Wine recommendations for T- Day?

What are done great wines to go with traditional T-day turkey and all the trimmings? I want to bring some great reasonably priced wines ($15-20 ) to my sister's house. I can get a recommendation from out local wine shop, but hoped to hear what our Forumites are recommending/serving. Ken, Robin, Steven , Todd A- what are you recommending (or having for your own meal? )

Thanks!
Deb

[Robin Garr]

Deb, because of the diversity of dishes on the Thanksgiving table, it's not really an occasion to look for the most perfect "surgically planned" pairing but rather for versatile wines that will gracefully accommodate a range of flavors.

Bottom line, the best red for versatility is Pinot Noir. The best white is probably Riesling. I'd look to Burgundy or possibly Oregon for the Pinot; to Germany for the Riesling. And I'd almost certainly open both, so people have a choice. Turkey will work and play nicely with either, or both, particularly when you consider the distinct difference between light and dark meat.

Ken may be able to point out some good and available picks. In the "affordable" range I might look to Louis Jadot Bourgogne Pinot Noir or "The Seeker" Vin de Pays, both of which are good, characteristic Pinot for under $20 - well under $20 for The Seeker.

Hi Deb,

For Pinot Noir I would consider Cloudline from Oregon - our Thanksgiving crowd raved about it last year. It's readily available locally. I got it at Ken's sister store: Old Town on Bardstown Road.

Another idea for a relatively light-bodied red in the same vein as Robin's Pinot Noir recommendation, is Gamay, the grape for the red wine of Beaujolais France. I'm not a big fan of the Beaujolais Nouveau, so I look for cru level Beaujolais labelled with the villages where the grapes are grown: Juliénas, Morgon, Moulin-à-Vent, Fleurie, Brouilly, and there are others. Old Town has a good selection.

Some want their wines to be from the US for this American holiday, so you could also choose Gamay from the United States. Edmunds-St. John "Bone-Jolly" is a good one. That's what I'm serving to our crowd, and I got it at Westport Whiskey and Wine. Steve Edmunds, the winemaker, came through here a few years ago. He's a great guy and his wines get high praise.

bone-jolly_0.jpg

[Robin Garr]

Good call, Jay! Is the most recently released Bone Jolly in?

Deb, because of the diversity of dishes on the Thanksgiving table, it's not really an occasion to look for the most perfect "surgically planned" pairing but rather for versatile wines that will gracefully accommodate a range of flavors.

Bottom line, the best red for versatility is Pinot Noir. The best white is probably Riesling. I'd look to Burgundy or possibly Oregon for the Pinot; to Germany for the Riesling. And I'd almost certainly open both, so people have a choice. Turkey will work and play nicely with either, or both, particularly when you consider the distinct difference between light and dark meat.

Ken may be able to point out some good and available picks. In the "affordable" range I might look to Louis Jadot Bourgogne Pinot Noir or "The Seeker" Vin de Pays, both of which are good, characteristic Pinot for under $20 - well under $20 for The Seeker.

Thanks, Robin!
I had to laugh- The Seeker was our go-to red for awhile ( I got turned on to it at Anchorage Cafe, and went immediately after dinner to buy it). Seems I have forgotten about it the last 3-4 months- thanks for the reminder!
Deb

Thanks- Jay. Great to hear from you- wishing your family a great T-day!

Love your suggestions! I'll look for the Bone-Jolly;sounds like something we'd really enjoy.

All the best!
Deb

Here is a link to a small guide I made several years ago. I'm glad I saw your question, as I had forgotten to put this link back up on our website. http://www.kegliquors.com/thanksgiving.html

[Robin Garr]

Here is a link to a small guide I made several years ago.

I really like that, Todd. Thanks for sharing!

I agree with all of the above. We do not have the Cloudline. though Old Town should still have it, but we do have the Bone Jolly. Personally I have just been going nuts for cru level Beaujolais myself, though my favorite bottle right now is the Chermette Vielles Vigne Beajolais, which at $20 is at the top of your price range. I had a dynamite Morgon by Guy Breton the other night, too. I'd avoid any Nouveau...we declined to bring any on this year and after tasting this year's crop I was glad to have done so. Our top red recommendation for Thanksgiving is super affordable ($11/btl) and actually a blend of Gamay & Pinot noir: Louis Chavy Bourgogne Ordinaire (I'd paste Robin's review here but it's a chore on my mobile device). Another fun red we've been recommending is Andrew Murray's red blend This is 11. Stylisticallly it's a different story, rather full bodied-but it's a brand new wine (I think this is the first vintage) that has really caught on for us. Super generous fruit and body for those less discerning in your crowd, but good acidity and structure for snobs like me.

I will probably be pouring the otherworldly Hauck Trocken Spatlese Riesling. There are some very, very good dry Rieslings out there, if you'd rather avoid anything sweet. If you can tolerate a touch of sweetness, I would say look to Washington: the nearly ubiquitous Kung Fu Girl, it's cousin, the Milbrandt Traditions or our favorite, the newly released Revelry, all in the $11-$15 range. All are off dry rather than overtly sweet. I do agree with Robin, German is the way to go (we have a beautiful Auslese by F Zimmer and I tasted several that blew my mind last week including Gobelsburg and Geil) but navigating a German wine label can be tough and there's not enough room here for me to try and give you the short course. Other ways to go with white might be an Oregon Pinot Gris, and I've been recommending the Fattori Runcaris Soave - though its kind of an atypical call, it is just a really approachable and friendly wine, but with some class & finesse, too. We also really love the Evolucio Furmint, a kind of exotic Hungarian white, very fruit forward and crowd pleasing. And cheap too! ($10)

Champagne is actually a pretty sure bet too. It's an incredibly flexible pairing wine, and lends well to the celebratory nature of the holidays. Affordable options I like: both the Secco Bianco and Rose by Italian Bubbles ($14) and Mas Fi Cava ($12).

Finally one other off the beaten path recommendation from our shelves is a rosé of Gamay from the lesser known French region of Savoie, like other rose's you may be seeing at this time of year, it's a bargain at a closeout price of $9. I'm ashamed to be drawing a blank on the name of the producer...come into the shop and make fun of me!

All that said, I am a big proponent of drink what you like. While I love to nerd out on pairing, there's so many more contributing factors to enjoying your meal. I have enjoyed more than a few glasses of mass produced garbage (e.g. Yellowtail) and white Zinfandel in the company of loved ones over the holidays and don't regret it one bit.

Ken,

Wow- thanks for the extensive recommendations! Brian was already looking for an excuse to come back and get some more of the fantastic sausage we bought last time in, and now we have one. Looks like we will be heading your way to pick up our T-Day wines and some other special treats.

Thanks!
Deb

...Is the most recently released Bone Jolly in?

Robin,

The bottles I bought were 2010 vintage.

For Turkey Day at my folks the variety of wine doesn't matter as long as you keep my mother's glass filled.

Really, she drives me crazy, but if she's had a few, she's an angel.

Trust me - I am not a wine aficionado (!), but I want to add Petit-Petit from the Michael David Winery to the suggestion list.

).

Finally one other off the beaten path recommendation from our shelves is a rosé of Gamay from the lesser known French region of Savoie, like other rose's you may be seeing at this time of year, it's a bargain at a closeout price of $9. I'm ashamed to be drawing a blank on the name of the producer...come into the shop and make fun of me!
.

Pierre Boniface?

That's it! Les Rocailles by P. Boniface.