Thanksgiving 2011 Wine Selection

There are a lot of different wine sites out there giving suggestions on what you should be pouring during your Thanksgiving festivities. Since, however, it’s been fairly well established what varietals go well with the traditional Thanksgiving feast, I thought I would change it up and let you know what I’m pouring at dinner, or rather, what I’m taking up to my parents house to pour for the army-sized feast my mother will be cooking.

2009 Coastal Vines Pinot Noir – Sonoma, CA – $10

I picked up a pair of these at my local Richmond wine shop since it would have been irresponsible of me to not show up with some Pinot Noir. While there are plenty of wine sites that will be recommending $30 and $40 bottles, I don’t see the reason to break the bank when there are perfectly serviceable bottles under $20. I’ve never had this one before, so it will be interesting to try it out on Thursday.

2010 Ponga Pinot Noir – New Zealand – $14

I’ve had other Ponga varietals before (namely Sauvignon Blanc), so I’m holding out high hopes for this being a good value wine that over-performs for the price.

2010 Alamos Torrontes – Argentina – $13 (SRP) *

Much like the Ponga, I’ve had other wines from Alamos, so I’ll be interested to try this one. For those unfamiliar with Torrontes, the best approximation I can give, and the comparison I usually use, is Viognier. Given that I live in Virginia, and that I’m not bringing any Viognier myself (sorry VA Wine Marketing Board), it seems appropriate to bring something similar.

2009 Steininger Gruner Veltliner – Austria – $25

A few months back I received a case of summer white wines to try out, and of those my favorite was a Gruner Veltliner. I found it to be light, minerally, and refreshing. Since Gewurztraminer is a popular choice for Thanksgiving, I wanted to mix it up and try something a bit different though similar. As I’ve only had one Gruner (that I remember), I’ll be interested to see if this one is as enjoyable to me as the other one.

Freixenet Cordon Rosado – Spain – $12 (SRP) *

Rose’ in general has been finding its way more and more into my wine selection, as have sparkling wines. It’s only natural that they should combine. A blend of Trepat and Garnacha grapes, this wine will probably be a good selection before and during the dinner. I may use this bottle as a way to entice my parent’s neighbors that pretty much only drink bubbles to come over for a drink at some point in the evening.

2011 Christmas at Biltmore – California – $12 (SRP) *

This one will most likely get brought out for dessert, as one of the suggested pairings is pumpkin pie. A blend of Gewurztraminer, Muscat Canelli, Chenin Blanc, and Riesling, this wine has 4% residual sugar, so it’s definitely going to need something to either cut or compliment the sweetness.

2008 Foris Gewurztraminer – Oregon – $15

Since I was grabbing some Pinot Noir to bring, I of course had to bring some Gewurztraminer as well. I’m always a bit gun-shy around this particular grape, so I had my guy at my local wine shop show me to his driest Gewurztraminer. Hoping that this will go well with the feast my mom puts out.

Elyssia Pinot Noir Brut – Spain – $18 (SRP) *

A blend of Pinot Noir and Trepat (85%/15%), it will probably be a coin flip to see if this or the other sparkling rose’ makes it to the dinner table and which one gets opened up early for cocktails before dinner. I’m leaning towards dinner with this one though.

2009 Montinore Estate Reserve Pinot Noir – Oregon – $21

My wife and I actually bought half a case of this wine thanks to enjoying a glass of it so much at our local Flemings while there for happy hour. Since it’s rude to not share, I grabbed a bottle of this to throw into the selection that we’re taking up to Norther Virginia with us.

Hopefully you’ll all enjoy your Thanksgiving dinner and I hope you all have a safe Thanksgiving and have safe travels. If you feel like sharing what you’re pouring I’d certainly be interested to hear it.

Wines marked with a (*) were received as samples.