Wines for Thanksgiving

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 wine that is bright and floral, with apricot and honey notes. It is comparable to a Vouvray, and will please off-dry Riesling drinkers as well. This is a sure fire winner for Thanksgiving dinner and even pumpkin pie.

4. Arrowhead Spring Vineyards Pinot Noir 2012 Aged for 12 months in American, Eastern European and French oak, is proof. The wine has a bright cranberry color with scents and flavors of cherry, black raspberry, cranberry, vanilla, mushroom and earth. It has good balance and length with some acidity and soft tannins. This is a wonderful choice to support local wineries this Thanksgiving.

Viewing the film Nobody’s Fool (1994) has become a Thanksgiving Day tradition in our house in the last few years. In fact, I recommended this film last year and couldn’t help doing it again. It’s a great transitional movie for the holidays because the story begins with Thanksgiving and finishes up with New Years. The main character also has much to be thankful for after life takes him on a bumpy journey. This movie features two terrific performances by Paul Newman and Jessica Tandy. It was adapted from Richard Russo’s wonderful novel about small town change in the Mohawk Valley region of New York.  Recently, Russo published a sequel called Everybody’s Fool.

Happy Thanksgiving!