Mixed Results of Thanksgiving Pairings and an Amazing Non-Related Pairing

Whew, with the first round of decadent, butter-laden, obesity-inducing meals (aka, Thanksgiving chow) behind those of us in America, and one more on the horizon (whether that be in form of potato latkes or Christmas ham), I thought I'd do a post to share my pairing experience and ask if you'll comment and pay it forward so we can all figure out what worked and what didn't.

I'd love to say that I tested out all my pairing suggestions this year (I have at one point or another done it, so please don't think I'm suggesting stuff blind, BTW), but we drank just two wines and MC Ice and I disagreed on the results. I'll share those and, as a bonus, I'm going to tell you about the pre-Thanksgiving random-ass pairing we had because it was, surprisingly, THAT good.

Because I do love the wine and because I had it on hand courtesy of Destination Riesling (the advocacy group for this under-appreciated grape) I pulled out a bottle of the Dönnhoff Spätlese (SHPATE-lay-zah) Riesling for the meal. Without having had this brand before, I didn't know how sweet it would be, but thought I'd roll the dice. This is the perennial problem we all face when buying Riesling.

I'll dork out on Riesling for just a second in the hopes that this information (whether it be a refresher or new news) may make you less squeamish about buying the stuff. I think it's damn confusing, so hopefully a plain English explanation (with a little German thrown in) will make it less daunting.

So to break it down, Riesling is a grape that grows really well in cold climates like Central Germany. I know the general perception is that Riesling is sweet, but when German growers pick it, it's generally kind of tart and ALWAYS really acidic -- that's just how the grape rolls. Now, if the growers decide to let the grapes hang out on the vines a little longer than regular harvest time (which is a risk because it could get cold and stormy and frosty), then the grapes may be slightly riper and the resulting wine fruitier and fuller, and often sweeter.

In a climate where it's cold and grapes don't ripen all that well, the Germans have decided that the longer the grapes hang on the vines, the higher quality they are. The thing is, this doesn't translate to what most contemporary wine drinkers consider high quality because according the German schema, the higher the quality, the sweeter the wine. It's all kind of cock-eyed, but if you know what the stuff means, you can avoid buying sweet wine from Germany and just get the kind of wine you want -- which for most of us is dry, aromatic, acidic Riesling that kicks ass and goes well with Indian food.

Here's a cheat list (with pictures) for you of the three most common German Riesling classifications out there:

Kabinett: ripe grapes (it actually means cabinet, like where you store the stuff). It is generally light in style, and usually a little drier than the next two levels because the grapes aren't as ripe. That said, I've had my share of off-dry Kabinett, so caveat emptor, my dry-loving wine pals.


Spätlese: late harvest, really just means ripe grapes. It can be dry or sweet. Usually if it's dry, it will say so somewhere on the label. The producer could indicate it by using the word "trocken" (see right) but these days I usually see them put DRY somewhere on the label. Germans are nothing if not efficient in labeling.

Auslese (OWS-lay-zah): select harvest. Means that the growers have hand-picked the grapes from selected bunches that are sweeter and riper than the Spätlese grapes. These wines can only be made when the weather is warm enough to get the grapes fat and juicy with ripeness. More often than not, these are sweet, but there ARE dry versions out there, rare though they may be. Much like the Spätlese, there will be a bit "To-Do" on the bottle if the wines are dry.

I won't get into these because they are rare, not produced in every vintage, and are definitely dessert wines, but for thoroughness there are three more levels of sweetness -- Beerenauslese, Eiswein (ice wine), and Trockenbeerenauslese. These are extremely sweet, never dry, and are generally super expensive.

The Dönnhoff we had was a Spätlese and it was a little more than off-dry. I won't go into too much detail, but this producer is one of the most highly regarded in all of Germany. The family has been making wine since 1750 and although Nahe is a small region that many don't know, it's known among Riesling lovers as rivaling the famed Mosel for having the greatest Riesling wines. Dönnhoff is the king of the Nahe, and, some would argue is the best producer in Germany. The wines are known to be a little fleshier and fatter than Mosel's Rieslings but with great acidity. The vineyard from which this wine hails is called Oberhäuser Brücke and it is famed for its gray slate and amazingly powerful wines. For me, I can see why these wines are esteemed -- it was pretty damn good.

