Thanksgiving Wine Picks From A Southwest Florida Chef And Somm
Thanks to True Myth for inviting me to review one of their wines. They provided me with a bottle of free wine in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
What wine do you serve for Thanksgiving? For people who appreciate the art of food and wine pairing, the question can be a conundrum. It’s challenging to find a wine versatile enough to compliment the menagerie of flavors on a typical table. For some guidance this year, and for Wine Wednesday, I asked experts from Fort Myers and Bonita Springs for a few suggestions. Here are some Thanksgiving Wine picks from a Southwest Florida chef and somm, short for sommelier.
A Chef’s Thanksgiving wine picks
Harold Balink, chef/owner of Harold’s Restuarant in Fort Myers is known for his seasonal wine dinners where he takes great care to match flavors. When it comes to Thanksgiving he says, “Kongsgard The Judge Chardonnay and St Cristia Vacqueyras are all time perfect Thanksgiving wines.”
The Judge is a famous cult wine from Napa Valley that is not easy to find and not easy on the wallet either. St Cristia is an elegant red blend from France’s Rhone Valley. Les Meysonniers is a white wine from the Rhone.
A sommelier’s Thanksgiving wine picks
Dianna Leach is the well-known sommelier at Angelina’s Ristorante in Bonita Springs. For her feast she says, “We generally start off with a bottle of Champagne while I’m cooking. Ken (her husband) says it keeps me happy even when someone is foolish enough to come into the kitchen.”
What she serves with the meal can vary. However, she is partial to Chablis like Louis Michel 1er Cru Butteaux, and rose. “Rose is the best Thanksgiving wine ever because it goes with everything on the table,” she says. When it comes to red wines, her choice is a new world pinot noir.
Additional Thanksgiving wine picks
For an off the beaten path suggestion try Frescobaldi Vigna Montesodi, Chianti Rufina. Chianti has never been top of mind for me when it comes to Thanksgiving. However, after enjoying a Frescobaldi Barolo with lamb at Italian restaurant last week, it got me thinking. We also enjoyed a bottle of chianti with a sausage dish and it was beautiful. The spicy sausage brought out flavors of eucalyptus and berry in the wine. This is for my friends who make sausage stuffing
Last week I checked in with Cindie Barker, manager of Blue Coyote Supper Club in Fort Myers who raved about the merits of zinfandel for Thankgiving. That info here. At the end of the day, open what makes you happy and toast your friends and family this Thanksgiving.