Wine for Thanksgiving

I love Zin, and will drink it with about anything. It does best with spicy foods, so if you make a spicy turkey, there ya' go.

Here's a classic from Bonny Doon.

http://www.bonnydoonvineyard.com/tools/view/88

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I would echo cjhsa's praise for the Cardinal Zin. The Ralph Steadman label is an added bonus, as is the practical screwtop, so if you don't finish it, no worries about oxidation. I would also suggest the Ravenswood Zin, 2002.

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cavfancier wrote:

When in doubt regarding Pinot, go for the Gamay. Gamay is the grape used for Beaujolais, a region just south of Burgundy, sunnier and less stuck up, and the wines reflect that. Gobs of fruit, the best ones are even complex, but overall, they are crowd pleasers, and a fine, less pricey companion to a turkey dinner, for the red wine fans.

You think red goes with turkey better than white, cav? I always thought of it as fowl, so therefore, white wine... Besides, white wines taste better chilled, and it tends to be HOT over here, especially if you've had an oven on for several hours preceding a feast. :wink:

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princesspupule wrote:

cavfancier wrote:
When in doubt regarding Pinot, go for the Gamay. Gamay is the grape used for Beaujolais, a region just south of Burgundy, sunnier and less stuck up, and the wines reflect that. Gobs of fruit, the best ones are even complex, but overall, they are crowd pleasers, and a fine, less pricey companion to a turkey dinner, for the red wine fans.

You think red goes with turkey better than white, cav? I always thought of it as fowl, so therefore, white wine... Besides, white wines taste better chilled, and it tends to be HOT over here, especially if you've had an oven on for several hours preceding a feast. :wink:

Nah, turkey is 'bi' in terms of wine choices. Drink what you want. :wink:

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That's good... I thought a red would be okay.

I'm taste-testing one of the NZ Sauv's. It's a 2002 House of Nobilo from the Marlborough region specified by cjhsa. I'm no connoisseur, but it's nice; I'm not a white wine fan either. It is a little more acidic than I'd like, but even more surprising, we finished that bottle in a, for us, very short time... let's see, an hour. Glug, glug, glug. Smile

Not too expensive -- I think it was $11.50 on sale. Not the most expensive or the least expensive at our local grocery.

Still, I'm thinking a red wine is what I want. When you say a Gamay, Cav, you mean that grape but not a Beaujolais? Do you or does cjhsa have reasonably priced suggestions?

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Piffka wrote:

Still, I'm thinking a red wine is what I want. When you say a Gamay, Cav, you mean that grape but not a Beaujolais? Do you or does cjhsa have reasonably priced suggestions?

I'm not cav, but for red wine, I prefer Beaujolais-Villages by Louis Jadot over his Beaujolais, which usually sells for about $1.00 less over here. Both are on sale for about $11.00 this week. Also, I like the Rothschilds Mouton Cadet, they do bordeaux in both red and white for $9.99- on sale for $7.99 here... and it's a Rothschilds... :wink:

And if you like to play wine-taste, a cheaper red wine is Citra's Montepulciano (or something like that,) $6.49 at Longs all the time... Razz

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Hmmm. So Gamay is only a Beaujolais?

I've never heard of Citra... certainly sounds inexpensive. I'll look for it. Do you mean it is sold at Long's Drugs store? We have fairly strict laws on alcohol and I don't think alcohol can be sold in drugstores here -- only in grocery stores, wineshops and state liquor stores.

I've been thinking if not a Cabernet, which does seem a little heavy, then maybe some Merlot. Washington state has pretty good Merlots. Ste. Michelle is the standard... Hedges is common, too... though I think it is Hyatt that I like better.

It would be fun to go on a wine-tasting expedition just for this meal.

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I agree Linkat. I find a red zin to be remarkably tasty...if i can find it.

My bro-in-law produces about 250 bottles of good red zin every year under the Capital Hill label. I'm lucky that I get one.

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Yes, I meant Longs Drugs. Definitely try a bottle of the Citra red stuff. It's italian, I believe, so in the imported wine section. All of them have a sort of clear taste and don't make you feel hung over the way cheap american wines can... And look for either Mouton Cadet- they are quite excellent for their price! And if any of the Louis Jadots are on sale, they are good for a taste-test experiment, imho.

There was a merlot that got rave reviews from the critics, too, that was cheap and pretty good if you like merlot (not my favorite, but I'll drink it every so often.) I think it was the Yellow Tail label??? SOmething like that... My boyfriend is german and enjoys a good bottle of wine, so we often try things out of the ordinary, which is very fun. Another bottle(white, though) I've been meaning to look for in the store that I enjoyed was Gabbiano's Pinot Grigio, but I believe we drank that with pasta, but it was good enough that I put the bottle under the sink so I'd remember to look for it again... Probably not a good choice for turkey, though... but maybe good with your stuffing... Razz

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Thanks, Princess -- I will look for that Citra and try it. We had an inexpensive Pinot Grigio that was unbelievably good a couple of years ago... so good that I put the bottle under "my sink" in hopes of finding it again. Never happened and I finally gave up & recycled the bottle. (I just looked.)

Yellow Tail is Australian, I think.

I think of a turkey with sausage stuffing as able to stand up to a Cabernet, but I'm (obviously) no expert. Wink

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If you have an assertive sausage stuffing, Piffka, a cab will do nicely. As for Gamay/Beaujolais, Beaujolais is Gamay. Georges Dubeouf puts out a wide variety of fine Beaujolais, and Beaujolais-Villages, basically 'terroir' specific, and a bit pricier. Incidentally, the Beajolais Nouveaus just came out, and the Novellos, Italy's version, and they work nicely with a simple turkey roast as well. Gobs of fruit, you could drink buckets of the stuff.

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cjhsa wrote:

I love Zin, and will drink it with about anything. It does best with spicy foods, so if you make a spicy turkey, there ya' go.

Here's a classic from Bonny Doon.

http://www.bonnydoonvineyard.com/tools/view/88

It really is a Ralph Steadman label, isn't it? Wonderful... haven't seen him in eons. Where's that cat?

I love reading "assertive sausage stuffing" -- that's exactly it. I may have to change the name.

Thanks everyone, I've copied several of the red wine suggestions and am headed to the store.

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Wine for Thanksgiving

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