Here's the quick rundown:
The Wine: Dönnhoff Oberhäuser Brücke, Riesling Spätlese, 2008 (translation --Dönnhoff is the producer, Oberhäuser Brücke is the vineyard, Riesling, the grape, Spätlese, we just went over that)

Price: About $40

Color: The lightly golden hue made it a little darker than what I would expect from a totally dry wine. Sugar darkens a wine a touch, so I expected some sweetness.

Smell: It was a classic Riesling all right -- peach, lemon cookie, and white flowers just wafted into my nose and then there was a really light petrol or gasoline note.

Taste: The wine had a little spritz and it was noticeably sweet. It was very pleasant though -- peachy, lemony, with a really strong hit of cantaloupe or honeydew melon. There was a little bit of petrol smell after it left my mouth too -- kind of sassy. I liked the acid, it wasn't too strong but definitely present.

Food pairing: This was such a hit with all the savory food at Thanksgiving. The light sweetness and the acid just made everything even and smooth. The starches were lighter, and I was surprised that it was a great complement to the sweeter butternut squash soup and the sweet potatoes. The salty/savory stuffing was awesome with the wine too -- it was so nice with the herbal quality of my mom's famous recipe popcorn stuffing (it's stuffing with popcorn in it, not just popcorn). I don't eat turkey (just don't like it, sorry!) but it was a split decision at the table -- some loved the pairing, MC Ice hated it. I thought it was a fabulously versatile wine and it was a hit for my palate.

Drink or down the sink: For me, it was a total DRINK. I loved the complementary pairings of sweet with sweet and the contrast of savory with sweet. MC Ice hated the pairing and thought it made everything taste too sweet. He also is a total sweet wine hater, so take that as you will. It got a thumbs up from me, a thumbs down from him. Regardless, I will make the call that it was a well-made wine and of high quality, even if its style isn't for everyone!

Now for a Thanksgiving honorable mention.

The next wine on the docket -- Erath Pinot Noir from Oregon with Thanksgiving dinner. This is a wine I generally like. It's lighter in color and fruity and slightly earthy, but not a wine of great depth, I find. For $15, it's pretty good.

For me, it completely clashed with the starches. The acidity and fruit kind of made everything taste like an unripe cranberry! It wasn't something that worked for my palate at all. MC Ice, on the other hand, loved the way it went with everything, especially the turkey. He liked the contrast of the fruit and acid against the starch. What I found kind of angular, he found delicious. To each his or her own, I guess. This one is totally inconclusive -- maybe you can weigh in to tip the scales.

Finally, a non-sequitur to all of this. The night before Thanksgiving, for really no reason at all, I made a completely unseasonal, fattening, and wrong-holiday dish -- I made basil pesto. I know, it's not in season and it's not from my garden, but I saw basil at the store so I bought it and made pesto because, well, I wanted to. I make it with walnuts instead of pine nuts and it was a successful, yummy meal when placed over whole wheat pasta and tossed with a ton of grilled veggies.

Looking for something light and seaside-like (pesto is from Genoa, a seaside town in northeastern Italy so I thought I'd try something beachy), I grabbed a bottle of $5.99 Espirial Vinho Verde from Trader Joe's. Ohhhh yeah.

Vinho Verde is not "green wine" as in the color (recently I had a very snotty, self-professed wine connoisseur haughtily tell me that, of course, the name comes from the fact that the wine is green), it's green as in youthful. Actually in Portugal, one-third of this "green wine" is actually red. You get the point.

What's great about Vinho Verde -- it always is lightly bubbly (Fizzy Bubblech, for you Zohan fans) and it's always fruity, light, and a little briny or seaside-like. I love the stuff. It's inexpensive, it's fun, and it's reliable. And with fresh seafood or a bright, herbal dish like pesto, it gives just the right lift to food without butting in too much with a strong flavor. It was a great pairing. The only downside -- it made me want to eat more food to keep tasting the combo! So there you go.

In summary, I think Riesling is the bomb for Thanksgiving, but lighter style Oregon Pinot doesn't ring my bell (I do think there are other Pinots that would have done the job, though). MC Ice thinks the opposite. We both agree that Vinho Verde and pesto is the best poor man's dinner we've had in a long time. Maybe we'll have that for TG next year : )

Please post a comment or go on my Facebook page and let me know how your pairings worked out for Thanksgiving! I'd love to hear your opinions! Thanks for reading!