french wine

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

This Sunday is the last day for our Double Up for a Buck.  So now is the time to stock up for your Halloween party.  New to our sale are two very well made French wines: Les Argelieres Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.  Both of these wines will run you $8.00 per bottle with our sale which is a great deal for good French wine.

The Chardonnay is well balanced with notes of apple, pear, a hint of pineapple and creamy vanilla pudding.  There is just enough oak to give it heft for enjoying with cream laden dishes such as corn and potato chowder.  The Pinot Noir is a bit heavier and darker than many of the traditional French Burgundies, but make no mistake, this is not a jammy fruit bomb either. This Pinot has very good balance with plenty of lively raspberry, cherry fruit with slight birch beer and wet earth notes.  Try this with sweet and spicy Sloppy Joes for a solid Halloween pairing.

Get here soon to take advantage of this sale because it ends on Sunday.

You wouldn’t know it by the temperature of late, but fall is approaching and summer will be just a memory.  It’s been great for Rose sales where several red wine diehards have found a chilled and refreshing alternative to their favorite room temperature “go to” for most of the year.

So do we say farewell to the roses until next May and focus strictly on the reds? If many of us drink white wine all year as well as red, then why not rose?  In fact, think about food pairings where rose could be the perfect choice.  Thanksgiving could be a whole new experience for some folks.  Rose and turkey is a winner combination.

There are several roses we have to choose from that come from various parts of the world. Often they are blends but I would like to mention two particular favorites that are single varietal wines. Chateau De La Deidiere is a rose from Provence and is made from 100% Grenache grapes. This wine comes in a lovely curvaceous

Some may think it is stereotypical to pick a Rose for a blog entry for Mother’s Day.  I beg to differ. The Roses that I’m writing about may be a variation of a shade of pink, but that does not mean these wines are syrupy and one dimensional. Guys, if you are listening. Not all women like Pink Moscato or White Zinfandel anymore than all men like Budweiser or Jack Daniels. These Roses are dry (often like Moms’sense of humor) but refreshing and full of flavor.

Our May Double Up for a Buck event just began and we have two new Roses on the sale

Some years it helps to offer a selection of wines to write about for Easter because of the variety and complexity of the foods offered during this holiday weekend.

This year I’ve decided to focus on only one wine and one main course for Easter dinner.  It’s no secret that I love bold red wines from the France, particularly from the Southern regions. Such a wine is Chateau de La Clapiere 2011 Provence Rouge Violette.  This delicious yet reasonably priced red blend is comprised of 50% Syrah, 35% Grenache and 15% Carignan.  Malolactic fermentation and aging for 12 months in concrete tanks helps to give this wine a distinct long lasting richness and smooth tannins. The color is a deep ruby and there is a strong aroma of cherry and red raspberry preserves with highlights of honey, licorice and other spices. The Provence Rouge is full bodied, round and delightfully rich tasting.

The wine is named after producer M.Henri Fabre’s great-grandmother

If you are someone who is looking for a quieter, smaller, more intimate New Years Eve that doesn’t involve loud crowds and boy bands, I have a suggestion.  Why not have a few friends over and enjoy some champagne with traditional appetizers, and watch a classic film to boot?

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.

The lure of French value wines continues with a red Bordeaux because …well, how can it not?  How can a bargain hunting wine drinker turn down a Fall deal like this, especially a French wine with Vermont in the title?

Continuing my blog on French bargain wines leads us to La Forge Estate Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon from the Languedoc region.  Both these wines are labeled by type of grape rather than region possibly to attract more import drinkers.

Starting on October 1^st we will be having our Fall Double Up for a Buck sale.  Several of your old favorites will be on the sale as well as some new comers, including some lovely wines from France.