Hello Friends and Wine Lovers!

It is time, again, for the Carpe Vinum Newsletter and Tasting Heads-Up Announcement thing! This week we’re doing a study for you! It’s research into what wines go well with Turkey, or a Thanksgiving meal! This can always be a daunting task. On one hand, there are so many things generally being served, that a match might be hard to come by. On the other hand, the entire family is coming, and everyone is going to like something different. But if they’re coming to your house to eat your food and drink your wine, they’re going to have learn to like what you like, or else! Darn freeloaders! Of course, if you’re going to someone else’s house to do some freeloading yourself, here’s some suggestions of things to bring that most people would like.

Okay. There’s a big load of food on the table. . .Dishes of a seemingly infinite variety. Chances are there will be a turkey, as that seems to be the most common American centerpiece. According to the Wikipedia, here on the West Coast, people will often replace the turkey with fresh crab. I don’t know where the hell they heard THAT, and were that the case, it might kinda screw up the wine recommendations. So let’s pretend that doesn’t happen. There are such a variety of different things on the table, how do we possibly match up a wine to all of them?

The best way to go, in my humble opinion, is a lighter-bodied wine. These tend to be more appropriate with so many other flavors in the meal, and won’t overpower the more delicate flavors involved. One of my favorites for this purpose is Pinot Noir, which we have tons of, here in Oregon. Lately, the Pinots have been done in a more heavily-extracted style, which maximizes the fruit, the alcohol, the wine-critic scores, and the price. So a moderately-priced Pinot will not only save on the cost of the meal, but will probably be a bit more subdued and suitable.

Another favorite of mine in recent years has been the Gamay Noir. It’s a bit more delicate and fruiter than its Pinot counterpart, and doesn’t tend to have heavier earthy overtones that Pinots sometimes have, either. There are relatively few Gamay Noir wines in Oregon, but there are quite a few coming from France in the form of Beaujolais. Now, don’t be frightened. . .Beaujolais can have a bit of an unearned bad reputation for cheap, lifeless, thin, and slightly fruity plonk, and that is primarily due to Beaujolais Nouveau. The Beaujolais Nouveau (translated to “new”) is a wine that is crushed, quickly fermented, bottled and shipped out on an jetliner so it doesn’t go bad before it gets here. The rest of the Beaujolais region (a wine “suburb” of Burgundy) makes solid wines out of Gamay Noir that have more heft to them than their flabbier Nouveau cousins. Good regions within Beaujolais to look for are Moulin a Vent, Cote de Brouilly, Beaujolais-Villages and, my favorite, Morgon.

From there, without making this letter too much longer, the wines to choose should be on the sweeter side. No. . not sweet like Grape Kool-Aid sweet, but sweet, as in less-dry sweet. This will also help keep the wine from taking over the evening. Plus, if you are like me, I think the stuffing is the best part of the meal. The unfortunate thing, and something I learned this week, is that the tastiest stuffing that is cooked in the bird, is crucially responsible for drying the turkey out. Acceptable losses, I suppose, if there is a less-dry wine on the scene to not compound the dry turkey.

So with all that in mind, I’ve included 7 really decent wines that I would personally be proud to present at the Thanksgiving table. I didn’t do any white wines this time around since, really, choosing a red wine for the meal is a bit more of a quandary. I think most white wines would go pretty well with the Thanksgiving spread. Honestly-and I don’t think any self-respecting wine guy can stress this enough-you must drink what you like. That’s the best test of what’s appropriate with a meal. So here’s some more things that I like!

So Friday, November 18th, between 4:30 and 9:00 PM it’s:

Turkey Wines! (Well. . .not wines FROM Turkey, but going WITH turkey!)
Ca de Medici 2004 Oblio Notturno Dolce, Reggiano, Italy
Domaine Dubost 2004 Prieure du Tracot, Beaujolais-Villages, France
Amity 2004 Gamay Noir, Willamette Valley, Oregon
Cuore 2001 Rosso Classico, Mendocino County, California
Owen Roe 2004 Sharecropper’s Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, Oregon

More Turkey Wines!! (Of a bit more of the fancy-schmancy variety!)
Guy Breton 2004 Morgon, Beaujolais, France
EIEIO 2002 Cuvee I Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, Oregon

A stellar deal at $10 for the First 5, and $6 for the Extra 2 Premium Pours
Hope to see you here!
Seize the Wine!

Next Friday tasting is Aussie Reds!

M