Here we are at that unique American holiday, Thanksgiving.
Well, actually, that is not quite true, as several countries celebrate a reason to give thanks for something, such as in Grenada, where Thanksgiving Day is celebrated in late October, and their reason is to give thanks for the 1983 U.S. invasion following the execution of Prime Minister Maurice Bishop. Not quite the Pilgrim’s Pride kind of beginning we experienced.
Incidentally, did you know that the first Thanksgiving in America was actually staged in 1565 in St. Augustine to commemorate a good harvest? I guess the Pilgrims had a better press agent as they’ve received all the notoriety since 1621.
Our Thanksgiving celebrations, held on the fourth Thursday of every November, have additionally become the traditional start of the December holiday season and a day when families gather to see just how much food can truly be placed on the dining room table before it tilts or collapses and how many squabbling adults and yelling children can be stuffed into the same area.
OK, that is a bit cynical, and I don’t mean it to be. It’s a fun time for family and friends complete with the now-traditional Macy’s New York parade in the damp and chilling cold followed by an afternoon of football in which the men-folk gather around the electronic hearth, the television, to watch games between teams they really don’t care about.
Whoops, cynicism again. Let’s concentrate on the feast.
Set on the table are all manner of foods: soups, salads, seafood (at least around here), relishes, nuts, breads, sweet fruits, potatoes (yams included), vegetables doused with sauces, fowl stuffed with dressing and gravy.
And you, the proper guest or maybe even the host or hostess, must now come forward with the amazing wine that accompanies it all and pleases everyone.
Don’t even try. The task is laden with landmines, and the downsides are eternal damnation from some family member for your inadequate and awkward selections. And who wants to live with that?
Here’s the deal: Think big picture, and buy accordingly.
First of all, you have to consider who is going to be enjoying your beverage selection. You know them, the friends and family members. You know if they like sweet or dry, red or white, still or bubbly. You know, and don’t try to make them experience something they simply don’t and won’t like. Find something that they can enjoy.
Secondly, think about your food-laden table. No single beverage is going to work. No way. Don’t even think about having one bottle of something that can cross over to all the flavors on the table. You won’t find it. And if you think you will, you are even more doomed to failure than you are willing to admit.
A side note here: When it comes to beer and spirits, don’t even dare think you can satisfy your guests by switching them off of the brand they love over to something else. These drinkers are label-driven. Even buying “close” to the brand they usually patronize will not do any better than buying something completely and entirely different.
If you want these people to feel welcome, buy them what they like. Period.
Now head off to your favorite adult beverage store, and look around. Don’t just purchase several bottles of one kind of wine. Again, think in terms of all those people and all that food. Find some sweeter-style whites. Find some rosés. Find a sparkling wine or two. Find a couple of nice reds. Find the wines, or lose your mind.
No way out of this. At various points in the feast, the wine that paired beautifully with the last course will not work as you move along. What was good with the soup and the salad is probably not going to add to the pleasure of the turkey and all the trimmings.
Of course, there will be those among your guest list who find a wine they like, and they will stick with it until the very finish of the meal. Fine. Let them. They are your guests, or they are your relatives –– or both –– and they are enjoying themselves. What else could you ask for?
Thanksgiving Wines
Before the Feast:
Domaine Carneros Sparkling Wine – Sets the correct tone that this is a special day
Mumm Napa Brut – Sets the same tone
Early in the Meal:
Trimbach Riesling – Nice, sweeter, an approachable wine that pairs well with seafood or salad. Not an American wine but a good value.
Frei Brothers Reserve Sauvignon Blanc – Works well to prepare the palate for fun things to come.
Moving on to heavier soups or salads:
Simi Chardonnay – Excellent weight, bit of oak, not overwhelming but not delicate.
King Estate Pinot Gris – Oregon’s contribution, which is not too light for this part of the meal but not heavy either.
Main Event:
You have a lot of ways to go here, so purchase a number of different bottles.
Georges duBoeuf Beaujolais Nouveau – Every year, I find the pairing with turkey to be fun.
Chalone Estate Pinot Noir – From the Gavilan range in the Monterey area, just across the Salinas Valley from Santa Lucia Highlands, luscious wine.
E.Guigal Cotes du Rhone – Another non-American selection but a dandy match with the gaminess in the bird.
C Squared Sonoma County Merlot – A relatively new wine to the market but a pleasant, refreshing bottle of fine merlot.
Stonestreet Alexander Valley Cabernet – Stepping up in boldness here, but there are no doubt people around the table that like huge wines with big black fruit flavors.
Dessert and Cheeses:
Gloria Ferrer Sparkling Rosé – Excellent palate refresher after many courses of weighty cuisine. Not sweet but works with sweeter courses.
Pontchartrain Vineyards Port of New Orleans – A quite decent lighter-style port from our own neighborhood.
There you are: a wide range of wines to accompany a wide range of flavors.
Let us all give thanks and enjoy the family. By the way, did Dallas just make a first down?
Happy Thanksgiving!
