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Sound Holiday Wine Advice

by on ‎11-21-2011 06:11 PM

Wine



Many moons ago, my best friend and I owned a wine-focused restaurant, named Meritage. After Meritage closed its doors, Rick and I, while remaining best friends, took very different career paths. He chose the wine industry and I chose TV retail with QVC. We’ve been lucky to taste many different kinds and levels of wine over the years. Every year at Thanksgiving, people ask me what wine would be good to bring to a holiday dinner. It seems like a simple thing, but for most people, choosing wine for a special dinner can be daunting. This year, I’m telling most of my friends to bring a bottle of 2009 or 2010 Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais-Villages. This is a red wine made with the Gamay grape from France, near and around Burgundy. There are a few reasons I like this wine for the Thanksgiving holiday, which I’ll share with you below:


1. This is a wine that’s meant to be enjoyed young, hence the 2009 and even 2010 recommendation. Since it’s OK to drink this one young, it should also be pretty easy to find. (Note: Don’t confuse my recommendation with the Beaujolais-Villages Noveau, released every November around Thanksgiving. There isn’t anything wrong with that festive young wine; but for this post I’m specifically referring to Beaujolais Villages, not the Noveau.)


2. This is a wine that happens to go very well with traditional turkey dinners. You don’t always have to drink white wine with poultry! The wine will also benefit from a little chill. I say about 30 minutes or so in the fridge should be perfect, and try to hit the mid 50s. Never serve red wine at room temperature, especially this wine. All red wines should be drunk at a cellar temperature, which is often confused with room temperature. As a simple rule, drink reds around 60° F. Slightly warmer is good for heavy reds like Cabernet, and slightly cooler is great for lighter wines like Pinot Noir.


3. Since the wine is young, it’s bright, cheery, and not very complicated, which will appeal to all sorts of wine drinkers.


4. Last, but not least: it should price out around an affordable 10 bucks. So this year, instead of bringing the same ole’ bottle, give this one a try and let me know what you think. Here’s to safe drinking and lying around with our pants unbuttoned.


—Eric Theiss