Our Favorites for Thanksgiving!
Thanksgiving is one of our favorite times of the year. It is that time of the year when you get together with all your family and friends, eat some home cooked meals and drink some crazy good wines!
I am not sure about you, but pairing wine with foods can be difficult. It involves a bit of trial and error, as well as depending on one’s personal preferences. In order to help you out with that, here are a few of our favorite wines that cover everyone’s personal preferences and pairs with your Thanksgiving dishes.
If you want to skip ahead for:
First up one our Thanksgiving favorites is the 2015 Campesino Grenache Isa Rosé. This rosé is from Campesino Cellars which is owned and made by Marcario Montoya with fruit from the Sonoma Coast. This wine has some beautiful and balanced acidity with layers of red berries on both the nose and the palate. Start by serving this slightly chilled to stay refreshed, but this rosé can handle itself and pair beautifully with turkey as well as with any cheesey sides.
2015 Campesino Grenache Isa Rosé - 91 MD Points
Best way to purchase this wine is to email Marcario and secure an order!
Next up is probably our favorite domestic Rosé bubbly, the 2012 Schramsberg Vineyards 50th Anniversary Brut Rosé. This dry sparkling rosé is just the right amount of acidity and dryness to cut through some of the richer sauces and courses with a little bit of fruitiness too to add some more complexity (in a good way) to the meal.
2012 Schramsberg Vineyards 50th Anniversary Brut Rosé - 91+ MD Points
Perfect way to start off Thanksgiving is with a toast and some delicious sparkling wine. This is the 2011 Roots Pinot Noir Art Brut Blanc De Noir Sienna Ridge Vineyard, which is a sparkling wine produced by winemaker and owner of Roots Wine Co., Chris Berg, located in Oregon. This sparkling wine has just the right amount of complexity that keeps you going in for another sip to see how it changed with a little air and will be a lot of fun to see how it enhances your tasting experience with all the starters.
2011 Roots Pinot Noir Art Brut Blanc De Noir Sienna Ridge Vineyard - 93 MD Points
Best way to purchase this wine is to email Chris and secure an order!
Our first white wine is from a brand new winery based out of Napa Valley. This 2016 March Wines Riesling Redwing Vineyard is their inaugural offering (very first bottling), which comes from vines planted back in the early 1970s. Charley and Maura, both millennials themselves own and make the wines while still working their full time jobs. Charley at O'Brien Estate and Maura at Miner Family Wines. They have come up with this beautiful bottling that has killer acidity and bone dry minerality, making it another perfect pairing for all the Thanksgiving classics .
2016 March Wines Riesling Redwing Vineyard - 92 MD Points
Best way to purchase this wine is to contact Maura and Charley to see if they have anymore!
Staying on that domestic trend, here is a bottling from Washington State. This white is for those with the preference of a little less acidity and a bit of oakiness on their Chardonnays. This is the 2015 Lauren Ashton Cellars Chardonnay which has just the right amount of creaminess on the palate while still pulling through with enough acidity to hold its own against those Thanksgiving courses.
2015 Lauren Ashton Cellars Chardonnay - 92 MD Points
Visit their website and place an order or see if there is any for sale near you.
First up for the red wines is the 2015 Hazelfern Pinot Noir Yamhill Springs Vineyard. This is one of the more luscious Pinot Noirs we have tried this year. Tons of flavors and aromas, ranging from flowers and red berries with mouthwatering acidity. Perfect bridge between whites and reds on this list.
2015 Hazelfern Pinot Noir Yamhill Springs Vineyard - 93 MD Points
Visit their website and place an order or check with Laura and Bryan to see if there is anymore.
Next up is one of our favorite Cabernet Francs from the USA, the 2013 ARNYCA Cellars Cabernet Franc. This wine starts out elegantly on the nose with lighter berries and some floral notes but is definitely packing on the palate. Delicious spices and fruit on the palate brings it all together. Big wine that compliments all Thanksgiving dishes without overpowering them.
2013 ARNYCA Cellars Cabernet Franc - 93 MD Points
Visit their website and reach out to Steve to place an order.
Lastly is the 2008 Pahlmeyer Merlot. One of the first wines that turned India's interest into the world of fine wine. 100% you need to give this baby a long decant, no decanter? Pop it open the night before. Rich and dense Merlot, one of the wines that definitely proves Merlot haters wrong. This will compliment all the big item dishes served on Thanksgiving, you will not regret grabbing this!
2008 Pahlmeyer Merlot - 91 MD Points
These wines are for those who just want a killer bottle without caring if it pairs with the food or not (not saying that it does not!). Or even for those who see Thanksgiving as a time to open amazing wines with people they love. First up is the 2013 Myriad Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Georges III Vineyard, which is made by one of our favorite winemakers in the game, Mike Smith. Tons of fruit on the nose and palate, both blue and black. Lovely and thick on the palate, almost velvety with a finish that does not want to end.
2013 Myriad Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Georges III Vineyard - 94 MD Points
Another killer wine is the 2013 Caymus Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Special Selection. Big and bold would be one way to describe it. Another would be describing how big of a structured fruit bomb this baby is. Always a crowd pleaser, hand down.
2013 Caymus Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Special Selection - 94 MD Points