The Vino Shoppe

 Successful Thanksgiving Dinner Wine Pairings

Simply put, the purpose of pairing food with wine is to enhance your dining experience. The wine should enhance the food and the food should enhance the wine, creating a symbiotic relationship that improves both.

The problem is that we don't serve Thanksgiving Day dinner in courses where we can pair each dish with a different wine and then move on to the next dish-finishing our previous course each time. Usually the table is set and all the side dishes are already made, presented nicely on the table, and then the turkey shows up in all its grandeur ready to be cut.

With all the dishes and condiments on the table, we pass the plate and load up on a little bit of everything-knowing that at the end of dinner the loosening of the belts and a satisfied belly await us all. So how do we make a wine fit in? Well, there are some great choices! So to pick out a wine to go with this grand meal, let's take a look at some options.

Versatility

The key to successful Thanksgiving dinner wine pairings is versatility. With so many different foods we need a wine that will be able to "go with the flow" so to speak. Try not to think in the extremes for either white or red wines.

So you like the big, brooding, dark Cabernet Sauvignon or Zinfandel with super-ripe flavor, or perhaps a very acidic, ultra-citrus Sauvignon Blanc? That's terrific, but we'll leave those aside for another meal. Instead, you should think balanced-low to mid alcohol levels (11 to 13.5 percent), good acidity but not too ripe or too green, and a lighter style body with no huge tannins.

There are many wine choices that fit this category. I know that most people automatically think of Merlot or Chardonnay, but let's be a little more creative than that. There are other options.

Bubbles!

First and foremost, no Thanksgiving meal is complete without bubbles. Normally thought of as a celebratory wine, it actually is a fantastic (and often overlooked) option to go with this huge meal!

The higher acidity in the wine lets it pair with heavier, starchier foods like potatoes and turkey with dressing. The low alcohol doesn't over-exert itself and mask the flavors of the food like a high-alcohol wine would do.

And perhaps the best reason for having a bottle on the table: The bubbles themselves are a nice palate cleanser between eating the different choices of food on your plate. For those of you who don't like white wines, don't fear; most Brut Champagnes are made with mostly red grapes (Pinot Noir), so in actuality you are drinking some red wine.

Pinot Noir

Speaking of Pinot Noir, as a red wine goes this is the one to choose for this meal. Ignore the hype this grape has received these last couple of years with the movie Sideways; this wine is a great match for the variations of food on the table because of its versatility.

Low-alcohol Pinot Noirs are a great match because they are light in body and will not overpower the food. The subtlety of the wine allows it to pair with most of what's on the plate because of its non-intrusive style (no big tannin, no huge alcohol, no sharp, dark flavors). There are "bigger" style Pinot Noirs out there for sure, but steer clear of those for this meal.

Rosé

Some other types of wines to choose from are a little different from our mainstream wine drinking choices here in the United States. First off, let's talk about rosé wines. Rosé's are great food options because they are usually ultra-low in alcohol, and they have a nice non-tannic, fresh fruitiness to them.

These wines are very popular in France, and they are beginning to make their presence known here as well. I want to make something clear: Rosé wines are not all sweet! Don't think white zinfandel when you're drinking a pink wine! Those days are past, and now wineries are producing bone-dry Rosé's made from different red grapes … and they're very reasonably priced!

Riesling and Gewürztraminer

Lastly, let's take a look at two more wines that frequently get overlooked here in the United States wine market: Gewürztraminer and Riesling. These Germanic wines are in a weird niche in the United States wine market because at the lower end you have very sweet, inexpensive wines with not much taste profile except for the sweetness factor.

On the other end of the market you have German and Alsatian wines (Riesling and Gewürztraminer) which are acidic, have great depth and complexity, and can range from dessert wine sweetness to bone dry.

These wines are, like Rosé's, very low in alcohol. These guys can be as low as 8 to 9 percent! Even if you choose a wine that has sweetness to it, don't mistake that for lacking acidity. German and Alsatian wines do not lack acidity. Again, the low alcohol and balanced acidity is the key we're looking for to make our Thanksgiving a successful meal.

Below are the questions and the answer to the questions that were asked in our August 16th Wine Weekly News. How many did you get right?

Q & A (part 1)
1. How many acres are planted to grapes worldwide?
2. Among the world's fruit crops, where do wine grapes rank in number of acres planted?
3. How many countries import California wines?
4. What was the primary fruit crop in Napa Valley during the 1940's?
5. How many gallons of wine were lost in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake?
6. When was phylloxera first discovered in California?
7. How many acres of Napa County vineyards have been replanted in the last 15 years because of phylloxera?
8. How many more acres of Napa County vineyards will need replacement?
9. How long does it take to harvest a commercial crop from newly replanted grape vines?
10. How many varieties of wine grapes exist worldwide?
11. How much does it cost per bottle to age wine in a French oak barrel?
12. How much does it cost per bottle to age wine in only new French oak barrels?
13. How much white zinfandel is consumed in this country?

Answers:
1) 20 million
2) #1
3) 164
4) Prunes
5) 30 million
6) August 19, 1873
7) 10,450
8) 4,450
9) 4-5 years
10) 10,000
11) 90 cents
12) $2.50
13) Too much!


