Holiday Wine Guide

With Thanksgiving fast approaching, now is a great time to start drafting out your dinner menu and deciding on which wines you will want to include as complements to your bounty. Food picks is the easy part--for those of us looking to pull-off the traditional Thanksgiving celebration, we practically have the menu laid out for us. The tricky part is wine choice. Which wines will you want for particular types, tastes, textures, and aromas of the foods you be laying out onto the table?

Here is a Thanksgiving/Christmas wine guide to help simplify the decision-making process for you! Recommendations begin with a variety of red wines, followed by white wines...and, in case you have wine left over from the celebration, food pairings are listed under each wine for future wining and dining ideas!

The boldest wines are at the top - and work their way down to the lightest!

ENJOY! Salud!


The Reds:
Perfect Pairings - Pinot Noir: The very versatile pinot noir pairs perfectly with poultry, beef, fish, ham, lamb and pork. It plays well with creamy sauces and spicy seasonings, too.
Profile of Flavors: Heartier and deeper, its flavors include: raspberry, blackberry, cherry, plums, raisins, spice and black pepper all wrapped around various intensities of oak. Balances many traditional side dishes.
Rex Goliath Pinot Noir $9.49

Perfect Pairings - Zinfandel: Zinfandel pairs well with red or white meat, fish tacos, spicy dishes, or burgers.
Profile of Flavors: Heartier and deeper, its flavors include: raspberry, blackberry, cherry, plums, raisins, spice and black pepper all wrapped around various intensities of oak. Balances many traditional side dishes.
Bogle Old Vines Zin $13>00

Profile of Flavors Syrah Shiraz: Rich round flavors are: black cherry, blackberry, plum, bell pepper, black pepper, clove, licorice, dark chocolate and smoked meat. The peppery notes will accent a flavorful helping of stuffing as well as both the white and dark turkey meats.
Perfect Pairings: It's also deliciously delightful with ham, lamb, pasta with tomato sauce, pizza, and barbecue foods

Profile of Flavors Beaujolais Nouveau : A light and fruity red wine, it goes very well with turkey and all of the fixings. Flavors of strawberry and raspberry dominate along with a grape appeal.
Perfect Pairings: This wine is certainly food-friendly. It works well with both light and dark meats, herbs, and many other flavors that are a part of Thanksgiving festivities. This wine will also pair well with grilled or roasted meats, many types of pastas, salads, and cheeses. Serve it chilled!
Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau $9.99 TW Domaine de la Madone Beaujolais Nouveau $9.99 TW



The Whites:
Profile of Flavors Sauvignon Blanc: Typically light to medium-bodied, this crisp and refreshing white wine offers a range of earthy flavors from veggie, grass, hay and mineral tones to citrus and tropical flavor mixes, making it a prime companion for turkey and herb stuffings.
Perfect Pairings: Like Pinot Noir, this wine is very food-friendly. It is great for appetizers like veggie dips; for foods with garlic or Italian seasonings in creamy sauces; for salads like Greek, Caesar or Garden. It's also a good choice for Thai dishes, fish and sushi, and poultry--of course!
St. Supery Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley $19.95 CP


Profile of Flavors Viogner: This white wine contains low levels of acidity and is typically characterized by light floral flavors often surrounded by delicate touches of peaches and pears. Aromatic varietals with an abundance of fruit, such as this one, pairs well with turkey.
Perfect Pairings: With floral aromas, sweet-seeming fruit flavors, and rich textures, Viognier is made to complement bold or exotic dishes. It also goes well with cheeses and nuts. Other favorite pairings include: curries, Caribbean dishes, scallops, lobster, crab, and shrimp.


Profile of Flavors Riesling : Riesling wines can be highly aromatic with pear, peach, and apple at the forefront mixed, with delicate floral undertones, and rich honey and spice on the nose. Rieslings echo the pear, peach and apple along with citrus and tropical flavors on the palate.
Perfect Pairings: A versatile wine, Riesling will accommodate a whole host of challenging flavors and spice profiles. From appetizers to desserts, pork, poultry or shellfish, and virtually anything in between. It can handle the spice and zest of Asian, Mexican and even Moroccan dishes.

Leitz Dragonstone Reisling $13.49 TW