Wine Pairings for the Thanksgiving Turkey

Need to bring a wine to the Thanksgiving family gathering or a friend's party? Looking for a good, quality wine that pairs well with turkey? Here are some guidelines for selecting a great wine:

Choose a wine made from a grape variety that complements the turkey. Turkey-friendly varieties include the reds of Gamay and Pinot Noir, such as this Rodney Strong from Sonoma, and the whites of Chardonnay and Riesling. These light-bodied, fruity varieties work exceptionally well with white meat and hold up to the many flavors and spices of the Thanksgiving table.

Stay away from jug wines. Period. While you're at it, box wines too. But since some high-quality producers are now packaging wine in boxes to reduce their carbon footprint, don't dismiss this rule altogether. Still, be aware of what's inside the box. For more on box wine, see here.

Don't turn away from foreign wine labels in horror trying to figure out the grape variety, especially the hard-to-decipher French ones. French wine is classified by region, called terroir. So you will see wines named after the region with usually no specification of the grape variety or varieties used. But don't think that it is daunting, it just takes some online research to find out the variety.

If you want Pinot Noir, you are looking for a red Burgundy (Bourgogne), and if you want Chardonnay, you want to buy a white Burgundy. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are the main grape varieties grown in the region of Burgundy. And if the label says Beaujolais, it means that the wine is made from the Gamay grape variety in the region of Beaujolais. Here is this Louis Jadot Beaujolais-Villages, made from a combination of wine from small villages in Beaujolais. But please at all costs avoid Beaujolais Nouveau as Dr. Vino points out here and here for reasons of economy, environment, and good taste.

With Riesling wines from Austria, Germany, the Alsace region of France, or even this Wiemer from New York's Finger lakes, you will see labels with the words Kabinett, Spätlese, and Auslese, which signify the harvest time of the grapes, here in order from earlier harvest to late harvest. And don't be afraid to ask your wine merchant for help in deciphering a foreign wine label. Know that they are there to help you. Make sure to let them know what wine of which grape variety you are looking for and it will make it easy for them to suggest a bottle of wine that fits your palette.

Try going as local as you can. Choose a wine with a small carbon footprint. Choose an American wine. There are wines readily available from New York’s Finger Lakes, Oregon’s Willamette Valley, such as this Bethel Heights Chardonnay, and of course California’s Napa and Sonoma Valleys have some of the most exceptional wines in the United States. Check out Appellation America to find wines from wine producers in your state.

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Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

I love red velvet cake, and I love red velvet cupcakes even more. Not to mention that my favorite frosting is cream cheese. For me this combination is highly appealing in a cake. Red velvet is so easy and fun to make at home. I’ve tried different recipes but the best resulting one so far is from Paula Deen. Her more or less traditional Southern recipe uses oil instead of butter. What I’ve found is that oil makes a much more moist cake than the traditional butter. I am starting to think that from now on I might just use oil in cakes.

I’ve adapted Paula’s recipe here with some minor tweaks. For a more delicate crumb I use cake flour instead of her all-purpose. You will notice too that instead of the typical nut topping, I’ve decorated the little cakes using blueberries, which I’ve fashioned into a blatant political message for this upcoming election day.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Note: Leave out the food coloring if you would rather not use it due to its questionable ingredients.

1-1/4 cups cake flour, not self-rising
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cocoa powder
2/3 cup canola oil
1/2 cup buttermilk, room temperature
1 large egg, room temperature
1 tablespoon red food coloring
1/2 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cupcake tin with cupcake papers.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder.

In a large bowl, using a handheld mixer, beat together the oil, buttermilk, egg, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla until incorporated. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients a little at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl now and then, until the mixture is smooth and glossy.

Divide the batter evenly in the cupcake tin using a releasable ice cream scoop. Fill each liner about 3/4 full. Bake until cupcakes are set, about 20 minutes. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Yield: 12 cupcakes.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 to 3 cups confectioners sugar

In a large bowl, using a handheld mixer, beat together the butter, cream cheese, and vanilla until well combined. With the mixer on low speed, add the confectioners sugar one cup at a time. Mix until incorporated. Increase the speed and continue to mix until light and fluffy. Add more sugar to stiffen frosting if too creamy. Yield: enough frosting for 12 cupcakes.

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