When I was growing up, one of our faithful family traditions involved enthusiastic discourse around the holiday dinner table. To the rare outsiders who were infrequently invited to our large family repasts, the decibel level of this “enthusiasm” must have been a bit disconcerting.

No subject was too grand, obscure or off limits. We would debate everything from presidential elections to the color of Aunt Agnes’ moustache, and those who prevailed usually did so through din rather than  eloquence.

So in keeping with family tradition, my brother and I have debated for decades the best wines to pair with Thanksgiving dinner. After exhaustive and sometimes heated discussions, we have come to the conclusion that almost every wine can marry nicely with some part of the Turkey Day meal.   Why? Listen up.

For years, I have written about the culinary versatility of turkey to be successfully paired with white or red, as well as light or full-bodied wines. The reason is this bird is blessed with meat that has different flavors, colors and textures. Add to this the way it is cooked - from traditional oven-baking, to deep frying, to grilling, to smoking (with hardwood such as apple)  -and you have even more wine choices from which to select.    

When you add stuffing to the turkey, you add a whole other flavor dimension which, depending upon the nature of the dressing, opens up even more wine possibilities. One year, for example, I stuffed a charcoal grilled turkey with cornbread, ancho chili peppers and chorizo sausage. What wine, you might ask, did I serve with this non-traditional turkey and stuffing?

Well, I started with Domaine Carneros sparkling wine as an aperitif, proceeded to open a bottle of Pierre Sparr Pinot Gris for those who preferred white wine, and a Ridge   Zinfandel for those who wanted a big red. And guess what, it worked. For dessert, I chose a bottle of Joseph Phelps Late Harvest riesling to accompany the  pumpkin pie, and then plopped on the couch to watch some team beat up on the Detroit Lions.

Here are a few wine-pairing suggestions, based upon cooking methods, for your Thanksgiving Day:

The traditional oven-roasted turkey with a mild dressing is very nicely accompanied by whites such as pinot grigo, sauvignon blanc or chardonnay, or reds such as pinot noir, Chianti Classico, or sangiovese. Older wines such as Bordeaux or California cabernet sauvignon go nicely as well. On the other hand, if you smoke or grill your bird, try full-bodied zinfandel, shiraz, cabernet sauvignon or even Brunello Di Montalcino.   

So what about my approach this year? Well, I plan to oven bake the critter and then stuff it with bread dressing flavored with Italian sausage, chestnuts, onion and celery.  I’ll start with a bottle of  Domaine Chandon Rose Sparkling Wine $20) for the aperitif, followed by a  2006 Montinore Estate Gewurztraminer from Oregon ($17) as well as 2005 Domaine Serene Evanstadt Reserve  ($60) (both of which will be poured with the main course). We’ll accompany the pumpkin pie with a sip or two of  Scrapona  Moscato ($22) and then let the tryptophan kick in.

Since Aunt Agnes shaved her moustache, the only thing left for me to decide is  the Thanksgiving dinner debate topic.    

Bon Appétit!

One of the small pleasures of my life is conducting wine tastings. I really enjoy imparting information to eager learners, and wine lovers are perfect students. You ask good questions, are usually very attentive and truly want to learn more about the wine you drink.

My tastings go something like this: I’ll usually give you a short history of wine and then demonstrate how to get the most out of the tasting by teaching you how to use your senses to fully appreciate wine.  

Think in terms of the ‘five S.’s of wine appreciation: (1) sight – observe the wine and judge its clarity, color, etc; (2) swirl- rotate the wine in the glass to unlock the flavor and aroma; (3) sniff – place your proboscis deeply into the glass and smell and try to describe what you are smelling; (4) sip – my favorite part of the tasting where you roll the wine around in your mouth allowing it to touch all the surfaces; (5) swallow – judge the impressions the wine leaves when you swallow it.

Generally, a wine tasting will consist of examining six or seven wines beginning with lighter and sweeter wines and moving to fuller-bodied and dryer ones. Tasters should receive about one ounce of each wine so the total amount you drink over the course of the tasting approximates one full glass of wine.  

Tasters are encouraged to critically examine the color as well as the aroma and taste of each wine, and to render an opinion as to what they liked or disliked about a particular bottle.

After years of conducting these tastings, I have compiled a list of the most commonly asked questions and today I would like to share them, along with my answers to them, with you.  

What is the correct serving temperature of white and red wine?

White wine is best served from 45F to 55F except for
Champagne or sparkling wine which should be served around 40F. Red wine should be served between 58F and 65F. I usually put my reds in the refrigerator – particularly in summer – for about 15 minutes to cool them.

How do I know which wines will benefit from aging?

Most of the wine, both red and white, that is on the shelf for purchase is ready to drink now. Certain full-bodied reds such as cabernet sauvignon,  Bordeaux, Barolo, Brunello Di Montalcino, can benefit from bottle aging in exceptional vintage years. To determine which vintages and wines warrant aging, research them on the internet or read wine magazines or periodicals to find the information. A few whites such as Sauternes and other late-harvest sweet whites along with some chardonnays can benefit from extended bottle aging too.

Does the old axiom of white wine with fish and red wine with meat hold true?

Sometimes, but there are exceptions. For example, grilled tuna and salmon along with spicy grilled chicken are better accompanied by red wines. One rule I follow is the lighter the food, the lighter the wine and the fuller flavored the food, the fuller –bodied the wine. Vinegar based salad dressings are a no –no! Wine, with perhaps the exception of Sparklers, clashes with acidic dressings destroying the taste of both the wine and dressing.

