Thanksgiving Wine.

“Is this a good wine for Thanksgiving?”  There is A LOT to think about before you answer that question!  What if that was your friend asking you!?  How would you begin to formulate your answer?  Pairing wine to food is a Profession.  The Thanksgiving meal is a big occasion for a lot of people.  It is not just a nice dinner during an evening about town.  It usually involves a larger amount of people than your usual meal.  Some of those people may have traveled.  There are expectations!Even if your Thanksgiving is a quiet affair, reflective and solemn, a well paired wine can really enhance the experience.  So how would you go about answering that question?  Like most things in life a question usually leads to more questions.  Which would you ask first:  what food will they be having, or what wine do they typically like to drink?  How you think about wine will determine how you approach your recommendation.  When I go out to a nice restaurant with a nice wine list I always ask for wine recommendations when the drinks are ordered, before looking at the dinner menu.  Whether or not that person has been trained in wine matters some, yet what matters more is their approach to wine, which will directly affect my wine experience.The easy question is to ask about food first.  Food to wine pairings are easier to grasp and remember, and there is very little opinion involved.  Asking what type of wine I enjoy first is a much more advanced technique.  What if I enjoy a wine not on the wine list, or a wine that typically does not pair with a certain dish.  Only a true oenophile could navigate that course, balancing what type of wine I like first with potential food pairing second.  So when I ask for a wine recommendation the questions I am then asked tell me everything I need to know about what my experience is going to be.A lot to think about indeed!  There are several “recommended” wines for Thanksgiving.  The Crowd Favorite this week from V Paul’s Vino Magnifico was a very dry Prosecco.  Not a bad wine to have as a starter.  The Crowd Favorite at Aragon’s monthly Cru tasting was a split between a Merlot heavy right bank Bordeaux and a Merlot from Washington State.  Both could accompany a Thanksgiving feast.  Several of our local restaurants were touting a Beaujolais Nouveau on Instagram as THE wine to have at Thanksgiving.  Because Beaujolais Nouveau has a tartness it “pairs” well with several things on a typical thanksgiving table.  If you followed the Instagram fad you will have wine that tastes like tart cranberry, in a good way.  If you wanted that, then perfect!  If not, then you have ended up with a bad wine!  Did those restaurants on instagram ask you if you wanted your wine to taste like a semi-tart cranberry, or did they just tell you what you should have?A good wine to have at Thanksgiving is one, or two, that you have enjoyed.  If you are brave enough to experiment during a big meal then try something nouveau!  If not, grab something that you have liked in the past and you might just find it will probably pair just fine with everything else on the table.  If it doesn’t, then you will know that you can just drink it, and enjoy.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Aragon’s August 3rd Tasting

Another hot summer day, and another Thursday. Naturally one of the things we had to do was check out the Thursday wine tasting at the Aragon Wine Market. This was my third tasting at Aragon and already I am starting to recognize the usual crowd that makes this their meeting spot on Thursdays. There is a good mix of young professionals and more seasoned wine enthusiasts. It also happened to be Charlotte’s birthday tasting, with Pepper pouring some stellar wines today. Each bottle ranged between $17 and $22. The wines included the following:

La Tordera "Serrai" Prosecco D.O.C.G., 2020 Matteo Braidot Friuli Pinot Grigio, 2022 Marisco "The Ned" N.Z. Sauvignon Blanc, 2017 Twenty Rows Sonoma Pinot Noir, 2017 D'arenberg "The Stump Jump" Red Blend, and 2020 Hedges "C.M.S." Cabernet Sauvignon.

This selection was widely popular among the different people Alex and I interacted with. Alex and I had joined the 5pm-7pm tasting at different times. Alex was there early for the first half of the tasting while I got to meet others through the second half of the tasting. One thing that was noticed was that the La Tordera "Serrai '' Prosecco D.O.C.G was just subtly the crowd favorite. Alex and I both agreed that it was a lovely prosecco that felt not too light and not too heavy on the tongue. The bubbles covered the tongue just right and this dry prosecco had acid that was balanced nicely to make this a very bright.

The most contentious wine of the evening was 2022 Marisco "The Ned" N.Z. Sauvignon Blanc. The wine, named after the peak in New Zealand called "The Ned," split the tasters. Half got a lot of citrus and a crisp after taste while the other half did not. Everyone agreed that the acidity was well balanced and the citrus taste, big or not, was not bitter. It had a medium weight on the tongue. Overall, I enjoyed this wine even if it does not stand out to me. I noticed among the crowd at the tasting that you either loved it or disliked it.

My favorite of the night was the 2017 Twenty Rows Sonoma Pinot Noir. Before this wine passed my lips I noticed the dark, brownish, red of the wine. It leaned more acidic but was very smooth and not strong in the tannin-like taste that usually leans more towards bitter. I enjoyed the oaky taste and the red stone fruit taste like cherry mingling together. I thought that out of all the wines tonight it was the most well-balanced out of the six.

I also cannot go without mentioning that along with the sampling of wine was the sampling of the most delicious sourdough bread from Local Thyme Bakery. Be sure to follow them on Instagram ( @ltbpensacola) to order from them! I was found frequently walking over to the table with the sourdough because I could not get enough!

Be sure to check out @aragonwinemarket and @gulfcoastwine for future tastings!

Cheers to the new month as we share wine with friends and strangers alike!

-Anna