As I promised in the previous post, I’m offering some suggestions for Thanksgiving wine and a great recipe, with a secret ingredient, to pair with our new 2008 Windsor Vineyards Late Harvest Riesling. If you didn’t figure it out from the title of this blog, I’m a big fan of Pinot for the Thanksgiving meal. Why? Mainly because the Pinot grape is so versatile that it pairs well with all the mix of tastes that are brought together at one time for this holiday meal. But also because Pinot Noir is a lighter red and on a day when you’re likely to stuff yourself with lots of great food, you really don’t want a big heavy wine. If you’re a Pinot fan also, here are a few suggestions for your Thanksgiving feast:
Aperitif
Holidays are just more festive when you pop open a bottle of bubbly and nothing goes better with Aunt Janine’s rumaki appetizers and your own spinach dip than a crisp and dry Windsor Blanc de Noirs. This sparkling wine is made using Méthode Champenoise and has spent 30 months en tirage (on the lees) imbuing it with complex aromas of fresh apples and baked bread with a rich yet refreshing palate of strawberry, figs and asian pear. Perfect not only with appetizers, but throughout dinner as well. Order extras with your own label and send some home with your guests.
Dinner
If Thanksgiving this year is at the in-laws, and you want to make a lasting impression, bring along a bottle of our Sonoma Coast Vineyards Pinot Noir. But not just any of the three vineyard designated Pinots, bring the 2006 SCV Balistreri Vineyards, made in the Burgundy Grand Cru style. Everyone will love the complex flavors and how it enhances the food, while those in-the-know will also be impressed with the 92-point rating from Wine Spectator. But the real points will be those you score with the in-laws. On the other hand, if you don’t really like your in-laws, you can bring a bottle of…nevermind. We won’t go there.
The SCV Pinot Noir, Balistreri Vineyards has been so popular that it is sold out. But we have the 2006 SCV Pinot Noir, Freestone Hills which is another example of pinot perfection. With rich flavors of black raspberry and Bing cherry combined with warm spice and aromas of soft vanilla, it is wonderfully balanced with just right amount of acidity to make this a perfect Thanksgiving food pairing wine.
If you want to serve a great Pinot Noir without breaking your holiday budget, our Windsor Vineyards Pinots from the Sonoma Coast or Central Coast is the answer. Try our award-winning Pinot from the extreme Sonoma Coast with its big earthy aromas, cherry flavors and a silky smooth finish. Or serve the equally impressive Central Coast Pinot with its spicy cherry fruit flavors and lively finish. Either way, you’ll have a wine that’s powerful enough to stand up to all the heavier savory flavors in a holiday meal—be it turkey, ham, or even roast beef—without overpowering the more subtle food flavors of your favorite side dishes. Add your own label to make it even more impressive. It doesn’t cost any extra, but you don’t have to tell the relatives that.
If a red wine sounds just too heavy for you, but you want to something more than the typical Chardonnay, give the Girard Pinot Blanc a try. It has wonderfully lush aromas of pears, honey and a touch of woodsmoke with a creamy smooth palate and a bit of spice that pairs well with turkey and stuffing, but can also cut through the richness of the gravy and green bean casserole.
I promised a great recipe to pair with our new Late Harvest Riesling and this comes from Tom and Brenda Simoneau. Tom, aka “The Wine Guy,” is our wine consultant and has his own radio show here in Sonoma.
Peach Galette with a Twist
by Tom and Brenda Simoneau
A galette is a free-form tart. This galette has a secret ingredient that adds just the right amount of spice to make it interesting.
Ingredients:
- 3 cups peeled, pitted, and sliced peaches – about 4 (We prefer white peaches.)
- 2 tbsp of flour
- 1 tsp of cinnamon
- ¼ tsp of cayenne (the secret ingredient that gives it a kick)
- 1/3 cup of granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp of cold unsalted butter cut into small pieces – keep chilled until ready to use
Oven: 400 degrees F with rack in the center.
Crust: 1 dough recipe for a single-crust pie (Make it or buy it from your favorite bakery or grocery store.)
- Roll out the dough to form a 10” – 11” round. Make sure it is thin. Aim for 1/16” and not more than 1/8”.
- Place on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Filling:
- Toss all the dry ingredients into a bowl and mix well.
- Gently mix the peaches with the dry ingredients.
- Pile the mix in the center of the dough round leaving a 1½” – 2” border.
- Sprinkle butter over the peaches.
- Lightly brush a 1” perimeter of the dough with water.
- Fold the border up onto the peaches creating a pleated crust.
Bake until the edges and the bottom are a golden brown. Start checking after 25 minutes. (Use a spatula to lift an edge to check the bottom.) It may take up to 40 minutes or more.
When ready remove from the oven and place on a wire cooling rack for 10 minutes. Serve warm.
Not a big Pinot fan? That’s okay, because we produce many other wines to suit your tastes that will pair nicely with Thanksgiving foods. Here are a couple of my favorites.
For pairing with turkey, Gewürztraminer is hard to beat. It doesn’t overpower the flavors of the meat but is substantial enough to stand up to the gravy and those heavier side dishes. The Windsor Gewürztraminer has floral and tropical fruit aromas and flavors of peach and spice. Since it’s an off-dry wine with perfectly balanced acidity, you can even continue drinking this wine with dessert.
Rosé is the happy medium when you can’t decide on a red or a white and the Windsor Rosé is a great choice. It’s a dry rosé for red wine drinkers made from Syrah and a touch of Viognier. It has soft red berry aromas with fresh melon and citrus flavors and just the right amount of acidity to stand up to all the flavors going onto your plate. And if you’re somewhere with warmer temperatures in November, you’ll appreciate this refreshing alternative.
Dessert
If your traditional dessert is anything like mine, then pie is the choice. Pies, just like the dinner itself, can have a wide variety of tastes. From rich pies like a pecan or cream pie to fruit pies like pumpkin or apple, the Windsor Late Harvest Riesling Ice Wine will pair with all of them wonderfully. Sweet baked apple flavors and nutmeg aromas are offset with just enough acidity to make you think, “Hey, liquid apple pie.”
Do your desserts lean more toward the chocolate side? If so, you can’t beat the rich Windsor Rare California Port to accompany your dessert. It’s like a glass of plum pudding with all the luscious spices, ginger and almonds. Paired with chocolate or fresh fruit and hearty cheeses, it makes a great finish to your holiday gathering.
So there you have it. I’ve got it covered for all the wine you’ll need for Thanksgiving dinner. All you have to worry about now is setting the table and brining that turkey. Give the peach galette recipe a try and let me know how it turns out.
Cheers,
Eric
If you’re planning on giving a gift of wine for the holidays, please keep in mind that in order for you to receive your wine in time using standard ground shipping, you will need to place your order no later than the date on the following chart.
[with a name like Baccus, you gotta believe he knows what he's talking about.]
Just days before harvest, I visited one of our Extreme Sonoma Coast vineyards with Sonoma Coast Vineyards’ winemaker, Anthony Austin, to walk with him as he showed us what he looks for in the fruit. In this first of several videos in the vineyard, Anthony talks about the color of the fruit, how the leaves on the vines are pruned to allow air circulation around the grape clusters and other factors that affect the quality of the grapes.
In our last episode, winemaker, Anthony Austin, part of the Vintage Wine Estates winemaking team, spoke about how and why he chooses to barrel ferment the 
