Tag Archives: Food Pairings

Best Wines to Pair with Turkey this Holiday Season

18 Monday Nov 2019

Posted by in Food, Thanksgiving, Wine

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Thanksgiving is right around the corner! Time for yummy food, family, friends, and fun. This holiday season we thought we’d help you out with a list of our favorite wines to pair with the delicious Turkey you’re cooking up this year.

Red Wine and Turkey Pairings

Let’s start of with a list for our red wine lovers.

  1. Olema Pinot Noir Sonoma County, 2017
    This delicious red wine filled with notes of vanilla and spice will complement the Turkey any which way you cook it! From the makers of our 2018 #1 Wine of the Year, this bottle is a must have wine this holiday season.
  2. Iter Pinot Noir California
    This red wine will have people begging for another glass. It is a solid, oak aged California Pinot with plenty of fruit that is a necessity to have on the dinner table this holiday season.
  3. Kudos Pinot Noir Willamette, 2017
    This Pinot Noir has plenty of red plum and cherry notes to pair with any and everything at your table this holiday season. You and your loved ones must give Oregon Pinot Noir a try this holiday!

White Wine and Food Pairings

Don’t worry lovers of white wine, we didn’t forget about you!

  1. Grey Rock Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough
    For the white wine drinkers who need to wet their palate before the main dish arrives, make sure your glass is full of Sauvy B. This bottle, a light and acidic Sauvignon Blanc, will not only pair fantastically with your big Thanksgiving dinner, but it will keep you from feeling weighed down before you get to the main course.
  2. Luquet St Veran Vers les Monts
    You must save a spot at the dinner table for this unoaked, fruity Chardonnay this year. Before, during, or after dinner – it’s good at any point with soft cheeses or to help enhance any fruity flavors on the table!
  3. Neethlingshof Chenin Blanc
    Our final white wine we recommend at your table this year, this South African white is full of peach and apricot and hints it will add a refreshing twist to your turkey, especially if you have other glazed dishes on the table (like ham).

Looking for even MORE wine pairing insporation for the holidays? Head over to our holiday entertaining page to make sure you’re prepared for the best holiday season yet!

Summer forecast calls for Sauvignon Blanc

04 Saturday Jun 2016

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With the new season here, let’s talk about what makes a good summer wine: Something chill-able, for sure. A wine that will go with the foods you crave in warm weather. And maybe a wine that isn’t too pricey, in case you have a lot of thirsty people coming over this weekend.

Sounds like Sauvignon Blanc! This white wine is made from a versatile grape that can be made into different styles of wine, depending on where it’s grown and how the wine is made. All are perfect for drinking right now, as what’s likely to be a long, hot Texas summer gets underway.

The unique aromas of Sauvignon Blanc are easy to peg in a blind tasting. The wine’s herbaceous and tropical-fruit scents are sometimes accented with musky notes, yet its flavors are consistently fresh and bright.

Serve these lively wines chilled, 50-55˚. They’re a natural pairing for summer salads. And before you reflexively grab a red wine to accompany grilled entrees, Sauvignon Blanc is great with fish, shellfish, pork and chicken cooked over the coals. It will even pair perfectly with this Lemon Spaghetti recipe from our friends at Ceja Vineyards.

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Some of our favorite summer Sauvignon Blancs come from the Southern Hemisphere. In the 1970s, adventurous winemakers began planting the native French grape in New Zealand. They grew them on cool and sunny hillsides, then aged the wine in stainless steel. Generally high in refreshing acidity, these New World wines offered up dramatic flavors of citrus, elderflower, peach and tropical fruit.

Within a decade, delicious and inexpensive Sauvignon Blanc wines from Marlborough and other New Zealand regions had won fans around the world. Now, the fruit-forward, New Zealand-inspired style is produced everywhere from California and Washington to Chile to South Africa to Australia.

Of course, Sauvignon Blanc has long been used to make world-class wines in France. In Bordeaux, it makes refreshing, dry white wines, as well as richly flavored blends with Sémillon and Muscadelle. Some, aged in oak, are full-bodied, cellar-worthy wines. In the Loire Valley, Sauvignon Blanc boasts more citrus and mineral flavors from the region’s flinty limestone soils.

Find a Sauvignon Blanc to go with your summer during your next visit, or shop online and choose express one-hour pick-up in store.

Red wines for summer grilling

19 Thursday Jun 2014

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Summertime backyard cookout season is in full swing! Grilling season often means simple and fresh fare, featuring lots of red meats and vegetables.

Grilling adds smokiness and char to foods, creating aggressive flavors that can overwhelm lighter wines, so figuring out the best wine pairing for grilled food can sometimes be a challenge. We’re here to help.

Often, the addition of spicy and sweet sauces can complicate wine pairings. Zinfandels, with their juicy and robust flavors, can stand up to anything your grill, spice-rack and barbeque-sauce lineup can dish out. Cloud Break Zinfandel, with bold notes of dark fruit and spice, is a fresh, tasty summer red wine to partner with grilled fare.

Southern Italian reds, especially wines made from the fresh and spicy Nero d’Avola  [NAY-roh DAH voh-luh] grape, pair well with grilled peppers, zucchini, onion and eggplant too. One of our favorites is the Caleo Nero d’Avola because it’s an exciting Sicilian red full of fresh cherry and blackberry flavors with a nice kick of savory spice.

Cabernet Sauvignons also meld nicely with rich, marbeled steaks or beef or lamb burgers. Now, you don’t have to break the bank to get a tasty grill-friendly Cabernet Sauvignon. The Cooper Station Cabernet comes in around $10 and is a lovely ready-to-party red with savory flavors of black cherry and blackberry. This is a perfect wine pairing with lamb, especially when that lamb comes in the form of sizzling, full-flavored burgers.

Here’s a great recipe (courtesy of New Orleans restaurateur Mark Benfatti) that will thrill your guests:

Lamb Burgers with Spinach and Goat Cheese

Ingredients

  • 1 lb. ground lamb
  • 1 egg
  • ¼ cup unseasoned bread crumbs
  • ¼ cup chopped green onion/scallions
  • ¼ cup chopped green bell pepper
  • 1 tsp. minced garlic
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Rosemary, to taste
  • Baby spinach, for garnish
  • Small log goat cheese
  • 4 sourdough buns

Before preparing burgers, preheat grill to medium-high.

In large bowl, mix lamb, egg and bread crumbs.  Work ingredients together with hands to ensure even distribution.

Add green onions, green bell pepper and minced garlic and salt, pepper and rosemary to taste. Divide lamb mixture into four evenly sized balls, then flatten each to ¾”.

Place burgers on grill and cook 3 to 5 minutes on each side, depending on desired finish.  Warm sourdough buns on top rack of grill for the last minute of cooking.

Once complete, add burgers to buns and top with spinach and goat cheese as desired. Serves 4.