beaujolais nouveau

Wines To Pair With Thanksgiving Dinner

Filed under: Wine

Pairing wines with a traditional Thanksgiving dinner is a controversial affair. Seriously.

That is because there is a wide range of opinions about what pairs best with turkey, a bird that supplies two distinct meat experiences--white breast meat, and dark meat with fattier taste and texture. And then there are the side-dishes--potatoes, turnips, cranberries, stuffing, pearl onions, sweet potatoes, etc. It's a complicated melange of flavors, textures, starches, proteins and vegetables.

Scout the Internet for suggestions, and you will literally find everything from Cabernet Sauvignon to white sparkling wines. There is more agreement in Congress than on what wine, or wines, to serve on Turkey Day.

Individual experts, though, don't have such a wide band of recommendations. Consider what wine writer Thomas Pellechia says about the varietals to consider for turkey and the sides: "Zinfandel is the best red to go with turkey, because its bramble-berry characters stand well against turkey. I don't recommend Pinto Noir, as many do, because the nature of that variety, without a dark blended grape, is delicate and gets run over by turkey."

Among the whites, Pellechia recommends Riesling and Gewurztraminer--Gewurztraminer because its spiciness offsets the turkey's boldness, and Riesling because its acidity and fruit are a terrific foil to turkey's intensity.

Pellechia writes a wine blog, Vinofictions, and wrote " The Complete Idiot's Guide To Starting and Running a Winery, and "Wine, The 8,000 Year-Old Story of the Wine Trade. "I don't like Chardonnay for a traditional turkey dinner because it's generally either too flabby or too oaky...Pinot Grigio is usually too light, but its French counterpart from Alsace, Pinot Gris, is often as bold as Gewurztraminer and will work," says Pellechia.

Beaujolais Nouveau is also a good choice for a red wine, and a bargain. A light, fruity red wine, from the Gamay grape, that goes quite well with turkey and all of the fixings, this wine is released from France on the third Thursday of November, just in time to highlight your Thanksgiving feast!

Knowing the differences of opinion, it is a good idea to perhaps stock a few different wines to allow guests to choose, rather than picking one wine that you expect everyone to be happy with. Of course, if your Thanksgiving is going to be an intimate affair of three to five people, then maybe one or two wines are in order. A table of more than ten, and I'd be tempted to have at least three from which to choose, mixing reds and whites.

Tags: Beaujolais Nouveau, Elyse winery, food-pedia, gewurztraminer, Herman J. Wiemer, Heron Hill Winery, Hogue Cellars, main-pedia, riesling, Thanksgiving wine, wine with turkey, wine-pedia

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Beaujolais Nouveau 2010 Ripe For Picking

by David Kiley (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

Like millionaires are known to shop at Target and Costco, so too do the wealthy buy Beaujolais Nouveau when it arrives every November.

The bottles hitting retailers this month usually range from just $7.50 to $10.00, and are most welcome at Thanksgiving tables this week along with the rest of the Fall harvest.

Beaujolais Nouveau, made of the Gamay grape, has a thin skin and is low in tannins. The Nouveau has been fermented for just a few weeks. Beaujolais tends to be a very light red wine, with relatively high amounts of acidity and low alcohol levels.

Many serious wine drinkers do not like, nor do they drink Beaujolais Nouveau, calling it a marketing gimmick to sell bulk wine. Others, though, find it easy, light, agreeable and just the ticket for Thanksgiving tables that are often full of guests who just want a nice easy wine to drink with turkey.

In keeping with tradition, the first BNs were uncorked November 19, the third Thursday of November.

Dominique Capart, the head of Inter Beaujolais, an association promoting the wine, said that this year's wine is a real treat and that the red fruits, the black currant, and the raspberries can even be smelled, it is so crisp and smooth in the mouth.

I sampled two so far: George Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau 2010 and Rochette Beaujolais Nouveau 2010, and both were just as advertised: easy, warm, agreeable, with lots of raspberry, blackberry and currant.

Tags: Beaujolais Nouveau, George Duboeuf, red wine, Rochette Beaujolais, wine

Beaujolais Nouveau Goes Plastic For The Environment

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

Beaujolais Nouveau in plastic bottles? Boisset Family Estates has announced in a press release that next season's Beaujolais Nouveau wines from the wineries of Mommessin and Bouchard Aîné & Fils shipped to the U.S. will be packaged in 750ml PET bottles. They will also be debuting Fog Mountain, the first California wine in 750ml PET bottles , Boisset Family Estates is the first winery ever to announce that all Beaujolais Nouveau wines imported to North America will be packaged exclusively in lightweight PET plastic bottles. The company estimates they will save millions of pounds of greenhouse gas emissions from entering the atmosphere. The Beaujolais Nouveau wines in PET bottles weigh 22 lbs per case vs. 38 pounds for the traditional bottle. Boisset expects their Mommessin Beaujolais Nouveau and Bouchard Aîné & Fils Beaujolais Nouveau to retail for $12.99 which is a dollar or two less than they would have charged. The shatterproof bottle will have a screwcap. Beaujolais Nouveau is meant to be drunk immediately so there are no concerns as to how the wine might age in platic. Boisset's other interesting packaging initiatives includes wine in Tetra Pak cartons and Mommessin Beaujolais Grande Reserve in 750 ml aluminum bottles.

[via Wine & Spirits Daily]

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Tags: beaujolais, beaujolais nouveau, BeaujolaisNouveau, boissett, france, wine