Wine Alexandria Virginia

By  The Vino Vixen™

Thanksgiving Vino
I love Thanksgiving.  I love it because I can’t cook and nobody expects me to (or could tolerate my feeble attempt at it).  So, I am always assigned the duties of setting the table and pairing the wines.  It’s a great gig!  My family is intimidated at the thought of artfully pairing the perfect wine with the grand feast.  And I innocently allow this intimidation to continue each year, to save me (and them) from my cooking.  The truth is, Thanksgiving dinners are fairly easy to pair wines…and here are more tips this holiday.

Thanksgiving Dinner is usually a heavy meal –
Balance that heft with wines that are fresh and lower in alcohol.  Skip the big oaky and tannic wines or Uncle Ralph and Aunt Mildred will be sprawled on the floor by dessert.   Look for wines with higher minerality, freshness, and good fruit.
 
Before Dinner
A sparkling wine is an optimal choice to sip while waiting for the bird to cook and noshing on cheese and crackers.  Its acidity whets the appetite, and bubbles put anyone in a more festive and hospitable mood – it’s nearly impossible to carry on a family feud while sipping a flute of delicate bubbly.

2006 St Hilaire Brut - $18
Although I am a slave for Champagne, prices are just out of sight now, and we happen to be in the throes of a recession.  Skip the big ticket bubbly and try this lovely vintage Limoux for a fraction of the price.

More than a century before champagne, the Benedictine Monks of the Abbey of Saint-Hilaire in the Southern foothills of Limoux had created France's Very First Sparkling Wine. Today, over four and a half centuries later, Saint-Hilaire Blanquette de Limoux is made in the very same foothills of Southern France.  Great way to simply kick off the Holiday.

For the Turkey
You will likely have red and white wine drinkers at your table.  Make them both happy by selecting a wine for each.
 
White
Chateau Ducasse Blanc - $22
Made mostly of semillon grapes from vines more than 50 years old, as well as some sauvignon and a bit of a lesser-known varietal called muscadelle. Elegant and soft with mineral notes on the nose and the palate.  Has a fresh pear and peach character.
 
2004 Adam - $21
(Cave Jean Baptiste)
Gewurtztraminer Reserve
Alsace, France
Chapin Cellars

This wine is one of the few Alsacian wines outfitted with the Stelvin enclosure, otherwise known as a screwcap.  I love the Stelvins – it ensures the true integrity of the wine and it’s a great way to store any spare leftover (although you won’t likely have anything left in this bottle).  Very floral and honeysuckle nose, rich and with pear to the taste.  Your table will drink this one will in no time – I promise, so order several. 
 
Red
We are looking for acidic wines with low tannins to balance the richness of the turkey, gravy, potatoes, stuffing, and all of the other rich foods on the table.
 
Chanrion Cote de Brouilly-$18
Nicole Chanrion attended Burgundy's School of Viticulture in the 1970s.
Her lovely Brouilly offers more complexity than many Beaujolais and yet maintains a light, drinkable attitude all the same. The nose brings primarily red fruit—cherry, strawberry and raspberry The palate repeats all these notes, but spice: black pepper,  nutmeg and clove. Finishes with a smoky note.  Gamay into the wine such as Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Aligoté and Melon, up to 15%.  Cote de Brouilly are ageable and more elegant than simple Beaujolais or Brouilly. 
   
For the Grande Finale
No dinner is complete without desert.  Unfortunately, this course often goes neglected with wine pairing.  The traditional Thanksgiving desert is a pumpkin pie, so we need to complement the pumpkin’s spiciness with wine rich in intensity.  The wine I am recommending is extremely rich and will suffer with a very sweet desert.  Aside from pumpkin pie, other good deserts for this wine include a simple bowl of good vanilla ice cream or a pecan pie.  However, this wine is so rich, it can serve as your desert alone. 
 
2003 Erich Bender - $38 (375 ml)
Huxelrebe TBA
Pfalz, Germany
Chapin Cellars

The best know late-harvest German desert wines are produced with the Reisling grape.  Since they are produced in very small quantities – they are ridiculously expensive.  This one is made with the Huxelrebe grape.  This grape is more plentiful and easier to harvest than a late harvest Reisling, but produces a wine rivaling in intensity and flavors at a fraction of the price. Although very low in alcohol (just 10%) serve just a half glass of this wine – a full glass will be too much.
 
Want to sip before buying?  All of these wines are available at the wine bar at Bar Baudelaire (above Le Gaulois) on King Street.  Stop by and tell JP The Vixen sent you.

Cheers,
 

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