Report Card

A simple Google search on the terms Thanksgiving and Wine yields just over 5 million web pages. For wine writers, responding to some imagined American SOS call in choosing a wine for Thanksgiving dinner has become somewhat of a cottage industry. It's the rote column every wine writer has to write, as in this one from the blog Vinography.com: vinography.com/archives/2006/11/thanksgiving_wine_recommendati.html.  The problem, they say, is finding a wine that works with all the disparate elements on the table. Over the years, I've listened to many recommendations, none worse than in the old days when I followed some sage's advice and brought an Alsatian Gewurztraminer to a friend's Thanksgiving dinner. To my embarrassment, we found it to be the one wine that, instead of bringing it all together, actually clashed with every dish.



While every writer is happy to offer their favorites, none ever writes a follow up column to say how they did.   Well, in the picture, I offer a glimpse of what we the seven people drank at my Thanksgiving. You will see four bottles of Champagne, a white Bordeaux (Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon), white Burgundy (Chardonnay), two red Burgundies (Pinot Noir), a Paso Robles Mourvedre, Sonoma Zinfandel, a Belgian beer, and a sweet wine from Ontario. And which was the best? Unsurprisingly, I can barely remember. But I do recall enjoying very much the way the 2003 red Burgundy from Hubert de Montille went with the turkey and stuffing. Pinot from Burgundy is less fruity than its counterpart from California but still has enough richness to hold its own. A very similar wine is available from K&L: klwines.com/product.asp?sku=1026015—and might be a good call for Christmas dinner, especially if it involves some sort of game bird.