Every year we have the same question, what wine should I serve with my Thanksgiving dinner? It is a difficult question to answer because there are so many different flavors and so many guests with different tastes at many Thanksgiving dinners. Some people don’t like whites, some don’t like reds so what do you do? We would like to offer some suggestions that should satisfy many of your guests.
A Pinot Noir is always a good choice with turkey. It will go well with the white meat and the dark meat. The 2009 Francis Ford Coppola Votre Sante California Pinot Noir is an easy drinking wine for people who don’t like reds wine. It has a light reddish garnet color with a light nose of smokey fruit. The flavor was earthy red fruit with very light tannins and nice acidity. This made for a smooth, clean, moderate length finish with a little vanilla. This is a lighter style Pinot Noir that will appeal to most of your guests and at $14.00 it won’t break the bank. It also has only 13.5 abv. so the alcohol doesn’t overpower the food like many big Pinots would.
Of course we can say these go well with Thanksgiving but how do we really know? We wanted to put them to the test so Nancy roasted a turkey breast and some turkey thighs. She also made some dressing and yams and peas. This made for a nice faux Thanksgiving dinner.
Nancy felt both wines went well with everything while I felt the Rose did not go well with the yams. The Rose even did well with the dark meat on the thighs. It was surprising the wide variety of food that the two wines paired with. In addition, the Rose would make a great summertime wine to enjoy in the back yard or around the pool.
Disclaimer: These wines were provided to us as tasting samples.
I do like Mourvedre and a Rose sounds good. We just had a Syrah/Grenache Rose (the Francis Ford Coppola Sophia) that was very good. I’ll go check this weekend and see if any of the local stores carry it the Cline Cellars.
The last time I was in CA in 2007, I stopped at the Coppola winery but I don’t remember the rose, is this new?
I’m not sure how long they have the Rose. I haven’t been to the winery yet but I’ll ask when I go.
Pete, I think I’ll just stick to wine for T-day, and nothing else—if I can get some decent grape. We have had a couple of mediocre bottles here in the Bahamas, and need to seek out finer sustenance. Liquor is expensive here in general; I envy your Napa Valley trip.
Our host here keeps his red wine in the refrigerator; that tells you all you need to know.
Peter: not all of us have turkey for Thanksgiving…ham? 🙂
I had thought of that but we decided to just do the most traditional meal. I remember one time my parents had crab for Thanksgiving, which I love. Also, one of my sisters sometimes will have fish since she doesn’t eat meat.
I’m not sure the Pinot Noir would do well with ham, I’ve never tried it though. I think the Rose might do well with the saltiness of the ham. What do you pair with the ham?
Usually sparkling cider since we have our 14-year-old at the table with us and he LOVES the act of pouring his special beverage into some fancy martini-style glasses we use just for this occasion. But if I were to have wine, a Rose would be nice. But I’m a non-traditionist and like to pair oddities…a well-rounded Mourvedre would be interesting.
I’ve had ham, vegetables and a sweet potato casserole for a holiday meal (Easter, I think) and served it with the Cline Cellars Mouvedre Rose (slightly chilled) and it goes quite well. You’ll get plum and cherry notes with some pomegranate with a hint of anise giving a sweetness to the finish. Tradition or not, I think you’ll like this with the ham. Let me know if you try this and what you think of it. Chateau Souverain also made a pretty good Mourvedre but I’ve not had this for several years.