[wine] Wines for T-Day

Three strategies. Cheers, Jim Three wine strategies for Thanksgiving dinner Jon Bonnéunday, November 13, 2011 I've spent a few years underscoring the big untold truth about Thanksgiving and wine: Drink whatever you like. There are so many flavors and textures on the table that tying yourself in knots over one perfect wine will frustrate you, your significant other, your local wine-shop owner and all your Facebook friends. ("OMG! What should I serve?!?") Perhaps the more important issue is how much to spend. And you're the only one who can answer that. If you think your guests are pining for a lineup of Two Buck Chuck (hint: they aren't), then have at it. To me, Thanksgiving wine is about bottles that have something to say. On the nobler end, I want to share new and interesting things with guests. On the baser end, it's a surefire backup plan to make small talk. ("Yes, your cousin should dump him. But about this Chardonnay ...") I have a couple other rules of thumb, too. One: At least one wine should be American on this most American of holidays. Sometimes I'll strive to fit the theme - the crisp Westport Rivers brut from Massachusetts a friend introduced me to this year would be a solid tribute to Plymouth Rock - but anything that celebrates American craft will do. Just underscore craft. Two: Because of the cacophony of flavors at the table, devise a roster of one sparkling wine, one white and one red. The wines should be substantial, but fresh-tasting. This is not a light meal. With those rules in mind, I gave myself a 3-by-3 challenge: Shop for Thanksgiving wine baskets - three bottles each - on three different budgets. On the low end, I set a $40 cap. That might seem high for the low end, but if you have a table of five, that's $8 per person for three glasses of wine. It might exceed the holiday drinking budget at Occupy Oakland, but otherwise that's a relative bargain. In the middle, I set a cap of $75, which pencils out to $15 per person - no more out of line for a special meal than choosing a free-range turkey over a freezer bird. While the midrange can be a minefield of serviceable but meaningless wine, these bottles should make you feel like a billionaire, Travie McCoy-style. Finally I left myself a limitless top end, though I aimed not to top $150. That's a generous price tag, though accessible without having to be in the 1 percent. As you'll see, I couldn't even bring myself to max that out (though if you feel I went low, I left you some alternates). My conclusion? Mastering the Thanksgiving wine conundrum is a cinch on any budget. Just give yourself a good couple hours to shop for something out of the ordinary. Ask a few questions. Let yourself be helped. Budget #1: thrifty and delicious Bubbles: I knew from the outset this would be the hard part of the budget. As even good Prosecco was going to set me back about $17, I decided to game the system with the 2010 Eric Bordelet Poiréuthentique ($14, 4% alcohol, Beaune Imports), a pear cider made from organic heirloom orchards in Normandy by Bordelet, formerly a star sommelier in Paris. The Poiré pleasant bite and touch of sweetness makes it versatile for the whole evening. I found it for $13. Alternate: A solid, cheap cava like Dibon, or the recently recommended Korbel Natural (go to sfg.ly/trOkwT). White: Riesling is a classic Thanksgiving pick, and while it's getting harder to find good, inexpensive ones, the 2010 Pacific Rim Columbia Valley Riesling ($10, 10.5%), from the Randall Grahm-founded project in Washington state is better than ever, thanks to winemaker Nicolas Quillé(This one is slightly sweet with green apple and a river-stone minerality. Get the dry version if you prefer.) Alternate: What you get in white wine from Portugal for $12 or less is hard to beat. Red: To avoid the scourge of slightly fake or flawed cheap reds, I returned to a reliable theme for the fall table - Rhone-style blends - and a reliable source: The 2009 Moulin de Gassac Guilhem Vin de Pays de l'Herault ($10, 13%, Beaune Imports) is table wine made by Mas de Daumas Gassac, one of the top properties in France's Languedoc. A classic mix of Syrah, Grenache, Carignane and Cinsault, its ripe, fruity tones and lavender accent is just right for turkey. It's a serious outperformer. Alternate: Good domestic Rhone-style blends are usually spendier, but