As the holiday season is rapidly approaching, one of my favorite things about the holidays is the food! And what goes with food? If you guessed wine, you're right! Wine and food pairings can be a lot of fun, but also intimidating at the same time. So how do you pick a wine or a variety of wines to pair with turkey and all the fixin's? I’m glad you asked! This is one blog you don’t want to miss, because it has all kinds of options for you to choose from for your Thanksgiving meal(s)! Yes, I said meals because if any of you have large families like I do, there are going to be multiple Thanksgiving meals over the next couple weeks.
Where to begin? Well, for starters, deciding whether you want a white, red or both. That’s right, you can pair red wine with white meat, popular to contrary belief that white wine only goes with white meat and red wine only goes with red meat. Let’s start with white wine options, then we’ll go from there.
Where to begin? Well, for starters, deciding whether you want a white, red or both. That’s right, you can pair red wine with white meat, popular to contrary belief that white wine only goes with white meat and red wine only goes with red meat. Let’s start with white wine options, then we’ll go from there.
For whites I’m going to give you three different options to choose from for different reasons. The first recommendation you have probably heard before, especially if you have visited Bluestone, or any other Virginia winery around Thanksgiving: Viognier. Viognier is a versatile wine that is very food friendly. Currently in the tasting room we are serving our 2016 Viognier, which was aged in acacia barrels. Since acacia gives a wine texture rather than flavor, it adds more body to the wine, which makes it a great pairing with turkey.
Not a fan of barrel aged wines? No problem, I’ve got a suggestion for that too: Traminette. We are currently serving the 2018 vintage in the tasting room. Similar to its parent grape, Gewurztraminer, Traminette has similar aromatics and spiciness that would also do nicely with turkey. This vintage is also completely dry which makes it another good option for those who prefer dry whites.
If dry wines aren’t your thing, don’t worry, I’ve got my sweet wine folks covered too! A little bit of sweetness goes a long way and with that in mind, I recommend our semi-sweet white; Beau. The Vidal Blanc/Traminette blend is the closest wine at Bluestone that resembles a Reisling and would balance side dishes like sweet potatoes and herb stuffing and the main course, turkey.
Not a fan of barrel aged wines? No problem, I’ve got a suggestion for that too: Traminette. We are currently serving the 2018 vintage in the tasting room. Similar to its parent grape, Gewurztraminer, Traminette has similar aromatics and spiciness that would also do nicely with turkey. This vintage is also completely dry which makes it another good option for those who prefer dry whites.
If dry wines aren’t your thing, don’t worry, I’ve got my sweet wine folks covered too! A little bit of sweetness goes a long way and with that in mind, I recommend our semi-sweet white; Beau. The Vidal Blanc/Traminette blend is the closest wine at Bluestone that resembles a Reisling and would balance side dishes like sweet potatoes and herb stuffing and the main course, turkey.
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Now, if you’re feeling adventurous and want to try a red, or you just prefer reds in general, I’ve got red recommendations too. When pairing red wine with lighter meat such as turkey, you typically want wines that are light bodied and lower in tannins. There are two wines that come to mind: Cabernet Franc and Quartz Hill Red (60% Chambourcin/40% Cabernet Franc). Both wines are more fruit driven, but the Cabernet Franc has a tad more structure and was aged longer in oak barrels. Merlot might be another option if you are looking for something to pair with hearty, southern side dishes like thick and creamy mac and cheese. It is more of a medium-bodied wine but is also lower in tannins. It starts off with flavors of black cherry on the nose and finishes dry. You can even find recipes online of Merlot cranberry sauce.
Now that we’ve covered some white wine options and some red, did you think I was going to forget about dessert? Can’t have a big feast without finishing with dessert! For me, I typically think of apple and pumpkin pie. I couldn’t decide between pairing with apple or pumpkin so I’m going to offer options for both! Because if we’re being perfectly honest, if both are available, I have a hard time choosing, so I usually end of getting a slice of each. Abundance mentality, amirite? Choosing dessert wine pairings is sometimes tricky because you don’t want to do sweet wine with sweet dessert because then you run into the possibility of everything just tasting sour. So with this section, I had a little help from our winemaker.
If you are “team white wine pairing”, our 2017 Estate Chardonnay (aged in French oak) would actually be a good option for both apple and pumpkin. Now, if you are “team red wine” from beginning to end (or you want to switch from white to red), our estate grown Chambourcin, Steep Face, would be an option for pumpkin. This wine doesn’t have nearly the tannins that the Bordeaux varietals do so it wouldn’t overpower the pumpkin spice.
Now that we’ve covered some white wine options and some red, did you think I was going to forget about dessert? Can’t have a big feast without finishing with dessert! For me, I typically think of apple and pumpkin pie. I couldn’t decide between pairing with apple or pumpkin so I’m going to offer options for both! Because if we’re being perfectly honest, if both are available, I have a hard time choosing, so I usually end of getting a slice of each. Abundance mentality, amirite? Choosing dessert wine pairings is sometimes tricky because you don’t want to do sweet wine with sweet dessert because then you run into the possibility of everything just tasting sour. So with this section, I had a little help from our winemaker.
If you are “team white wine pairing”, our 2017 Estate Chardonnay (aged in French oak) would actually be a good option for both apple and pumpkin. Now, if you are “team red wine” from beginning to end (or you want to switch from white to red), our estate grown Chambourcin, Steep Face, would be an option for pumpkin. This wine doesn’t have nearly the tannins that the Bordeaux varietals do so it wouldn’t overpower the pumpkin spice.
Thanks for tuning in to this week's edition of Out of the Barrel. I hope this information will be a useful guide to help you decide on wines for the upcoming Thanksgiving festivities! May you all have a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving with family and friends! Cheers!
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