Some Thanksgiving wines go with both ham and turkey

Hope you folks had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Fortunately, mine was spent with my family and extensions. After the annual, intergenerational, dinner table political repartee and the calming influences of turkey-generated tryptophan, carb-enhanced serotonin plus a few libations, everyone settled down and enjoyed the day. We had some especially good news to be thankful. Son Daniel’s band Tweed’s new album “The Chunky Life” was recognized at No. 10 on RELIX Jam Band Radio top 30 national charts. Naturally that called for a bubbly start to the day.

First up was a lovely Spanish sparkler, Castell Vilarnau Brut Reserva D.O. Cava. For an impressive start, the bottle was decorated by a shrink-wrapped mosaic tile print, reminiscent of Spain’s Moorish influences. This is an interesting dichotomy when one considers the Moors were Muslim and eschewed alcoholic beverages. That notwithstanding, the packaging was quite attractive. The wine did it justice. These are produced using Methode Champenoise. Briefly: various varietal wines are fermented separately, then blended, placed into bottles for six weeks to achieve secondary fermentation, then cellared 15 months “sur lie” until disgorgement, when the dosage is added and the bottles are corked. There are many excellent websites to provide in-depth info if you wish. Enter “Methode Champenoise,” light up a Cuban cigar, sit back and soak it in. Vilarnau is pale golden with a lovely, persistent, fine bead. The bouquet is green apple, white flowers and a bit of yeasty dough. Good structure and persistence. Other critics have scored it 85-91 points. I think the low-ballers just can’t rate a $15 MC higher than 86. Looks to me like a very solid 88 points. I have seen them priced at $13; add 2 price points. I think they are several cuts above Freixenet black bottle.

We followed up with an Italian sparkler, Bisol Crede Prosecco Superiore DOCG Brut NV from Valdobbiadene, Italy, which went well with some poached shrimp and scallops. Pale straw with slight green tinge, lovely persistent bead, complex floral bouquet with hints of apple and herbs. More apple, some pear and lemon/lime with plenty of acidity to clean up the palate. Finishes nice and clean, $17, 88 points. We also sampled a Casillero del Diablo Reserva from Concha y Toro with the seafood. The new release is a tad better than most recent vintages at 87 points, under $10. Reminds me of the 2013. Pale greenish-golden, it opens to pear and lime aromas, then runs on the acid-bright palate to some green apple tartness. It is the fruit-acid balance that makes it appealing with shellfish. OK, I had a great late-breaking question for Thanksgiving red wine, where turkey and ham were being served. I decided to answer it post event, ‘cause the old memory ain’t what it used to be. Easier than you think, my friends, Zinfandel is the red for Thanksgiving dinner and Chianti works as well. Nowadays the upper crust calls them Sangiovese. BPCE (before the politically correct era) we named them guinea reds and thought only ladies and tramps consumed them. And I can say that ‘cause I’m an Italo-Mick blend. Keep in mind that higher-alcohol Zins are normally fruit forward and richer. There is none better than Martinelli’s Jackass Hill Russian River Valley 2014. These are 96-point gems. Small problemo, they are expensive for Zin at $165. Trust me on this one. If you have the cash and you love Zin go for it. For the rest of us, following are several selections priced around $20: DeLoach RRV 2012, 93 points,$19; Folie A Deux Dry Creek 2012, 93 points, $20; Concrete Old Vine Zin 2012, 92 points, $20. These are findable. Speaking of which, I had two emails about Obsidian Ridge 2013 that I wrote of last week. Where can we find some? Sadly, there is none available that I could locate locally. If you have developed that friendship with your local wine shoppe though, they can bring some in for you. I bought mine when I was at Gary’s wine extravaganza a few weeks back. There is plenty in N.J. and D.C., and they ship. Buy under $30; let the shoppe guys eat too!