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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.

This weekend with temperatures climbing towards ninety, we will taste a variety of refreshing whites and roses that will satisfy several customers.  But for those who still want a hearty red to pair with their steak, beef kabobs or burgers on the grill, we will be sampling a new Cabernet Sauvignon from Washington State.

From a region famous for well made wines going back several decades, Keuka Springs Vineyards has been making great wines for thirty years. Under the direction of the Wiltberger family, Keuka Springs is producing outstanding from a wide variety of grapes. 

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.

Now that it’s November, we can put away the plastic skeletons, rubber monster masks, finish off the candy corn and toss away the rotting pumpkin.  Before you go jumping on the Christmas shopping and decorating bandwagon, take a chill and remember Thanksgiving. 

Fermented in stainless steel, and aged in French oak, this is no wimpy Merlot.  Produced by Charles Smith who seems to make most things he touches interesting. The Velvet Devil Merlot is a Washington state wine that is truly Merlot with only a smidgen of Cabernet Sauvignon. Like its name, this Merlot is velvety with a mysterious, devilish blackberry jam color. On the nose there are ample dark fruits like boysenberry and blackberry along with sweet chocolate cherry with faint notes of cedar and tobacco.

Recently I attended a wine tasting where most of the sippers were from other parts of the country including Maryland, Virginia, California and more.  The wines they were drinking were from New York and nearly all the wines were dry and not generally associated with upstate New York. All the wines were well received, but one in particular stood out: the Arrowhead Spring 2012 Pinot Noir. 

It is always a pleasure when I can write about wines that are not only tasty but are under $10.00 like these wines are, but as an extra bonus, these wines are from South African farmers who are working to make a difference in the world. Both the 2014 MAN Free Run Chenin Blanc and the 2014 Padstal Chardonnay are solid wines to welcome in springtime sipping.

St. Patrick’s Day is over and you have left over corned beef to eat but the thought of more beer to drink with it isn’t that appealing.   After all, you may have had plenty of beer in the last few days. In terms of leftovers, you opt for a corned beef sandwich with Swiss cheese and spicy mustard on rye.  A glass of wine might do the trick, but which one?