Date: Fri 17-Nov-1995

Publication: Bee

Author: SHANNO

Illustration: C

Location: A-10

Quick Words:

Thanksgiving-wines-Small

Full Text:

STD HEAD: WINE WISDOM

Thoughts On Thanksgiving Wines

By Steve Small

Ah, those wonderful Thanksgiving traditions. Football on the tube, turkey with

all the trimmings, and a nice bottle of French wine.

As silly as it may sound, Beaujolais Nouveau has become an important part of

many Thanksgiving traditions. The light, fruity taste of the first wines of

this year's vintage are a perfect accompaniment to the variety of dishes we

eat on Thanksgiving.

If you would like to keep your Nouveau on this side of the Atlantic, Beringer

makes a Gamay Nouveau that is also light, fruity and tasty. If you want to

surprise your guests, Pepperwood Pinot Noir also provides excellent fruit

flavor with just a little more body than Nouveau wines.

For some reason, our family has been in the habit of drinking Chardonnay with

our turkey. If you want Chardonnay, you should try to find a full-bodied one.

For under $10, some good ones include J Lohr, RH Phillips, Forest Glen and

Seppelt Reserve Bin. In the $10 to $20 range, some of my favorites include

Mirassou Reserve, Markham, Ferrari-Carano and Landmark.

I also recently tasted and learned about Chateau Ste. Michelle Chardonnay from

their Cold Creek Vineyard. First of all, it is absolutely delicious. It has

all the fruit, body and complexity you could want from a bottle of wine. Upon

learning about the incredible amount of time, care and dollars that went into

the production of this wine, the quality of it was not such a surprise.

And now I can address those of you who don't care what kind of wine they drink

as long as it is red. Many reds that exhibit plum and black cherry flavors

would be great to drink with Thanksgiving dinner. Some red zinfandels (not the

pink stuff) I would enjoy include Ravenswood, Rosenblum and Fetzer Barrel

Select. Pinot Noir is also an excellent wine to have with turkey.

Napa Ridge, Parducci and Santa Barbara all make nice Pinot Noir for under $10.

French wines from Burgundy labeled Bourgogne Rouge also are nice Pinot Noir

that sell in the $10 price range.

As you can see, there are a wide variety of wines that will go down smoothly

with your Thanksgiving dinner.

Always remember: The most important rule is to drink what you like; everything

after that is just fine tuning.

Steve Small is the proprietor of Steve's Liquor Store, in Ricky's Shopping

Center on Route 25/Main Street South in Newtown.