the 2010 Hahn GSM Central Coast Red ($12, 14.5%) nails that mix of juicy fruit and a pepper edge. Or grab a bottle - better yet, a 1-liter bottle - of Austrian Zweigelt. Total price: $34 Budget #2: the great middle Sparkling: Don't aim for Champagne at this price, but you should still drink like it's Champagne. And so I tapped the 2008 Raventos i Blanc de Nit Cava Rosado ($20, 12%, Vinos Unico). Raventos continues to make cava that easily rivals Champagne, and the de Nit roséinds extra depth by adding a touch of red Monastrell (Mourvedre) to the typical mix, giving it an earthy depth. Hell, you could drink this all through the meal. Alternate: Scharffenberger's nonvintage brut is once again a stellar tribute to California bounty. White: Without oak, Chardonnay can telegraph all the pretty tree-fruit flavors of fall. Seeing as we'll soon be awash in oysters and fresh Dungeness, I wanted a mineral edge too. (Plus, the prospect of an oaky white to match turkey seems like a turbo booster for your tryptophan-induced haze.) The 2010 vintage once again brought Chablis its stony edge, and I went with the 2010 Patrick Piuze Petit Chablis ($20, 12.5%, Aliane Wines) from an ascendant name in the region. Its exoticism - it smells a bit like a fruit market in Bangkok - rounds out classic gunflint freshness. Alternate: The pear-edged 2009 Chehalem Inox Willamette Valley Chardonnay ($17, 13.8%) or 2010 Four Vines Naked Santa Barbara County Chardonnay ($12, 13.9%) find just the right pitch of ripe fruit. Red: It's a matter of debate whether Zinfandel should see the Thanksgiving table, probably because Zin isn't the wine it once was. The 2009 Broc Cellars Vine Starr California Red ($25, 13.5%) provides that perfect exception. Made of 95 percent Zin and a whack of Syrah, its fresh raspberry and ground pepper makes it one of the most impressive young-drinking California reds I've encountered all year. Alternate: Tap the transparent red-berry freshness of Grenache, like the intense old-vine flavor of the 2008 Bernabeleva Navaherreros Vinos de Madrid ($27, 15%, Rare Wine Co.) or a bottle of heady 2009 cru Beaujolais (go to sfg.ly/u6cGHs), which are still around. Total price: $65 Budget #3: live large Bubbles: Krug Clos d'Ambonnay, right, at a mere $2,500? In fact, I did gravitate to Ambonnay, one of the grand cru villages along the Montagne de Reims, for a bottle of the NV R.H. Coutier Brut Tradition Grand Cru Champagne ($41, 12% alcohol, Beaune Imports). The family has been there since the 17th century, producing its tiny output (50,000 bottles total). The Tradition is surprisingly muscular and chewy, with vibrant cranberry and nectarine flavors from 75 percent Pinot Noir in a powerful style that shines all through a meal. White: The opulence of white Rhones would fit (Chave Hermitage Blanc at $250 a bottle, anyone?) but for a showpiece, let's go with the 2008 Monastere Suore Cisterncensi Coenobium Rusticum ($28, 13%, Rosenthal Wine Merchant), a skin-fermented mix of Trebbiano, Grechetto, Malvasia and Verdicchio grown by nuns in Lazio and made by Umbrian star Giampiero Bea. This higher-end take on the nun wine will warm to all the roasted flavors of the table. Alternate: Invoke the powerful (but not silly) side of California Chardonnay with the 2009 Hanzell Sonoma County Chardonnay ($60, 14.5%) or the 2009 Kongsgaard Napa Valley Chardonnay ($80, 14.1%). Red: For all its popularity at Thanksgiving, Pinot Noir needs to be powerful enough to stand up to the kaleidoscope of flavors. No worry of that with the 2008 Calera Reed Vineyard Mt. Harlan Pinot Noir ($50, 14.9%), full of intense pine-needle and soy accents and a tremendous red-fruit intensity from even lower yields (0.37 tons/acre) than usual. Alternate: Pinots from Littorai, Cobb, Papapietro Perry and a host of others will bring that same power without overwhelming you with fruit. (Let the cranberry sauce do that.) Total price: $119 Jon Bonnés The Chronicle's wine editor. Find him at jbonne(a)sfchronicle.com or @jbonne on Twitter. http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/11/13/FDO91LSLEQ.DTL -- ------------------------------ * Dr. James Ellingson, jellings(a)me.umn.edu * * mobile : 651/645-0753 * * Great Lakes Brewing News, 1569 Laurel Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104 * * james(a)brewingnews.com James.Ellingson(a)StThomas.edu *