Fighting	Hype				BruceTheCritic's
Pinot? Zin?	Chard? Gewurzt?				Holiday Wine Guide

 

Holiday Wine Feature - Turkey? What the heck do you serve with Turkey? What's out there, and our favorites for holiday meals.   Holiday Wine Survival Guide - Will my family think I'm pushy if I bring wine? What do I bring to parties?

 

Holiday Wines Compared

 

Menu Home Trader Joe Bargain Raider Gourmet Food Files Wine Files Chocolate & Dessert Files     The Ultimate holiday wine advice: Drink in moderation. We're all about quality (not quantity!) BargainGourmet.com encourages moderation and demands responsible drinking . . . and wishes you the most enjoyable, safest holidays possible.

With Turkey, It's Gewurzts for the White Drinkers, Zins for the Rest   Click Here for the detailed reviews of the wines in this article. When BruceTheCritic and his henchpersons set out to find you the best holiday wines, we had three things in mind. First and foremost always, is enjoyment - see our holiday wine survival guide for more on wine and the holidays, including social tips for getting to the good wine gracefully. Second, we had in mind value. What's on the shelves now, that's not a holiday gouge? Third, what wines go best with the classic holiday foods, especially turkey? The Turkey Test For our tastings, we chose a sample of reasonably-priced wines that are usually recommended with turkey, and tried them with some roasted turkey hindquarters, medium to dark meat. (White meat is very popular, but darker meats are more representative of the total holiday meals which includes gravy, stuffing, and other heavier foods.) Gewurztraminer, the "traditional" wine for turkey, Chardonnay, commonly suggested for light fowl, Pinot Noir, (principle burgundy varietal) versatile wine for medium and stronger tasting fowl Zinfandel, disapproved by traditionalists, good for grilling or other cooking which adds stong-flavor. The Contenders 1998 Fetzer Gewurztraminer($6) because it got good quality and value ratings elsewhere; better Gewurtzs exist, but are very hard to find below $17. There were two Chardonnays we wanted to look at this year. First, 1998 Chateau St. Michelle($9), which looks like the rising star of the $10 range, and 1998 Colombia Crest Estate Series Chard($8), which last year was the superstar of the $10 range chards, with a rare and coveted 91 points in the Wine Spectator (pretty much sold out now) . Red wines are a real challenge for the bargain hunter these days. Gallo, previously a horrible jug wine, now has first-rate individual vineyard wines. In recent years, they have produced some good values, most notably their pinots. How is the 1997 Gallo of Sonoma Pinot Noir, (about $12) Next is the unsung hero of Pinot Noirs, Bealieau Vineyards. The 1996 BV Carneros Pinot Noir really stood out last year with all my guests, and for a wide range of foods. Where were the ratings from the other magazines and sites? They really missed the boat on that one. How is the current release, the 1997 BV Carneros Pinot Noir($13) We asked the same question of Cline 1997 Zinfandel ($7); "as good as last year?" The 1996 was one of the great bargain-hunter's treasures of that release. And The Winner Is . . . The biggest winner is the wine proverb, "Never EVER buy a wine because last year's was good." The second winner is Gewurztraminer for your white wine drinkers- our 1998 Fetzer was a fine example. The point is that it went. The final winner is Zinfandel - if it's not too spicy, it is a big winner with turkey for far less than a Pinot. Raise this Gerwurzt to your mouth and you can practically feel your fillings rattle from the sweetness - but without the slightest trace of syrupy yuk. This is what a Gewurztraminer is supposed to do. There was plenty of acid to make the sweetness refreshing, crisp, and cool. I know what you red wine drinkers are thinking - yuk, why bother? The reason is the match with the turkey. The sweetness of the wine gives it a fullness of body that will stand up to turkey and heavy juice and gravy. Our biggest surprise was the chards with turkey: a poor match. Hey, don't chards go with everything but red meat? No way - they were overpowered by turkey flavors and the grease. If you're a white wine drinker, stop here to try something different with your turkey. Hey, you can't drink chards every day of the year, now can you? Most of our reviewers found the supposed bargain pinots unimpressive. The hunt is still on for decent bargain Pinots. Moreover, I felt that they went marginally with turkey, much better with the Zinfandels. With some variation, the Cline 1997 Zinfandel was received as just OK, a disappointment compared to the 1996. However, it was a superior match to the turkey in the majority of reviews. In order to get a wider sample of Zins, some of our reviewers were able to taste the 1997 Ravenswood Amador County Zin, around $14, considerably more expensive. Our reviewers found it stomped the Cline, but none of them found that it went better. It is my observation that it was simply too spicy. (In fact, all the recent Ravenswood zins I have tried are quite spicy, and to be avoided for turkey.) Overall, the Cline was nice with the turkey, but your favorite zin would probably be better as long as it's black pepper flavors are subdued. Here in SF bay area we get Viano zin for around $7, a lighter, more floral zin; we like it, but you may not find it in your area. (The given prices are what I paid for it, and you can bet that will be a good deal. $2-3 more per bottle is still reasonable.) -BruceTheCritic

