Thank God no one said gravy. My faith in humankind survives another hour.
Well, the traditional Thanksgiving drink in our house is apple cider. But we always serve a decent white (Chardonnay) and a mellow red (like a Shiraz) for the wine drinkers – two wines, precisely to cover our bases on the turkey-with-red-or-white debate.
In our family, Champagne is for Christmas Eve.
Hello! The dude’s in Australia, and all I’m hearing is a bunch of spouting about California wines. picmr, any of the types suggested above, but from local vintners, would be excellent. I especially like Ike’s suggestion of a nice pinot noir (which is what I usually go for).
Cervaise said:
Huh. For $50 a bottle (it’s actually usually on sale for $32.99 here), you can get a much better Champagne, to my mind. Pol Roger is consistently underrated by buyers, highly rated by reviewers, and cheaper. Ditto Chandon Rouge. Or a Nicholas Feuillette NV. And if you’re willing to go just a teensy bit more, you can probably still pick up bottles of Charles Heidsiek (I know I spelled that wrong) Brut 1990 ($69/btl). Or a Bollinger Grande Annee 1990 ($65).
By coincidence, I was just reading about wines recommended with Thanksgiving dinner in today’s food section in the paper.
I agree with their choice (and so do Ike and False_God): a lighter, but fruity red wine counterbalanced with a little acidity. Pinot noir or beaujolais fit this bill; the writer’s particular choice, and my personal favorite, is a nice Cote du Rhone from the south of France. This wine has good fruit without being sweet or heavy, and the fruit is nicely balanced out with a little acidity. It should go very well with turkey and rich brown gravy and not be overwhelmed by the sweetness in cranberry sauce or sweet potatoes. And the best part is that Cote du Rhone is relatively inexpensive; a lot of them cost a lot less than California chards. However, you’ll have to go to a real wine merchant, as it is improbable that your average supermarket will carry any.
Good buys:
“Cave des Papes” – $8 - $9 range
“Moulin de la Gardette” – $14 - $19 range
Choose those Cote du Rhones (Cotes du Rhone?) from the areas of Gigondas or Vacqueyras.
Excuse me. Time to go home and get out a corkscrew.
I dunno. Coke? It’s just food, who cares?
On thanksgiving and christmas i tend to drink either: milk or sparkling apple cider. But then i normally drink milk with every meal but um…
Thanks for the suggestions. Cider had never occurred to me, but sounds like it might be worth trying. Pinot noir or beaujolais are things I’ve tried before, and they work pretty well (although getting a reliable pinot can be a bit tricky). I don’t know what an Australian equivalent of a Cote du Rhone would be, but I’ll suss it out.
As for Necros’ comments about the sparklers, I agree. The Widow is seriously overrated. These days in Australia, Moet’s local branch (Domaine Chandon) produces stuff that cuts out just about everything under $50 a bottle in the champagne department.
I’ll weigh in with a vote for Beaujolais. A lot of people think, “It’s white meat. Drink white wine!” But I always have Beaujolais when I have Thanksgiving Dinner. Beaujolais goes well with game, and turkey is often considered a game bird.
Well, in all the States i’ve lived in, and in all the homes I’ve visited for Turkey Day (and I’m in Middle-Class America) It’s been beer for the grown ups, milk and/or soda for the kids. Of course it’s also been while the men are watching the Football game and the ladies are talking about whatever they are talking about, kids running around outside… Ahh memories…
punk snot dead
broccoli!
Beaujolais Nouveau goes pretty well with Turkey and cranberry sauce.
We also serve one or more dry Rieslings or Gewurtztraminers from the NY Finger Lakes region. You have some excellent examples of Rieslings in Australia, so I’d recommend one of those - one that is dry or between dry and semi-dry, with a bit of fruit.
Don’t know if Australian wineries are doing Gewurtztraminer or not.
Thanks very much for the recommendations. I’ll definitely keep my eyes open. I’ll also try to keep my grubby mitts off the Dom Perignon we have hidden in the basement, now that I’m drooling for a good methode champagnoise…
Vouvray is the classic wine match for turkey. Surprised nobody’s mentioned it yet. In general, you want a not-so-dry white for a perfect match to the saltiness of the turkey. Gewurtztraminer or Riesling is good, too.
I like Champagne, too. My current favorite is Lasalle. Nice, dry, creamy. I think it’s around $50/bottle.