Wines for Thanksgiving
By Ed Williams
A Piece of Wine Heaven on Earth
By Samuel Ritter
Thanksgiving nears. What wine - oldest gift to mankind, earliest agricultural product, savior to poisoned water - do you bring to the table?
Across the Deep South, that table could mean turkey, ham, and/or roast beef. It could mean squash casserole broccoli casserole, green bean casserole, crunchy on top. It could mean sweet potato - melted mushy marsh mello atop - and/or mashed potato or potato au gratin. It could mean pickled fruits, pickled vegetables. Some deviled egg, various rice, various gravies alongside biscuits, crescents, corn breads. Oh, and gelatinous mold in green, purple or pink.
Don't get me started on dessert.
Across other cultures and traditions? Fare gets more eclectic. So the food-wine pairing rules? Throw 'em out. Go native.
Try this baker's dozen of food-friendly wine recommendations from North Carolina vineyards. Versatile across kitchens, and all homegrown.
• Old North State Spring House ($10): An easy drinking white from Mt. Airy that blends Viognier and Pinot Gris. Light peach, melon, honeysuckle and a hint of minerals.
• 2009 Round Peak Euphoria ($13): About 99 percent Traminette with a tiny dollop of Muscadine to give this refreshing white some pop. Bartlett pear, red delicious apple, tangerine and gardenia flavors and aromas. Another Mt. Airy area wine.
• 2009 Shadow Springs Seyval Blanc ($15): Gardenia, apricot, honeydew melon with enough residual sugar left to make it nearly thirst-quenching. From Yadkin Valley.
• 2008 Elkin Creek Classico ($18): Winemaker Mark Greene grows Merlot and Sangiovese in a hillside vineyard outside Elkin. Here, he blended them for a medium-bodied, lively red that flashes black cherry, bing cherry, boysenberry, raspberry and cola.
• 2008 Sanctuary Vineyards Whalehead White ($15): An off-dry white. Think Bartlett Pear, cantaloupe, granny apple and lemon-lime with a hint of honey on the finish. This white blends Viognier, Pinot Gris, Chardonnel and Traminette. A fun offering from a winery near the Outer Banks.
• NV Brushy Mountain Winery Booger Swamp White ($16): With a name like that, who'd pick it? Even Jay Leno goofed on it . Get past the name and find peach, pear, apricot, mango and honey in an off-dry style. The grapes are a blend of Chardonnay, Vidal Blanc, Petit Manseng and Niagara. From Elkin.
• 2008 Round Peak Confusion ($13): This rose is 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, which at first blush seems odd parentage. The juice was left in contact with the skins just long enough to pick up requisite color. About 2.5 percent residual sugar remains, giving this blush raspberry, cherry, and loganberry flavors.
• 2009 McRitchie Winery Fallingwater White ($16): Winemaker Sean McRitchie, just north of Elkin, crafted the 2009 in a dry style, blending Traminette, Chardonnay and Viognier. This crisp white shows generous apple, melon, pear and floral flavors and aromas.
• 2007 Divine Llama In a Heartbeat Red ($19): Playfully named after a resident llama at this quirky vineyard/llama farm near East Bend in the Yadkin Valley. A medium-bodied red with forward black fruit and berries. The Cabernet Franc/Merlot blend was finished with 1 percent residual sugar, giving roundness.
• 2008 Sanders Ridge Cabernet Franc ($18): Forward fruit at the start with an earthier finish. This medium-bodied red comes from odd parentage: Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc crossed way, way back in the day. Black cherry, plum, blueberry and chocolate flavors and aromas. From Yadkin Valley.
• 2007 Grove Winery Cabernet Franc ($15): A medium-weight red with black cherry, cedar, spice and vanilla against fine tannins and a solid core of oak. This Gibsonville-area winery crafts more than a dozen wine styles and its portfolio includes Tempranillo, Norton, Nebbiolo and Traminette.
• 2008 Stonefield Cellars Gato Merlot ($16): Merlot grows well in North Carolina. This winery north of Greensboro proves it. A silky, fruit-forward red with plum, blueberry, and cocoa flavors/aromas.
