Toast with the perfect wine for Thanksgiving dinner
Some people are connoisseurs of wine. Others aren?t quite up to speed on what should be served when. Thanksgiving is on the horizon and menu planning is under way.
Those who are in the dark when it comes to which wines are appropriate for the Thanksgiving feast should read on. Here are some ideas on how to choose a wine for Thanksgiving dinner:
WHITE WINE
Chardonnay, a white wine, is considered the perfect complement to turkey, the traditional Thanksgiving meat, because it is fruity, fresh and dry. Opt for a full-bodied white wine. Choose a Chardonnay from California, Chile or Australia.
A sweet white wine, such as Riesling, has hints of sugar and is a favorite of many wine drinking aficionados. It goes well with the Thanksgiving fare because it is fresh, soft and fruity.
Another option is Sauvignon Blanc, which is a crisp, white wine that contains aromatic herbs as well as a vivid fruit acidity that goes well with Thanksgiving spices.
RED WINE
Consider a pungent red wine that is nonchalantly textured and goes well with the foods that are traditionally served at Thanksgiving.
In November of each year, Beaujolais Nouveau wine is the first to be harvested in the Beaujolais area of France. This is actually a purple wine made from the Gamay grape. Serve it slightly chilled.
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Wine drinkers have their preferences, of course. Some prefer full flavored, vigorous red wines such as Zinfandel or Syrah. These red wines offer a profundity of flavor and color, with a marked peppery note. Zinfandel is a spicy, brawny red wine that many wine drinkers love, especially when it?s served during the Thanksgiving dinner.
SPARKLING WINE
Another option for the Thanksgiving dinner is sparkling wine.
For the novice, sparkling wine is “fizzy.” Champagne is the perfect example of sparking wine. This type of wine has noteworthy levels of carbon dioxide in it, which makes it fizz. Sparkling wine is generally white or a rose, but there are sparking red wines.
A sparkling wine can be dry or sweet. If you see the word ?brut? this means dry. If you see the word ?doux? this means sweet.
ROSE
A pink wine is called a rose. The wine can be a hot pink, or an understated soft pink. The color depends on the type of grape that was used and how long the skins of the grapes were in contact with the juice.
A rose can be very dry or sweet and off-dry. A wine that is dry means that the majority of residual sugars are transformed into alcohol. The result is that there isn?t much sweetness to the win. Most rose’ wines are made from a red grape or a blend of white and red grapes. The grape skins have brief contact with the juice, which makes the color of the wine lighter than it would be if the skins were in contact with the juice longer.
TERMINOLOGY
An off-dry wine means that the fermentation processed is ended a little earlier so that there is a little of residual sugar in the wine, making the off-dry wine sweeter than dry wine.
When you hear the word ?vintage? this means the year that the grapes were grown and the wine was made. Vintage doesn?t refer to the year that the wine was released.
A wine that is described as aromatic is one where the smell or aroma or perfume and floral aspect s are emphasized instead of the heaviness, spice or power of the wine. A blend is when a wine is made from several varieties of grape. Sherry is wine that comes from Jerez, Spain, specifically. It ranges from dry to sweet. Port is the name of wine from Portugal that is fortified, which means that the fermentation process is arrested when grape spirit is added, which kills the fermentation.