Some Old Favorits, and Some New Uncorkings for Thanksgiving!

Just finished the last piece of leftover pie…. it was, as good now, as it was on Thanksgiving day. I guess Thanksgiving is one of the Holidays that lasts for a week, that’s about as long as it would take you to finish all the leftovers. To bad there was no leftover wine…. I might be the one to blame there thou. I admit I probably over tasted a little. And the meal was outstanding. Absolutely one of the best turkey dinners ever.

The wines we enjoyed was a combination of some old favorites, and some new ones that we hadn’t tasted yet. I brought the Cupcake Red Velvet, wich is a delicious wine, because it was the host’s favorite wine. And I thought she deserved that after all that cooking and baking.

I also brought my favorite Pinot Noir, Beaujolais-Village Red Burgundy. I thought it would pair very well with this meal, and it certainly did.

Picked up a bottle of Barefoot Chardonnay, for the ones who wanted white. It was a nice fresh wine. And another guest had picked up Hot To Trot, White Blend, wich I thought was very nice. All and all a very successful wine pairing.

Some people might be eating turkey for another couple of days. I’m done for now. Now I need to find the next wine and food pairing.

Cheers!

 

                

Excellent Italian Pinot Noir!

I went label shopping again. Was invited to dinner, and knew we were having steak, didn’t really have an idea of what I wanted to pick up, so I started looking for a good label. There was a few fun labels on the Zinfandel’s, but they were all over 20 dollars, and as you know, I don’t like to spend more than 10. So I ended up with a Pinot Noir from Italy with a really nice label. It’s almost like it’s painted on the bottle, not a regular label. I also thought it was about time that I tried an Italian wine.

Must say I was a bit curious, since I really like the French wines so far, and especially the Burgundy. And the Italian was quite a bit like the French, nice and smooth, and not too heavy. With some earthy tones and a citrus finish, a delightful wine that went excellent with our meal.

This is getting quite interesting, I seem to like the European wines and the wines from down under better than US wines. I’m from a country that don’t make wine at all (Norway), and I didn’t grow up drinking wine. Now I live in a country that is known for it’s wine (especially California). And I like the wines that are from the opposite side of the world better. I’m going to have to investigate this subject more. Is it maybe just that my palate has to adjust? And that the European wines are lighter and therefore easier to like for someone new to wine? Many questions, that I will try to get the answers to.

Cheers!

Which Wine goes with Thanksgiving Dinner?

It all depends on what you are serving, and what you like. Let’s say you are having turkey, well most people in the United States are probably having just that. A lot of people would say white wine, because it is white meat, but let’s think about this. Ok, you have the white meat, but also dark meat, and the stuffing, that can be very rich. You also have the gravy, the greens and don’t forget the cranberries. My favorite would be Pinot Noir. It goes excellent with food, not too bold like a Cabernet can be. It would go great with white meat and dark meat, as well as the cranberries. A Pinot Noir would even pair well with certain kinds of fish.

To pick the right Pinot, I can give you a couple of tips. If you like a wine that is a little bolder and makes a statement, I would go with American. Oregon is well-known for having great Pinot Noirs, or California as well has lots of excellent Pinot Noirs to choose from. If you like a little smoother and lighter wine, I would suggest a French Burgundy or maybe a New Zealand Pinot Noir. Burgundy France, is where Pinot Noir comes from, and in France the cuisine is very important, so they would never have a wine that would overpower the food.

If you, or someone at the dinner table, doesn’t like red wine, then I would suggest a Chardonnay. There is a lot of great Chardonnay’s out there, but I would probably try to stay away from the very sweet ones. Chardonnay also stems from Burgundy France, and is also known as, White Burgundy.

Now we got the wine picking done, better make sure we got the right glasses. We don’t want to serve our great wine in beer jugs, right? A Pinot Noir needs air, you want to be able to let it breathe, and you should have room to swirl without spilling, that means you need at least a 20 oz glass. Even a Chardonnay glass is a little roomier than a regular white wine glass between 12 and 20 oz.

Ravenscroft crystal makes some gorgeous hand blown glasses. Visit our website and check out our products. We currently have a Special on our Ravenscroft Burgundy glasses, for Thanksgiving. OVER 30% OFF REGULAR PRICE. http://www.finewineglassesandmore.com/catalog/item/8603122/9498220.htm We also carry the Chardonnay glasses, and so much more. So please come and visit us, we have lots of gift items for the Holidays, www.finewineglassesandmore.com.

Less than a month away, times really do fly. Before we know it, it will be summer again. O well, let’s try to enjoy these cold months. I know I am, for some weird reason I even hope to get some snow this winter. Imagine the pretty picture of fresh snow on the trees, and all over, while you are inside looking out with a glass of your favorite wine in your hand……

Cheers!

Norwegian Meatballs!

Sunday night dinner, Norwegian meatballs with broccoli, cauliflower and potatoes, and of course gravy. Paired with Beaujolais-Village 2009 Burgundy. Got 5 stars! Yeiiii!

I am so happy that I didn’t screw up this dinner. They cook for me about 3 times a week, and I think this is the second time I cook for them. So it really means a lot to see them happy. And they loved my desert, waffles with jam and sour cream! If you never had this, you have no idea what you are missing!

My welcome drink was my all time favorite, The Red Truck, I thought they would like that one. With the dinner I was lucky to find a Burgundy for only 13.99 , and I was really excited about trying this one. It was a little mellow compared with the Red Truck, but went very well with the meal. Overall the wines were excellent, and I would definitely buy again. I got a couple of sips left of the Red Truck, after that, That’s all she wrote…….

Cheers!

Ps! It’s all about the spices, and that means the waffles too!