Finding wines to match the array of foods on Thanksgiving Day is challenging enough, with the rainbow of flavors from the turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, vegetables, gravy and desserts.
Add individual wine preferences and budget considerations, and it’s easier to find your way through a corn maze than a wine store.
Some reach for red wines like zinfandel, cabernet sauvignon, or syrah.
I think white is the better choice for next Thursday’s plethora of flavors- but some family members will only smile when they see red, so, here are a few selections that will favor the flavors and please the purse.
2014 J. Lohr Carol’s Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley For me, J.Lohr meant awful Lodi, California wine– until I tasted its 2014 Carol’s Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley. Its passion fruit and cilantro aromas, and lime and passion fruit flavors were such a pleasant shock I reread the label to assure myself that I was tasting a J. Lohr wine.
The backbone of acidity, clean, citrus fruit flavors and no residual sugar are just what you want with a forkful of turkey and sweet potatoes. And it’s easy to swallow at about $15.
Pierre Bernhard is as friendly as his 2012 Domaine Bernhard-Reibel Pinot Blanc Alsace organic wine. It’s equally pinot blanc and auxerrois—a white grape related to chardonnay. Floral and tropical fruit-scented, this 2012 pinot blanc borders on unctuous, but its granite vineyard brings a balancing minerality. The 2012 Domaine Bernhard-Reibel Pinot Blanc Alsace is for table mates that like full-bodied, fruit-flavored wines; and you’ll like its value at $17.
Lighter red wines with lower alcohol will complement the holiday menu and keep grandma from nodding off before dessert.
Vidal-Fleury winery, photo Pour the aromatic 2012 Vidal Fleury Cotes du Rhone Rouge; its floral, raspberry and peppery potpourri is a wonderful introduction to the delicious red plum, strawberry and cinnamon flavors that command your attention. Its excellent balance of fruit, tannins and acidity will meld with the multiple flavors of your Thanksgiving Day menu, and the $16 price tag is easy to digest.
If your diners include someone who must have a California cabernet, make it the 2012 Frank Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley.
2012 Frank Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley This is not another oaky, extra ripe, high-alcohol Napa Cabernet in a bulky bottle that could be used for bicep curls. The translucent black cherry 2012 Frank Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley delivers a black cherry and herbal bouquet. It blends 80 percent cabernet sauvignon with merlot, petit verdot and cabernet franc, bringing an undercurrent of red fruit flavors to the dominate blackberry taste. Employing two-thirds used barrels checkmated the oak influence, leaving a very flavorful cherry finish riding on soft tannins and mild acidity.
The 2012 Frank Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley is a perfect food friendly wine. It retails for about $40.
Follow John Foy on Twitter @JLFOY2
Leave A Comment