Wine for Thanksgiving Dinner
With Thanksgiving quickly approaching, you may be wondering what to serve with the traditional Turkey dinner with all the fixings.
It is doable to choose one wine to carry you through appetizers to desserts. That wine is the celebratory SPARKLING wine! Bubbles are elegant and have phenomenal food-pairing versatility to virtually any meal. With a Thanksgiving meal these wines, bubbles really shine. Karma Vineyards, Lake Chelan makes remarkable local bubbly. Karma has a Méthode Champenoise Estate Pink ($54.99 at the tasting room) may be even a better match than plain sparkling considering the proteins in the meal. Or go for a Rosé, which is another very food friendly wine. Try the Latah Creek Rosé of Malbec ($13 at the tasting room) and get why all the fuss is about when it comes to Washington Rosé.
The art of Wine Pairing is largely a matter of personal preference; however, some safe bets for Thanksgiving dinner are Pinot Noir (Try King Estate), Syrah (Try Barrister, Robert Karl, or Overbluff) and Zinfandel (Try Maryhill) for RED lovers. Go for Sauvignon Blanc (Try Arbor Crest), Riesling (Try Nodland's Bebop) Gewurztraminer and Viognier (Try Maryhill) for those who prefer WHITE.
Then there's the pie. Sweeter wines to dessert wines pair nicely but I like RUM with my pumpkin pie. Rum is a reasonable spirits choice. Some specialty liquors (Voyant Chai, Tuaca, and Praline) offer sweetness without overpowering. Personally, we're going for a Quinta de la Rosa 20-Year Tawny Port this year.
In summary - With white wines the pairing priority is finding a wine with well-balanced acidity with reds you are shooting for fairly tame tannins that will yield to and support the flavors of the food. For the happy medium between the two, a Rose becomes a pretty perfect match.
Oh yes, you have options. This Thanksgiving you can be grateful for choices.
What did we miss? Do you have a pairing of a local wine that should be on this list? Leave a comment, we want to know.
Cheers to a Happy Thanksgiving, SIP XO
(Photo credit: Inside Socal)
It is doable to choose one wine to carry you through appetizers to desserts. That wine is the celebratory SPARKLING wine! Bubbles are elegant and have phenomenal food-pairing versatility to virtually any meal. With a Thanksgiving meal these wines, bubbles really shine. Karma Vineyards, Lake Chelan makes remarkable local bubbly. Karma has a Méthode Champenoise Estate Pink ($54.99 at the tasting room) may be even a better match than plain sparkling considering the proteins in the meal. Or go for a Rosé, which is another very food friendly wine. Try the Latah Creek Rosé of Malbec ($13 at the tasting room) and get why all the fuss is about when it comes to Washington Rosé.
The art of Wine Pairing is largely a matter of personal preference; however, some safe bets for Thanksgiving dinner are Pinot Noir (Try King Estate), Syrah (Try Barrister, Robert Karl, or Overbluff) and Zinfandel (Try Maryhill) for RED lovers. Go for Sauvignon Blanc (Try Arbor Crest), Riesling (Try Nodland's Bebop) Gewurztraminer and Viognier (Try Maryhill) for those who prefer WHITE.
Then there's the pie. Sweeter wines to dessert wines pair nicely but I like RUM with my pumpkin pie. Rum is a reasonable spirits choice. Some specialty liquors (Voyant Chai, Tuaca, and Praline) offer sweetness without overpowering. Personally, we're going for a Quinta de la Rosa 20-Year Tawny Port this year.
In summary - With white wines the pairing priority is finding a wine with well-balanced acidity with reds you are shooting for fairly tame tannins that will yield to and support the flavors of the food. For the happy medium between the two, a Rose becomes a pretty perfect match.
Oh yes, you have options. This Thanksgiving you can be grateful for choices.
What did we miss? Do you have a pairing of a local wine that should be on this list? Leave a comment, we want to know.
Cheers to a Happy Thanksgiving, SIP XO
(Photo credit: Inside Socal)
Comments
For dessert, check out the locally made "Port" style wines of Knipprath...especially the vanilla or chocolate ports.
Yes definately with pumpkin pie, or even pecan pie...if there is any room for dessert, lol.