21 Nov With a long day of feasting coming up, you’re gonna need some wine. Here are 6 types for Turkey Day

There’s nothing quite like it.

It’s the only day of the year when:

you’re forced to make small talk with relatives you haven’t seen since last year,

tryptophan becomes a legitimate concern,

you swear in the morning that you won’t succumb to overindulgence,

then swear (at yourself) in the evening thinking,  “What have I just done to myself?”

Thanksgiving.

Bring it on.

But not without wine.

Last week on KATU’s Afternoon Live program, we talked about a Thanksgiving wine plan-of-attack.  If you saw it, thanks for watching.  If not, here’s a review.

We broke down the day of food followed by food followed by more food into three phases:  before the meal, during the meal and after the meal.  Then we offered up two wine types…varietals…that we recommend for each phase.

BEFORE THE MEAL

Rosé and/or Champagne/sparkling wine

During the appetizer phase of the big day, the goal is to warm up the palate in preparation for the feasting to come.  A chilled rosé serves as an excellent apertif.  It’s difficult to find a food item rosé doesn’t go well with.  Same can be said for bubbly.   Nothing ratchets up the “festive” meter quite like Champagne aka sparkling wine (which is what we are supposed to call it, by mandate, if  it is a bubbly that is not produced in the Champagne region of France).

DURING THE MEAL

Oregon Pinot Noir and/or off-dry Riesling

Big hearty reds with the big meal?  No.  A cabernet or syrah could overwhelm the star attraction, the turkey.

Go with a lighter red such as Oregon Pinot Noir.  The earthy flavors and medium body will pair well with turkey, stuffing and everything else on the table.  If you want to add a white (and why wouldn’t you?), try an off-dry Riesling.  Make sure it’s off-dry, meaning it’s not on the high end of the sweet scale.  An off-dry Riesling will compliment all of the above, turkey, stuffing, etc., but it has just enough sweetness to work well with any sugary dishes, i.e., sweet potatoes, yams & cranberry sauce.

AFTER THE MEAL

Port and/or Vin Santo

Speaking of sweet,  here comes the serious sugar assault.  Dessert!

Port and anything chocolate works.  So does Port and a post-meal cigar.  You and the subsequent cigar smell will be extricated from the house.  You’ll be by yourself.  Outside.  In the rain.  But by this point in the Thanksgiving festivities, that might not be such a bad thing.

Vin Santo is a terrific dessert wine from Italy.  Sweet and intense, Vin Santo has honey & almond flavors that will go amazingly well with pumpkin pie, apple pie, any pie.

Availability of Vin Santo is a little spotty.  You should be able to find it at all Zupan’s, at Vinopolis and at Stadium Fred Meyer.  Every other wine type we recommend will be easy to find at most stores all over town.  But if you struggle on your search, send me an email.  I’m around, just brining turkeys and figuring out our own holiday wine lineup.

Happy shopping and Happy Thanksgiving!