Wednesday, November 25th, 2009

To help you get ready for Thanksgiving tomorrow, guest blogger Sarah Sutel of Pour Wines (Amsterdam at 75th) offers advice on pairing the perfect wine with your holiday meal.

At your Thanksgiving table this year, why have wines that are ho-hum when you can have, “Oh, YEAH!”?

While turkey takes center stage during this holiday, letting your wine selections fall by the wayside is a road better not travelled.  The trick to pairing up wines with your Thanksgiving feast starts with your menu, and you want to consider all aspects, including side dishes.   For example, what is the base of your stuffing (e.g. cornbread, rye bread)?  Is there any sausage in said stuffing?   What sorts of veg will be served?  (Brussels sprouts command a wine different than, say, cauliflower would.)  And your sauces - will there be a Bechamel in addition to, or instead of, the conventional brown gravy?  What about fruits - cranberries, raisins, dried figs?  All of these considerations need to be made in additions to your main protein.  While the main protein for most people will be turkey, there are many families who also serve ham and other meats, which may or may not steer you in a different wine direction.  A lot of it goes back to your side dishes.

So what to pair?   Because of the variety of foods and their respective flavors, you want bright, fruit-forward wines that won’t belabor your palate.   Higher acid wines perform better because they get your salivary glands working, thereby cleansing your palate which will allow you to continue to actually taste the veritable rainbow of flavors on your dinner table.  Both whites and reds work well with traditional and non-traditional Thanksgiving meals, and the key is to find a wine that will keep your palate refreshed.  Keep your mind open to trying off-the-beaten-path wines while staying true to what you like, because really, if you’re gonna drink it, you gotta like it.  Click through for some of our recommendations for the main dinner… if you still have questions, we welcome you to stop in or call us at Pour Wines.

Pour Wines

Open until 9:00 pm today

Amsterdam at 75th

Reds

Domaine de Chardignon Cote-de-Brouilly, Beaujolais, France, $18
Schloss Muhlenhof Dornfelder Trocken, Rheinhessen, Germany, $14 (this would be your off-the-beaten-path wine, and it’s delish!)
Steele “Writer’s Block” Zinfandel, Lake County, California, $19
D. Bosler Pinot Noir, Casablanca Valley, Chile, $15

Whites

Otto’s Constant Dream Riesling, Marlborough, New Zealand, $17
Taft Street Gewurztraminer, Mendocino County, California, $20
Te Awa Chardonnay “Left Field”, Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand, $20

Filed under: Food & Drink, Upper West Side, Upper West Side Blog