beaujolais

Here is my list of some favorite wines for Thanksgiving. Most of these are old favorites, and all are interesting and worth your time. With a couple of exceptions, these wines will fall under $15.00 a bottle.

1. Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau 2016 / 750 ml.: A good vintage with a deep, dark, plum color and juicy, ripe flavors with a smooth finish. This light refreshing red should be served slightly chilled and works nicely the day after Thanksgiving when you build that monster of a turkey sandwich.

2. The Borell-Diehl 2014 Gewurztraminer Kabinett Pfalz: This wine should be of particular interest to you if you like some sweet with your spice. This wine is very aromatic, with rose, grapefruit, lychee, coriander. With ginger, citrus and golden apple notes on the mouth, this wine will be a winner for complex Thanksgiving flavors.

3. Domaine L’Enclos Moelleux 2015: This is a lovely, bargain-priced French white

Here is my list of some favorite wines for Thanksgiving. Some of these are typical choices, while others may seem out in left field. All are interesting and worth your time. With a couple of exceptions, these wines will fall under $15.00 a bottle.

WHITES

1. Les Lys 2014 Vouvray - There are apricot, almond and slight honey notes complemented by a fair amount of acidity, yet this wine still is very creamy and has a round finish. It will be a crowd pleaser at Thanksgiving.
2. Dom Lafage 2014 Centenaire Cotes du Roussane - A light straw colored blend of Grenache Blanc and Roussane, this wine is crisp and has peach and green apple notes with good minerality.
3. Ressia 2014 Evien Bianco - This wine is very aromatic with intense flavors of peach, apricot, orange blossom, lychee (somewhat reminiscent of a Vouvray) and a hint of anise in the finish.
4. Willm 2013 Gewurtztraminer - a bit creamy and juicy, with smoke, apple, melon, lime, and ginger flavors.

There is a world of perfectly suitable wines to pair with your favorite Easter meal.   The variety of foods people consume over the holiday weekend should make this a fun process and not stressful.  Yet there still seems to be considerable hand wringing when it comes to choosing wine for Easter.

In our neck of the woods, Ham is still the major player and has led to record sales of Riesling in past years.  I have no issue with that. After all, Riesling is very good with Ham.  But so is Sparkling Rose, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Zinfandel, Rose, Gewurztraminer, etc.  It would actually be easy to write about several of these wines but I decided to focus on one particular wine that may not have been considered, and that is Beaujolais.  Yes, I know it is Easter and not Thanksgiving, but the wine I’m discussing is more complex and durable than the November Youngster known as Beaujolais Nouveau.

[caption id="attachment_189" align="alignleft" width="300"] Dan tasting the 2011 vintage at Signé Vignerons in the heart of Beaujolais.[/caption]Yes, it's that time of the year again. Well, almost. Next Thursday November 15th marks the arrival of this years' Beaujolais Nouveau and the 30th Anniversary vintage. Georges Duboeuf is celebrating with a special website and a free smartphone app available at the website link. The wine will be $6.99 with your Premier Card.