 

	Holiday Wine Survival Guide

Home Trader Joe Bargain Raider Gourmet Food Files Wine Files Chocolate & Dessert Files     The Ultimate holiday wine advice: Drink in moderation. We're all about quality (not quantity!) BargainGourmet.com encourages moderation and demands responsible drinking . . . and wishes you the most enjoyable, safest holidays possible.

Definitely Bring Wine   Holidays can be tough for wine drinkers. What, you say, isn't more wine drunk during the holidays than at any other time? Sure, but most of it is swill provided by people who don't drink or even like wine. Also, you can't buy a nice wine, then try to plan a meal around it; you're stuck with what's offered, or what's traditional. I die for apple pie and mashed potatoes, but, let's face it, they aren't perfect wine foods. Holiday Dinners There are definitely wines for just about any holiday food you can name, but your favorite cabernets, your most sophisticated chardonnays or white burgundys are probably not right for them. Try to be open-minded about other wines just this one time of year - that's what they exist for. When faced with the prospect of dinner with a family of wine-buying disasters, politely offer to (or just go ahead and) bring wine yourself. Most people cooking large family dinners aren't concerned about the wine, and if they tell you not to bring wine it's because uncle Harry said he would, or they have some in the closet they want to get rid of. If you bring wine anyway, just insist it didn't cost anything and all the guests will be glad in the end that someone interested in wine, and willing to take the trouble, selected something with care. Here are a few suggestions for how to select your wine: Rule #1: There are no rules. Have fun, enjoy yourself, don't get uptight about matching wine with foods. Heck, if I were in a cab mood, and it was Thanksgiving, I'd probably sneak out back with a friend and have-at one, turkey or no turkey. (Better yet, buy some cheese just for your craved wine, and tell your guests it's a special, separate course). If you'd like to have fun with good food and wine matches though, read on. Worry more about what you and your other guests like than what's right with a given food. Most important, if you're with red wine drinkers, go red, for white wine drinkers, go white. It's not so hard; just ask. If someone is a zealous red-only drinker, they'll let you know. In most cases, there is no way to get them to enjoy a white. (I made this mistake at a dinner last week; you just gotta give in to those that are set in their ways. ) The technicolor fruity-sweet explosion that is a Gewurztraminer, a white, is the traditional wine for Turkey. You should know that this style wine is really not popular, however. (If your friends are trendy, but not open-minded, give up on this one.) Chards are very popular, but in our taste tests (see above), we were very surprised that Chardonnays were not well-liked as an accompaniment to turkey; the Gewurzt seemed to go much better unless you eat breast meat with no juice or gravy. If you want to play it safe, bring the least peppery Zinfandel you can get your hands on. Better yet, bring some Gewurzt and some Zin, and cover almost all the bases. Holiday hams can be a real challenge, according to Bill, a respected wine and food practitioner (who declined to be identified further). He recommends a fruity sweet kaleidoscopic wine like Gewurzt to stand up to full-flavored, salty hams. Although rare beef can be slightly salty and red wines can take it, the greater salt in a ham in combination with its sweetness can be deadly to red wine tastes. Consider giving something fruity a try. Parties This is the most fun because almost no rules apply. Just, please, follow my most imporant piece of advice: Buy your wine when you aren't pressured, after getting recommendations from sources you trust, and not on the way to the party. Bring what you want to drink, and don't be bashful about opening it. Most important, write down, yes, I said write down in the middle of a party, yes, with a pen and paper, the wines you like that other people bring (I slip small peices of paper into my wallet so I don't loose them). You'll be glad you did the next time you go wine shopping. At a party, you can bring any type of wine you like. But if you want guidance . . . Chards are popular and go with light appetizers. Zins are popular at parties, and can stand up to potato chips, chocolate cake, and the like. Finally, almost everyone loves a good cab . . . if you can afford a good one. -BruceTheCritic