kimamom

We just picked up some very nice Pinot Noirs on our Oregon trip. Broadley, a Rex Hill Reserve, an R Stuart Big Fire and an Argyle.

We also may serve a white Riesling from Chateau St. Jean that we recently acquired. Happy Thanksgiving! ***kim***

bennnie

On the recommendation of the guy at the liquor store, I bought a German Reisling (can't remember the name)for Thanksgiving dinner. The guy asked about what type of stuffing we were serving with the turkey and seemed to know what he was talking about. When I got it home, I noticed it had screw tops, not corks. Did I blow it? Paid $9 a bottle. I've relied on the advise of this store before and have been ok.

Budman

You can probably get hundreds of responses and theories to this, but here's mine:

I've heard that the cork supply is dwindling, so eventually future wine bottles will have screw caps. That shouldn't be a problem, since the sole purpose of the cork is to keep the air from spoiling the wine.

This will take the ambiance of sommelier removing the cork from the bottle and letting you feel/smell.

The screw cap should not affect the wine, but I only hope he didn't sell you a bottle of Boone's Farm.

It should be fine. Let us know what he sold you and if you liked it.

TripleSecDelay

Interesting. I, too, had heard that wine bottles were a few years away from migrating toward a screw cap --- yet, for another reason.

For under $15, gmoney, you might consider something from Columbia Crest. They have a moderate price range for their Merlot, Cab, and a blend of both is also available.
Surely a Stone Street Merlot is over the budget, but one of our favorites. Bonny Doon produces some moderately priced wines.

Regarding chilling a red...we do this in the heat of the summer. Especially on the houseboat.

Final Tip : Don't ever order a glass of Chateaubriand.

bennnie

Budman and TripleSec - given your chosen pen names I'm going to assume you know a thing or two about wine and spirits. I'll let you know how it turns out. Still am a bit worried about my in-laws thinking I'm cheap buying screw top wine. Oh well, at least the label is pretty.

joan

I saw a tv article on this issue, and the surprising thing they said was that 10% of all wine is tainted by mold from the cork - that's a huge number! And they said it's not tainted to where it's undrinkable, just changed. Enough so that you might decide you don't like the wine...without realizing the real reason. So winemakers are excited about getting better quality through screwtops. But yes, what shall we do, "smell the screw"? Consumer acceptance will be a tough one I think!

rjw_lgb_ca

Love these threads...!

I agree with previous posters about cabernets and merlots, in that the good ones are BIG (full bodied, complex presence, strong with a lingering finish). California reds are designed to be big, i.e., immediately drinkable. French reds need to age in the bottle before they acquire that wonderful complexity, and before that special moment they're pretty much undrinkable. Same with most Italian reds.

The Beaujolais Nouveaux this year are supposed to be great, but indeed, they have no shelf life. They are meant to be drunk young-- they're fresh, a little fruity and unchallenging.

The Pinot Noir variety are the safest to pair with fowl, if you're adhering to rules of food pairing. I like Frei Brothers Pinot Noir a lot, when served with food. FYI, their Cab and Merlot varieties are great and reasonably priced. I recently went to a wine tasting and sampled some very nice Barolos from the Piedmont region in Italy; they were pretty light-bodied and the fruit and spice would have gone well with turkey. A high-end (red) Zinfandel would probably pair nicely as well, although those are a bit too sweet for me.

I'm not a white wine drinker, and White Zinfandel makes me gag. However, I would not turn down a good Sauvignon Blanc or a dry champagne (Veuve Clicquot or Taittinger) with my Thanksgiving meal.

But I'll drink cabs and merlots with anything, including fish, if it's good wine. Give me grilled salmon and a bottle of Stags Leap 2001 Cabernet, and I'm happier than Anna Nicole Smith at a Percoset sale at Rite-Aid.

My advice: When the stuffing settles from this holiday, hit your local high-end wine store for tastings (shameless plug for the Wine Country in Long Beach, CA-- outstanding store!). Sample, find out what you like. Play with wine & cheese pairings. Serve red and white with your dinner, experience the differences. Don't be afraid of champagnes, either. Enjoy wine!!

GoTravel

To add to rjw's advice, I love Le Crema Pinot Noir. Excellent and you can't go wrong.

I am very much enjoying this year's Beaujolais Nouveaux. It is very you as these grapes were still on the vine weeks ago.

Bleeech! I haven't had Beringer White Zinfandel since I was in college in 1985! What memories that brings back!

