Celebrating Thanksgiving with Sparkling Wine

It’s time to pick out your wines for celebrating Thanksgiving. I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again. Sparkling wine is your best bet!

Stacy Slinkard, Wine Expert with About.com, says it well. “From appetizers, to white and dark turkey meat, mashed potatoes, yams, herb-filled stuffing, cranberry relish, pickled this and peppered that, all the way to pumpkin or pecan pie – is there truly a single wine that can take you seamlessly from start to finish? Enter, sparkling wines – an increasingly popular pairing partner… Sparkling wines bring both elegance and phenomenal food-pairing versatility to virtually any meal, but with Thanksgiving these wines really shine.”

Sparkling Wine Is Great with Appetizers

Sparkling wine pairs wonderfully with a number of great appetizers, including:

• Bread slices topped with brie and pear
• Crackers topped with pecorino cheese and dried apricots
• Stuffed mushrooms
• Roasted spiced walnuts
• Olives
• Dates stuffed with goat cheese

Sparkling Wine Is Great with Main Courses

Sparkling wine pairs beautifully with the more serious parts of the meal, such as turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes. It holds up nicely to all of these dishes without overtaking them.

Sparkling Wine Is a Great Cleanser

My favorite part about pairing sparkling wine with Thanksgiving is sparkling wine’s relative lightness. You eat a delicious, HEAVY bite of Thanksgiving fare. The moment you sip sparkling wine, your mouth is cleansed, and you feel ready for another bite of food. The sparkling wine doesn’t weigh you down.

In contrast, a heavier wine, which you might ordinarily pair with the dish you’re serving, would be heavy on top of heavy. No cleansing whatsoever.

Celebrating Thanksgiving with WineShop At Home’s Sparkling Offerings

WineShop At Home, the Napa winery I’m affiliated with, offers two great sparkling wines that I will be serving this Thanksgiving.

Our California Grand Cadeau Rosé is a blend of Ruby Red, French Colombard, Chardonnay, Muscat, Pinot Grigio and Viognier. This wine features aromas and flavors of white flowers, raspberry, watermelon and citrus.

Our California Petit Cadeau is a blend of French Colombard, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Muscat, Viognier, Pinot Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc. This wine features aromas and flavors of green apple, pear and flowers with hints of orange and anise.

If you would like to include these wines in your Thanksgiving celebration, you can place an order on my website, www.winetastingsandmore.com, or by calling me at 650-714-7009.

Cheers to celebrating Thanksgiving with sparkles!