Q & A (part 2)
1. When was the first known reference to a specific wine vintage?
2. How old was the wine being “reviewed”?
3. A bottle of opened wine stored in the refrigerator lasts how much longer than it would if stored at room temp?
4. How many oak species are there?
5. How many are used in making oak barrels?
6. What percent of an oak tree is suitable for making high grade wine barrels?
7. The 1996 grape crop in Napa Valley was down what percentage from normal?
8. What are the top three U.S. states in terms of wine consumption?
9. What percentage of legal-aged Americans contacted in a Nielson phone survey drink wine?
10. What percentage of restaurant wine sales do red wines represent?
11. What is the average cost of the grapes used to produce a $20 bottle of wine?

Answers:
1. Roman Historian Pliny the Elder rated 121 B.C. as a vintage “of the highest excellence.”
2. 200 years old! Pliny the Elder wrote the history of the Roman Empire around 70 A.D.
3. 6-16 times longer
4. 400
5. 20
6. 5%
7. 20-25%
8. CA, NY, FL
9. 58%
10. 55%
11. $2.64

 

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David and I had a dinner party last night with some friends. I taught them how to cook indian food and we had a great time. The wine we chose to go with the food was a gewurztraminer. Yes, it is a foreign word which most people can't pronounce and are certainly scared as hell to order at a restaurant for fear of sounding foolish! No problem, here is how it is pronounced "guh verts tra meener". Still can't get it? You're not alone. So many people come into our wine shop that cant pronounce it no matter how many times they try. I tell them not to worry and just to call it "guh-verts" or "the G wine". Any decent waiter will not laugh at you if you try to order it, because they wan't a tip right? Or you can just point to it on the wine list. Either way, don't shy away from this increadible grape from Germany! You will be missing out! Most people think it tastes similar to a riesling. It is frequently made in a semi-sweet style and, in my opinion has the unique fragrance and taste of ginger and honeysuckle, that is not present in rieslings. But like a riesling, it goes well with spicy foods which tend to bring out it's flavors instead of overwhelming them. This is why we drank it with the indian food. Some other varietals to try with spicy foods are chenin blanc, moscato and malvasia. I'll tell you a little more about those on another day. Tish Miceli Owner of The Vino Shoppe

Well since it was warm last week we decided to get the grill warmed up and cook some steaks. Since we are closed on Sunday, I went to the shop and picked out a bottle of Brochelle Zinfandel 2008. We have had the 2006, but were not sure if the 2008 would be as good. 

First let me tell you a little about this winery.

They are located in Paso Robles, CA.

They are a small winery creating rich, voluptuous wines. They take great pride in the fact that their wines are "truly hand made" by us personally with excessive emphasis on quality of the finished product.

They have a simple philosophy; great wines are created in the vineyard. To this end, their main grapes are estate zinfandel. They prime it to bear only the lowest yields of highly concentrated fruit. They also have Cabernets and Syrah.

Their wines are aged in French oak.

Now to the wine. Once I opened the bottle there was an intense aromatic nose. When I pour some in my glass it had an ink-black color. The first sip had an array of complex berry fruit flavors with a smoky essence on the finish. It was very velvety on the tongue, but needed to sit for a while to really open up. I let the bottle sit open while I grilled the steaks. By the time we were ready to eat, I poured another glass and the Jammy, berry flavors came out like a true Zinfandel. Tish and I were very impressed and thought it was just as good as the 06.

Hope you will try this wine.

This weekend Nov. 20th and 21st we will be hosting a Customer Appreciation Weekend.

Free tastings all weekend from 5-8 pm on 20th and 2-8pm on the 21st

Food

Drawing for Prize each day

Special wine discounts

Come by and see us.

Hi all. It has been a while since we have posted anything out here. Well we have been busy. The past month in a half has been amazing. We are so happy with the support that we are receiving from all of you who have stopped by. Well enough on how we are feeling. Below are the scheduled events for October. There maybe more added. Check out web site at www.thevinoshoppe.com. Oct. 14th 7:00-8:30 - OR/WA Wine Class Oct. 16th - Warren SanGeorge from Tryon Distributors will be tasting wines from 5:00-8:00 Oct. 17th - Live music from 6:30-8:30 Travis and Stephanie Vernon will be performing. October 21st - Beer Tasting 6:00-8:00 October 23rd - Hanover Park Vineyard will be here tasting their wines. October 24th - Live Music from 6:30-8:30 We welcome back Corey Hillman. October 28th - Ladies Night 6:00-8:30 mini manicure, chair massage, jewerly and wine. October 30th - Fine Wine Trading Company will be tasting wines with a Hollween theme (costumes optional).

Just a reminder that we have the following events.

Ladies Night - Monday August 17th 6:00-9:00 pm - Wine by the glass - Chair Massage - Jewelry - Mini Manicure

Taste of the Town - Tues. August 18th 5:30-8:30 pm (Show Place, Downtown High Point) $5. We will be participating in the Taste of the Town for Hospice. Stop by and say hello.

Wine 101 - August 26th 7:00 pm - Learn the basics of wine tasting. $20 per person. Seating is limited.