This past weekend I decided to do a trial run for Thanksgiving since I've never actually had to cook the turkey and all of the trimmings. I bought a beautiful 12 pound fresh turkey and followed a recipe by Alton Brown in which you brine the turkey for up to 24 hours. It was excellent by the way, if anyone would like to give it a try, just Google 'Alton Brown Turkey,' and it'll come up instantly. For the sides, we decided on a sausage and sage stuffing, Brussels sprouts with pancetta, green beans with hollandaise sauce and bacon and creamy garlic mashed potatoes. I think that covers it, and needless to say, I'm glad we did the trial run because this was no easy feat!
Now, onto the easy part AND the most important part, of course...choosing the wines! For the white drinkers, I knew I wanted something in the Riesling or Gewurztraminer family and for the red wine drinkers, I was thinking Pinot Noir or Bordeaux. After combing our inventory, I settled on the 2010 Tramin Gewurztraminer and the 2009 La Bernadotte. I am familiar with la Bernadotte and know that it was owned by Pichon Lalande and is an excellent value in the Bordeaux world. I am also familiar with Tramin, but never had the chance to try their Gewurztraminer. It's located in the Alto Adige region in Italy, and they are known for producing excellent
I was very excited to give both a try, so as I finished working on the turkey, I decided to pop a bottle of the Gewurztraminer. I gave it a swirl in the glass and noticed a nice floral nose with hints of honey and tropical fruit. In the mouth was a nice, crisp wine with a little acidity. It was perfectly balanced, and I knew it'd be excellent with the turkey about to go in the oven. With the turkey now roasting beautifully in the oven, I then turned my attention to the stuffing. Of course, by that time my glass was empty so it was onto the La Bernadotte. I decided to decant it and was getting hints of cedar, spice box and herbs. In the mouth was a juicy succulent wine that was light on its feet, but with enough stuffing to keep you coming back for more. Another excellent wine and value!
Needless to say, everything was a success, and the wines paired beautifully with the feast. I hope that everyone enjoys their Thanksgiving and has as good of luck as I did with their wine selections.