We had a delightful day with all the basic fixin's-- glorious golden turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffed zucchini and onions from my family cookbook, bread sausage stuffing, and pumpkin pie with whipped cream--preceded by a prayer of thanks for all the blessings in our lives and accompanied by a special Carmel Valley wine. What could be better.
Our wine? A Chesebro Roussanne. It was a rather
spontaneous choice. I walked into the
Chesebro Wine Tasting Room to pick up my wine club wine and asked what they
would serve with a Thanksgiving turkey.
Roussanne was the first answer; since I knew I liked the wine, that's
what I bought. A nice medium bodied
Rhone blend--Roussanne (85%), Vermentino (10%), and
Sauvignon Blanc Musque (5%), all from grapes grown in Carmel Valley mountains--
it was perfect...as would have been many of Chesebro's other unique, very affordable
wines.
I also wandered over to the Bernardus tasting room and bought another one
of my current favorite wines, a 2011 Saignée de Pinot Noir, a true rosé from
grapes from the Santa Lucia Highlands, which we thought would be a wonderful
light crisp wine with the turkey. We
were so prudent, however, that we never even got to it. Thank goodness there are more holidays ahead.
After our event, I got curious as to
what Carmel Valley wineries might suggest for the traditional Thanksgiving
turkey extravaganza. Here are some
responses:
Bernardus: 2009 or 2010 Pinot Noirs (Santa Lucia Highlands); Chateau
Julien: 2011 Pinot Grigio Reserve or the 2013 Gewurtztraminer...to be
bottled on the 19th, and released soon after, just in time for Thanksgiving; Dawn's
Dream: 2011 Arroyo Seco Chardonnay, 2011 Alyssa Pinot Noir; Georis:
2012 Sauvignon Blanc, 2012 Les Abeilles Rose, 2011 Cabernet Franc; Parsonage:
2012 Sauvignon Blanc, 2011 Red Wine (their biggest seller), 2009 Bordelaise; Talbott:
2012 Kali Hart Pinot Noir ("for easy pre-dinner drinking"), 2012
Sleepy Hollow Pinot Noir. And, as you
know, there are many more Carmel Valley wineries to check with for their suggestions.
And this
is just a beginning...
No matter what wine you have for
Thanksgiving, may the holiday bring you tasty fare, good companionship and many
blessings.
