistency, quality and value.

Georges Dubœuf turned the long-established French tradition of Beaujolais Nouveau release, the celebration of the first wine of the new vintage, into a worldwide phenomenon. Dubœuf's Beaujolais Nouveau will be available on Thursday, November 19, at only $8.09 in the Bottle Club®.

So we have a nice range of red wines for your consideration today. We'll look at white wines for our next installment.