• 2006 Junius Lindsay Estella Dessert White ($25): Dedicated to a family namesake, Junius Lindsay's Michael Zimmerman positions this as a dessert. It's Viognier at 12 percent residual sugar. There's enough acidity to keep peach, apricot, and honey vibrant.
Ed Williams writes a twice-monthly email wine newsletter, Williams on Wine, devoted to wine events, wine-food pairings, and wine recommendations. The newsletter is free. Subscribe by visiting news-record.com and typing Ed Williams and Wine into the top search bar.
There are approximately 4000 wineries in the United States. Almost 2000 of them are in California. Approximately 400 are located in Napa Valley. It is almost impossible to focus in on "The best of the best", but with this column, we will give it a go!!
In the very heart of Napa wine country, Elyse Winery sits in an idyllic spot: a true piece of heaven on earth! The result of many years of dreams and hard work by Ray and Nancy Coursen, Elyse Winery and their wines represent the very finest of true Napa Valley winemaking. A brief history is appropriate.
In 1983, Ray and Nancy Coursen were working in restaurants in Cape Cod. Ray had a dream of making wine. When asked when Nancy would be ready to move to California, she responded to Ray, "Tomorrow!!" And so it began. Ray worked that very year at Mt. Eden Winery, beginning at the literal bottom, digging ditches. They moved to Napa where Ray spent years learning the techniques of vineyard management and grape growing. He worked at Whitehall Lane Winery under the tutelage of the legendary Art Finkelstein who took Ray under his wing. Ray worked his way up to become Whitehall Lane's winemaker. In 1987, Ray and Nancy started Elyse Winery with under 300 cases of Zinfandel from the Morisoli Vineyard. Within ten years, they built the current Elyse Winery on Hoffman Lane in Napa Valley. Today, the Coursens produce some of the best wines in the USA: "Winemaking is cooking without a flame," says Ray. As the great chefs do, Ray searches for the very best ingredients and very carefully prepares them. Aside from the fruit of the winery's on-site vineyard, Ray selects very carefully the sources of his grapes, deemed to be the most select, stretching from Carneros in the south to Howell Mountain in the north of Napa Valley. Low yields with emphasis on high quality is the hallmark of wine production at Elyse. The reviews from The Wine Advocate (Robert Parker: "This excellent winery continues to carve out a well-deserved reputation for its interesting wine portfolio." The Wine Spectator, Steven Tanzer's International Wine Cellar, The Wine Enthusiast and others all attest to the success of Ray's winemaking philosophy.
Some of their finest wines are ready for consumption as we speak, so let's take a brief look.
La Peche: A singular blend of Chenin Blanc, Malvasia, and Viognier and 100% cold stainless steel fermented, this wine is a superior aperitif or dessert wine. It pairs beautifully with Asian cuisine. It is crisp and lively on the palate and lush to drink with or without food.
L'Ingenue: This is an unusual Napa wine as it blends Rhone Valley white grapes, Rousanne and Marsanne, with a touch of Rhone Viognier! It spends 16 months sur lees and develops in French Oak. It is great with seafood and fowl.
And now, the heart of Elyse, The Reds!!
Elyse has Zinned.... many times!!
Elyse winery is probably best known for its variety of Zinfandel wines. Some of these are very small productions of about 500 cases. Each has its own style, bouquet and taste: each is from a different vineyard and microclimate. I would try them all, even with a comparison tasting with a single dish: fun and interesting!
Morisoli Vineyard, Korte Ranch and Howell Mountain Zinfandels are all great.
Call me a cab.... please!!
Elyse Vineyards Morisoli Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon from Rutherford should not be missed: it is the very essence of what Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon should be.
Finally you should not miss what is perhaps the most unusual and luscious of all the wines of Elyse: Nero Misto. Italian for "mixed black fruit", this deep red wine is a blend of Petit Sirah, Zinfandel, Carignane, Primitivo, Charbono, Barbera and Valdique. It is an extremely versatile wine and is particularly good with Italian food, southwest cuisine, steaks or chops off the grill, or any heart dinner.
"A meal with wine is dining: it's a conversation, an event. It's what wine is all about." Ray Coursen.
To your health!!
Sam Ritter is consultant sommelier to a number of western North Carolina's fine restaurants.