Does decanting wine help improve its taste?

In my opinion, all wine, white and red, benefits from the aeration that decanting provides to wine. Exceptions are very old wines (those over twenty years old).You’ll also need to be careful to pour slowly and watch for sediment in the last few ounces of red wine.    

Should I be concerned about sulfites in wine?

Sulfites are used sparingly in the wine making process to prevent oxidation and assist in keeping the wine clean. People who have hyper-sensitivity to sulfites should speak with their physicians. By the time commercially produced wine is bottled, there should be no or only trace amounts of sulfites present.

How can you make white wine from red grapes?

Color in wine comes from the pigment in the grape’s skin. If you remove the skins from the juice of red grapes, the resulting wine will be white. For example, Champagne is made from the blending of two red grapes (pinot noir and pinot meunier) and one white (chardonnay) yet the resulting wine is white.

I’m sure you have many more questions about wine and I encourage to post them at the end of this blog and I’ll get back to you with the answers.

Our wine and food exploration of Italy continued in the Piemonte region and later included a brief, but memorable, stay in Tuscany where we were treated to a delicious multi-course lunch with accompanying wines at a renowned Brunello Di Montalcino producer.  But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Back at base camp (La Cascina Del Monastero), Velda Grasso and her winemaker husband Pepe (short for Giuseppe) not only provided us with excellent accommodations and spectacular dining recommendations, they also prepared and served us (and eight other lucky guests) a seven - course, seven wine gourmet dinner one evening.

Pepe’s wines, which include Arneis, Dolcetto, Barbera, two Barbaresco’s, Barolo and a delicious Moscato with dessert, were lovely accompaniments to the food. Velda’s menu consisted of:  antipasti with local cheeses and salami, bruscetta with fresh tomatoes and herbs, lasagna with four cheeses, Italian wedding soup, sautéed rice balls with fontina, porchata (roast pork) with porcini mushroom sauce and hazel nut cake with a poached pear.

(Check out the Cascina’s website at  www.cascinadelmonastereo.it. You can also get great advice on lodging, restaurants and wineries on your next trip to Italy by going to www.italybestsecrets.com).

After dinner, our intrepid group moved to the terrace to watch the stars and sip Pepe‘s Grappa. For those of you unfamiliar with Grappa, it is the Italian equivalent of “moonshine” that is made from the pomace (pressings) of fermented grapes.  While Pepe’s elixir was smooth and (too) easy to drink, I’ve had the misfortune of sipping Grappa that could have been used as rocket propellant.
Groggy, but undeterred, we set off the next morning for a visit to one of Piemonte’s most respected wineries, Prunotto.   Prunotto was established by the family of the same name in the 1920’s and sold to the Tuscan Antinori Winery in 1989. Prunotto‘s winery is located in the hub town of the Barolo and Barbaresco region – Alba.

Cellars at Prunotto

While Prunotto features the full line of Piemonte wines, two that are worth seeking out are the 2005 Barbera D’Asti and the 2004 Bric Turot Barbaresco.  The former is bursting with bright cherry fruit,  is well balanced and would be a wonderful partner to pasta with a putanesca sauce (featuring tomatoes, garlic, olives and red pepper flakes). The Barbaresco is a single vineyard wine that has aromas of dried flowers and sour cherries with loads of rich, ripe black currant flavors that beg to be paired with roasted pork.

While both Barolo and Barbaresco are made from nebbiolo grapes grown in the region of Langhe in Piemonte, the Italian government requires certain processes to be followed before wines can be called by those prestigious names.  For a wine to be labeled Barolo, it must be aged for two years in oak barrels and one year in the bottle before it can be released for sale. Barbaresco must have one year in oak and one in bottle before it can be sold.

For either wine to be authentic Barolo or Barbaresco, the government seal of DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita) which means “guaranteed, must be on the bottle. Generally speaking,  Barolo is a fuller-bodied wine with more prominent tannins than Barbaresco. This is not only due to the differences in aging requirements, but also because of micro-climate and soil differences between the two appellations.

Nebbiolo  ripe and ready to be picked
Generally,  Barbaresco  matures faster than Barolo, though both have the structure to continue to develop in the bottle for decades.  One way I’ve found to speed up drinkability of the wines is to decant them for extended periods before sipping them.  For wines under 10 years old, I will pour them into a carafe for up to 12 hours before consuming them.

In the past decade, the vintages of  1996, 1997, 2001 and  2004 are considered to be exceptional and produce classic Barolo and Barbaresco that are very age worthy. The vintages of 1998, 1999, 2000, 2003 and 2005 are considered atypical because most were warmer years,  producing wines that are more forward, softer and higher in alcohol.  These also need to be decanted, but are more approachable in their youth.

We ended our trip to Piemonte with a visit to the world-renowned Barbaresco producer, Bruno Giacosa.  Giacosa does produce Barolo as well as the full line of Langhe wines, including Arneis , Barbera, Dolcetto and a wonderful sparkler made from pinot noir. However, the king at Giacosa is Barbaresco.

My familiarity with the pleasure of mature Bruno Giacosa  Barbaresco  is limited,  but one experience was unforgettable. I had purchased a bottle of 1971 Giacosa Barbaresco  to celebrate the birth year of my first born child.  On the occasion of his wedding (some 28 years later), we popped the cork on the bottle and sipped what can only be described as liquid silk.

Next time, I’ll relate our brief, but exceptional trip, to Tuscany and the wines of Brunello Di Montalcino.