As far as sparkeling white wine, for the money, you cannot beat Piper Heidseck (I never spell it correctly) Champagne. It is from the champage region of France and one of the best for the money. I've found it for $24.99 at Costco.

neworleanslady

I saw a few suggestions for La Crema Pinot, but none for La Crema Chardonnay. The best white on it's own and goes with all foods! Usually on sale $13.99 at Cost Plus if you have one.

gottagetaway

We're taking a couple bottles of Montsarra Cava Brut ($12.99/bottle) to my in-laws for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. In my opinion, it will be great with turkey. If we finish it with the appetizers, we'll switch to whatever red my sister-in-law brings when we have dinner!

Last year my parents gave my husband a t-shirt that says, "Friends don't let friends drink white zinfindel." 'Nuff said.

kimamom

On our recent trip to the Madera Wine Trail (they were just featured in Sunset magazine) our $5 bottle of White Zin broke in our car. I wasn't that disappointed, lol. ***kim***

Patrick

I've been invited to a big family dinner today (Thanksgiving) with a couple that went to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival with us last summer and will repeat next summer.
I hope they enjoy the two bottles of Van Duzer Oregon Pinot Noir. Both of them are red wine drinkers and it should pair well with the dinner.

I've always thought that it is sort of a mistake to do a lightish white wine with turkey, as usually the dressing and side dishes are much too rich for the wine. I think pairing a nice red with the side dishes makes more sense, and still plays well off the turkey (particularly the dark meat!) When I do the holiday meals, I usually serve a porcini and wild rice stuffing that has bits of Italian sausage (everybody's request) and the red wine is SO much better with that than white wine.

kimamom

We did quite a bit of wine tasting last week in Oregon and a lot of the places were really pushing the Beaujolais Nouveaux. I'm with Patrick, I think a really nice Pinot Noir from OR is the perfect match for our dinner tonight.

After today, I'll be sampling some Rieslings and other whites with the leftovers. Mabye a little Mueller Thargau from Henry Estates. ***kim***

ElendilPickle

Kim, I'd like to hear more about the Madera wine trail. We'll be heading out your way for a family visit next year, and that might be fun since I've never been to a winery. Is that article in the December Sunset?

Lee Ann, with Riesling chilling in the fridge to go with ham

kimamom

Yes, in the December issue, the title is, "Winning wines" the Madera appelation gains fans on page 48. I wrote a pretty lengthy report on about seven places we visited a couple of weeks ago, but the report was lost when Fodors was having posting problem.

I may re-write the report later next week and give you some other good recomennds on places to visit in the area. Cheers! ***kim***

bennnie

Budman - the reisling was DR Loosen (?) and it was a bust. Far too sweet for our tastes, screw top or not. Reminded me of driving Riunte in college. Oh well, live and learn. But I did also pick up a couple of bottles of Red Truck which went over better.

mikemo

Re: corks and "corked" wine.
I am not very sensitive to corked wine, but the wonderful '01 German wines have sigificant problems - I would guess at least 10% of those in the US are "corked".
We had a '81 Ch Margaux with TG turkey.
I agree that we in the US drink white wine too cold and red wine too warm.
Scarlett, I really like the '01 Morgan Sta Lucia PN. The David Bruce PNs are a bit schizophrenic and I never know what I may get. Their Russian River may be a bit more consistent

Birdie

While I do love Pinot Noirs, particularly ones from Oregon, I like to try something different for Thanksgiving. Usually an Alsatian white, probably because we don't usually drink those and they seem to go well with our menu. This year I picked up an Alsatian Pinot Blanc. I had never seen one before. It was actually good and went well with our dinner.

Hazelmn

Pairing wine with food is completely overrated. For 95% of us, we will enjoy a good wine no matter what we're eating it with, or if we are drinking it alone. For the other 5% who are the true connisseurs, pairing will bring out some extra subleties and help them appreciate the wine and food more. Good for them.

With that said, we brought 3 bottles of good $10 - $22 bottles (Caymus Conundrum, Kirkham Peak Shiraz, and Columbia Crest Cab). All were thoroughly enjoyed. The majority of the wine was drank with appetizers, salad, dessert, or by itself as we watched football, so pairing with turkey wouldn't have made sense anyway.

Drink what you like, and don't get hung up on pairings.

Patrick

I agree on the "pairing" idea being highly overrated. First of all, as I suggested above, you don't simply eat one thing. Pairing a wine to go with the stuffing makes as much or even more sense as pairing a wine to go with the turkey. It's the same with many meals. If you are having a light fish and pair a wine to go with that, does it also pair well with the risotto or potato dish that may accompany the fish? That's doubtful.

And as to pairing wine with turkey, is anyone willing to tell me that a wine that goes perfectly with breast of roasted turkey will pair equally well with the thigh? I hope not!!