Thanksgiving Approaches…So Many Wines, So Little Time!
Only three more days till the eating event of the year, and like lots of folks this fall, I’m staying put, cooking with Lily and Gail across the river in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, with Mom and Dad coming in Thursday morning for the day’s festivities, plus an extended weekend involving a good amount of walking and probably more eating and drinking.
But let’s focus here. Thanksgiving.
On the savory we’ve got planned oysters on the halfshell, buternut squash soup, roasted brussels sprouts, turkey cooked on the gas grill outside, with two stuffings (cherry conbread and classic sausage with fresh sage), plus mom’s corn pudding and delightful two-potato (sweet and Idaho) gratin.
So many wine-pairing possibilities!
First, you need a sipper. What you drink while you’re cookin. Light, simple, usually white. Picpoul from France, a nice Fiano from southern Italy, or the white Rioja mentioned last week: CVNE Monopole Blanco.
Once people start arriving, of course you gotta have some bubbly. A non-vintage brut Champagne is best, I really like Pol Roger and Phillipe Prie No matter what anyone tells you, there ain’t no sparkler like Chamapagne. I suggest a splurge here and toasting to life.
Now comes the meat of the meal, so to speak. I like to start a little sweet. Maybe ’cause Mom likes her white wine with a little residual sugar, maybe ’cause I love the high-acid, low-alcohol whites of Germany’s Mosel valley to wet my whistle. Who knows. It just works on T-day. Here you could also throw in a nice Vouvray, maybe a demi-sec from the great house of Gaston Huet or even a Finger Lakes riesling, like those of Hermann Wiemer (and I say this not just because I have an indirect Cornell connection).
For Rioja fans you have to hit at least one Old World-style barrel fermented white, in this case I have lined up a 1981 López de Heredia Viña Tondonia Blanco Gran Reserva; or if Lily suggests cracking open the 1976 LdeH VT Blanco GR I brought her back from Spain, I wouldn’t complain, but that’s her choice, really.
Then the reds come in. My suggestion is to start easy and light and then work up to the heavy hitters. Classic Rioja (CVNE, López de Heredia, Muga Prado Enea, Marqués de Murrieta Castillo Ygay, Bodegas Riojanas’ Monte Real, etc.), southern grenache-based Rhônes (Vacqueyras, Chateauneauf-du-Pape, Gigondas), some Old World Burgundies if your pockets are deep enough (mine aren’t), maybe some Oregon Pinot Noir.
Then it’s time to move up the ladder of extraction and ripeness. Budget-conscious Rioja lovers would be very, very happy with the likes of Luberri Seis, Campo Viejo Reserva, Palacios Remondo ‘La Montessa’, LAN Reserva, Palacios Glorioso Crianza, Loriñon Reserva, Marqués de Cáceres Gran Reserva, Monetecillo Gran Reserva, Berberana Gran Reserva, Viña Pomal Crianza, El Coto Reserva, Marqués de Riscal Reserva, all of which retail for less than $20/bottle.
If you want to kick up your Tempranillo experience (a grape that like Nebbiolo, Pinot Noir, and Sangiovese, was put on the earth to enjoy with food), and you want to spend a bit more than $20, then you could try the Sierra Cantabria’s superb Gran Reserva, Miguel Merino Reserva, Contino Reserva, La Rioja Alta Viña Ardanza Reserva, or Ramirez de la Piscina Gran Reserva, to name a few.
For lovers of the super classic, all that earth and tertiary flavors, go Old School: Armand Rosseau Geverey Chambertin, Bartolo Mascarello Barolo (I am cracking open the first bottle of the 2001s I bought in Piedmont three years ago), and, again, López de Heredia Viña Tondonia, or if you can find it, Marques de Murrieta’s 1978 Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva, which is shockingly alive with fruit and acidity.
If money is no object, well, then it’s time to hit the bruisers. though their alcohol levels need to be considered when planning the rest of your evening. Here I would choose RODA Cirsion, the great Marcos Eguren’s Finca El Bosque, Murrieta’s Dalmau, LAN’s Culmen, Artadi’s Pagos Viejos.
At this point, you probably won’t be standing but if you are, it’s always nice to end with a vintage porto or, if you’re looking for great age for the buck, try one of González Byass’ VORS Sherries, especially their glorious Apostoles Palo Cortado. Super complex and great with pumpkin pie.
Gobble gobble!
NEXT UP: MUSIC MIXES FOR TURKEY DAY