Written by: Kevin Schulke, Senior Category Manager Beer & Wine
Whether you’re hosting Thanksgiving for the first time or the twentieth time, or if you are a guest looking for a great wine to bring to your holiday festivities, we have three wines that will please someone in every crowd and pair wonderfully with traditional Thanksgiving foods. It is no wonder they are among the most popular wines during this holiday.
Red wine enthusiasts will love Mark West Pinot Noir. With aromas of spice, dark fruit and smoky oak it pairs wonderfully with the abundance of herb-infused dishes Thanksgiving offers. The black cherry, cola, strawberry and plum flavors will go great with dark turkey meat, ham and stuffing. Mark West is the #1 Pinot Noir in America and a great value for the money!
If you want to impress your guests with a new-age red wine, Beaujolais Nouveau is for you. Beaujolais Nouveau is a young red wine made from handpicked Gamay grapes grown in the Beaulolais region of France. While most red wines improve as they age, Beaujolais’ allure is all about freshness. Fermentation is so short that the resulting wine exhibits fruity flavors and light tannins. Under French law, this wine may be released at 12:01 on the third Thursday of November, just weeks after the wine’s grapes have been harvested. Producers race to deliver this wine to retailers throughout France and the world where it is popularly enjoyed with Thanksgiving dinner. Beaujolais Nouveau should be consumed within a year of being made and is best served slightly cooled. We recommend enjoying this wine chilled to bring out the strawberry, raspberry and cherry flavors.
When hosting any event, you should always have a white wine as well as red. Chateau St. Michelle Riesling is a blend of Riesling from throughout Washington’s Columbia Valley. If you’re looking for a refreshing, flavorful, medium-dry Riesling, this is the one for you! The wine offers crisp apple aromas and flavors with subtle mineral notes. This “everyday Riesling” is a pleasure to drink and easy to match with your Thanksgiving dinner. The Riesling’s innate flavors of apple and its clarifying acidity give it a significant pairing edge with the likes of sweet potatoes, turkey meat and spice-laden or herb-filled stuffing. Rieslings are typically sweeter than most white wines so it may be a good idea to have a drier white wine as well, such as a Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving,
Cheers!
Kevin
*Please note Price Chopper only carries wine in Vermont, New Hampshire and the following Massachusetts stores: Pittsfield, Shrewsbury, Lenox.