Good Food and Good Wine ... Good Memories

By Scheryl McDavid

Choosing the right wine can make your holiday meal perfect.

Holidays are synonymous with feasting and sharing special foods with family and friends. Naturally, good food calls for great wine but, unless you’ve had plenty of opportunity to experiment, planning the perfect menu that pairs food and wine successfully can be challenging. Thankfully, there is plenty of expert help right around the corner. You will find no finer wine shopping and advice than right here in the area at Bacchus Wine Co. and Plantation Wine & Tobacco.

Visit Bacchus (Highway 98/Durham Road in Wake Forest) on any Saturday night and you’ll find an attractive wine boutique with a cool, wine cellar feel inside and comfortable patio seating outside. Kenneth Filer, Bacchus’ general manager, hosts free wine tastings while sharing his extensive wine knowledge and will happily coach you through delicious food and wine pairings.

“I do a lot of cooking at home,” says Filer, “especially roast duck with wild rice – I pair it with Pinot Noir. I consider it ‘the match.’”
Filer, who is especially fond of Pinots from Burgundy, thinks most customers will find that it’s perfect for their Thanksgiving too. He recommends Au Bon Climat 2002 or 2003 ($20), which is excellent with game birds.

For those who are interested in wine but are just starting to get adventurous, he suggests trying a Claret, a blend of red grapes (here they are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc) from the Bordeaux region. Caine Cuvee ($21.50) or Duckhorn Decoy ($26.75), both from Napa, will afford you the opportunity to try wines from great wineries but at smaller prices. From Tuscany, try a Sangiovese varietal – the main grape of Chianti – that is especially good with poultry. Poliziano Rosso De Montepuciano ($13) or Castelli Martinozzi are excellent choices. With pizzas, Caesar salads, or other party foods, try Vernaccia di San Gimgnano ($10.50).

To celebrate the season, Bacchus will host special tastings where Filer will lead patrons through a sampling of Champagnes paired with holiday faire.

“You can drink Champagne all holiday long – it goes with everything from appetizers to the main course,” says Filer. “Mumm Napa Cuvee ($17.50) is very approachable for the beginning wine drinker and goes well with seafood appetizers, including smoked salmon or caviar. The balance of acid and carbonation cleans the palette, making it enjoyable throughout the holiday meal. Louis Roederer ($35), which has an excellent structure and finish, is very elegant with roast pheasant or chocolate desserts.”

In Wakefield Crossings, just off Capital Boulevard, you won’t find a more patient teacher than Bill McIntyre, wine buyer for Plantation Wine & Tobacco. Plantation hosts wine tastings on Friday nights at its beautiful, contemporary, marble-topped wine bar set among rustic stone walls and wood wine racks. McIntyre also recommends a good Pinot Noir for the Thanksgiving table.

“Many people who don’t normally drink wine will drink them during the holidays,” says McIntyre. “For the ‘non wine drinker,’ Pinots work well because they’re lighter in style. For more body and flavor, choose a Shiraz or Zinfandel.” McIntyre recommends Paraduxx Duck Horn Zin ($39) from California, or for a little more fun, SinZin ($22) from California’s Alexander Valley.

If the lighter-styled Pinot Noir is more your style, Castle Rock 2004 ($11), a California best-seller, is flavorful but won’t overpower holiday foods or your palette. Connor Park 2002 ($23) from Australia is also a good choice.

If you prefer white wine with your holiday bird, New Gewurtz 2004 (pronounced Geh-vurtz) from the Alexander Valley of California ($13) is both a bargain and a good match. It is less sweet than a Riesling and has a little bit of spice. It will stand up nicely to turkey, stuffing, and many other accompaniments.

Though McIntyre rarely recommends California Chardonnays for Thanksgiving, saying that their oak and butter flavors can be overpowering to turkey, that isn’t the case at Christmas. He recommends Four Vines ($13) Chardonnay from Santa Barbara. It’s excellent for the novice wine drinker showing light flavors of apple and grapefruit, and pairs well with appetizers. In the same style and with similar flavor notes is Haley’s Mill ($8), or Matanzas Creek ($24) from Sonoma County, which has a bit more oak and a fuller body.

McIntyre’s red wine picks include Fife 2001 Red Head Red ($12) from Mendocino County. It’s a light-style blend with plenty of fruit to balance holiday meals that bring diverse flavors to the table. Another good choice is Lockhart 2002 ($11), a “middle-of-the-road” Merlot in terms of style with medium to lighter tannins (tannins are those things that make your mouth pucker but give a wine its structure and the ability to age well).
You’ll want to experiment with new regions when planning your holiday meals. One of the world’s strong newcomers to the wine industry is Argentina. At Plantation, you’ll find Broquel 2000 ($15), a Cabernet Sauvignon with plum and black cherry notes. To compare, Raymond Estates 1998 ($23) from Napa Valley has dark-fruit flavors but a little more spice. From Italy, try Romitorial’s Brio ($25), a blend of five grape varieties that make for a dry but rich and full-bodied wine, excellent for pairing with pork loin or steak.

“For the adventurer,” says McIntyre, “we have a Chenin Blanc-Viognier blend from Clarksburg, California.” This is a wine with lots of layers of flavor and complexity. For rich dishes like salmon, serve a Riesling. Its sweet flavors balance salmon’s richness. Covey Run ($10) from Columbia Valley, Washington, is a good bet.

And what is Christmas without Champagne? “You can’t have Christmas without Champagne!” says McIntyre. “I recommend that people drink it whenever they are comfortable with it.” To McIntyre, that means pairing Champagne with appetizers or desserts, or drinking it throughout a meal. He recommends the Brut, typically medium dry, François Montand ($12).

“It is unbelievably flavorful for the price!” McIntyre says.

There are so many great wines from which to choose that you may never tire of the journey. Don’t be afraid to try new varietals and styles and be sure to ask your local retailers plenty of questions about the wines that interest you. You’ll find wines with artistic labels that dazzle, interesting names that will have you laughing, and exotic locales that inspire vacation dreams … all, hopefully, making your holiday a more memorable one.

Scheryl McDavid is a freelance writer and publicist living in Wake Forest. She is a member of the Triangle Chapter of the American Wine Society.