Thanksgiving Wines

by Andrew Barrow, Posted Nov 23rd 2005 @ 1:11PM

Thanksiving Tureky and wines What wine are you planning on serving this coming Thanksgiving?

An article in Newsday thinks that Beaujolais Nouveau is a common if predictable choice - it goes fine with the mix of meat from a turkey and the various accompaniment in my opinion. Not terribly adventurous though. The article goes on to suggest Champagne through-out the meal - pricey - or wines from the Loire in France. Reds here would be Gamay or Cabernet Franc. Never tried them with turkey but could match the tartness of the cranberry sauce well. The article recommends a sparkling Chinon Rosé to accompany a steamed black walnut pudding for dessert. Anyone have a recipe for this; I'm intrigued.

Professor Bainbridge writing on Tech Central Station also mentions Beaujolais Nouveau but decides to limit his recommendations to American wines; and why not, it is a uniquely American festival after-all. I see he mentions one of my favourite American sparkling wines - the Roederer Estate Brut before going on to Zinfandels, Pinot Noirs and, finally, a selection of white wines.

He finishes with one final piece of advice: 'Don't Cook with anything you wouldn't drink'!

Jon Bonné on MSNBC (from where the image comes from) dismisses Zinfandel as too overpowering (a bit of a generalisation is that) and narrows in on Pinot Noir especially from the Carneros region. Unoaked Chardonnays are his white choice. Radically he suggests decanting a sparkling wine for the starter. Never heard of this practice before. The article includes specific recommendations from three restaurateurs.

So plenty of recommendations to see you through your wine choices; but if you are insistent on serving sweet potatoes smothered in marshmallows - I ask you, who thought up such a hideous dish - you are on your own in the wine stakes!

Filed Under: Raves & Reviews, Drink Recipes
Tags: dinner, wine