With only one weekend before Thanksgiving remaining, no doubt wine lovers throughout the country will be out and about buying wines for the big event. Indeed, it’s up there as far as important wine events go! For your drinking (and reading) pleasure, it seemed prudent to round up a few of my favorite picks for the e-roster.

Wheeee!!

REDS

2007 Schloss Muhlenhof Dornfelder - This bad boy comes in a 1L size. I hosted a small affair last weekend and it could have easily been the only wine I poured (it was gone WAY too quickly!) – offering great, concentrated red berry fruit flavors (cherries, raspberries) in a smooth, sultry package. Generally speaking, this grape (Dornfelder, that is) is a German red wine phenomenon for those who like a lot of fruit, a bit of “lift” and a welcome bit of earthy, mineral-driven nuance to their wines. No lie, Scholss Muhlenhof’s is THE BEST I’ve ever encountered (so great is my love I’m tempted to buy a full case of the stuff to have on hand “just in case…” this winter). The extra glass the 1L size offers will NOT be wasted.  Only $15!

2006 Bethel Heights Eola-Amity Cuvee Pinot Noir -  A careful blend of 6 different vineyard sites, the  is a tremendous, mouth-filling example of Oregon Pinot Noir. Think of this wine as a smooth, deeply earthy Belgian truffle, filled with cherry and raspberry fruits. Truly a well-integrated, delicious wine worth the gentle splurge. (A winner destined for my own table.) About $31.

2007 Clos la Coutale Cahors – With the (worthy) Malbec craze stemming from the success of this grape in Argentina, many consumers forget Malbec is actually a French varietal. Many more do not know that arguably the best, single bottling Malbecs in France come from the Cahors region – and are labeled simply as such. This wine is  remarkably succulent, juicy and approachable. Enjoy black raspberry and blackberry flavors complemented with fresh strawberries! A touch of earthy rusticity makes this Malbec uniquely French. This one is a “bigger” wine than “traditional” Thanskgiving recommendations and would be a particularly good match for rosemary/garlic encrusted roast hen, or the like. About $17.

WHITES

Schoenheitz NV Edelzwicker - Edelzwicker means “noble blend”. Indeed this wine includes as many as seven different varieties from Auxerrois to Sylvaner. The result is suprisingly coherent and delightfully flavorful. Well balanced, dry Alsatian goodness, this is another wine that comes in the 1 litre size bottle. About $15.

2006 Clos de Rochers Pinot Gris – While Alsace, France has long been the place for rich, but dry Pinot Gris, this Luxembourg beauty beats them at their own game. Ripe pears and yellow flowers abound on the nose and coat the palette while brisk minerality keeps things dry and balanced. This wine is absolutely worth the splurge – and certainly a great conversation topic if the family gets a bit unruly. (This one will also be on my own table!)  About $22.

2007 Anne Amie Cuvee A Mueller Thurgau -Leave it to the folks at well-known Anne Amie Vineyards to deliver an exceptional, if not lesser known, wine. The Cuvee A Mueller Thurgau’s tropical and floral aromas could very easily be bottled on their own and used by aroma therapists to rejuvenate clients. Pineapple, melon and white peach flavors comingle with a perky taste of fresh lemon juice. About $15.

SPARKLING FUN

Villa di Corlo NV Grasparossa Lambrusco – Versatile, slightly sparkling, fresh, fruity goodness. Lambrusco is pink – and the best are oh-so-dry. This is a wine for guests who deserve and enjoy a break from the norm. This particular offering shows ripe raspberry fruit backed by a coy minerality. Perfect simply when you want to dazzle without effort. About $17.

Poema NV Brut Cava - Today, if you look for it, exceptional Cava is available at a fraction of the price of Champagne. Case in point: the Poema makes drinking bubbly every day (or in a large party format) oh-so-easy and affordable! This is a fun and versatile bubbly with subtle flavors of peach, pear and warm, toasted bread. A bit of orange rind on the finish adds additional intrigue and nuance. Enjoy this one before, during or after your meal. About $11.

Which one of these is likely to grace your table? Is there another you have in mind for the big day??

Let’s start today’s post by clarifying that, despite significant fire damage to their new tasting facility at Dr. Konstantin Frank Wine Cellars, no one was hurt and no wine was compromised. I’m eager to hear more reports on how the fire was started, but in the meantime, the infamous Finger Lakes producer is still moving and grooving, with relatively little interruption to day-to-day activities; life goes on.

Moving right along, I was happy to stumble on a pretty great article about the regional typicity of California Pinot Noir – and a move by some to take into consideration how well a wine shows it’s true “roots” when it comes to wine scoring. The folks at Appellation America are introducing a Best of Appellation program. Click on the link to read more about the nuances you might hope to find in domestic Pinot, and how Appellation America is encouraging more focus on “terroir” (if I may be so bold as to use that term…) here in the US.

Then, consider this Wine Spectator article about Oregon’s new statewide certification for sustainable wines a teaser for my article in Wicked Local, due out Monday!

And last, but certainly not least, if you are looking for a great way to celebrate the warmer temps we’ll be enjoying this Sunday, sign up for the House of Blues Gospel Brunch. Divas Uncorked are at it again!

Any other special wine events you plan to attend in the coming week? Share the love so we can all raise a glass!

With Passover starting today and Easter a few days away, I should probably pick one or the other – or both – religious holidays to give a few wine pointers about. But today I’m inspired to go a different route; so if it was  holiday wine you were hoping for my musings about,  I hope instead you’ll use this as an opportunity to get your own feet wet in your local shop (if you haven’t already – tisk, tisk!) and see what your local buyer might recommend. (A Riesling or Gewurtztraminer for your Ham dinner, perhaps? Or maybe you’re having lamb and need a dynamic red blend from the Cote du Rhone or even California? But I digress…)

We’ve been tasting a bunch of Pinot Noir again lately at the shop. (A tough job, but someone has to do it!) We usually get on the Pinot tasting wagon around the winter holidays because it pairs so well with Thanksgiving dinner and is often a special selection at Christmas. Well, it turns out we’re at this crazy point in the year where two vintages are available: the 2006 vintage is still perfectly delicious, but the 2007’s are starting to get a bit more of a ‘push’ from salesmen.  Just this week Wine Spectator magazine reported the same thing via Monday’s Tasting Highlights article. And so here I am telling my own tale in the very, very informal “battle of the Pinots”.

First, let’s remember each vintage in each (sub)region of the world is unique. I recommend Googling various grapes and regions for vintage reports particular to a given year – and then reading a myriad articles for greater perspective on the lay of the land. Second, please, please remember good wine can be made in a bad year. That’s what we call winemaker expertise.  (Of course, pretty much anyone can make good wine in a good year.) Finally, each individual wine sings its own tune. So ultimately, you have to taste to know.

By point of reference, I found 2006 largely produced a solid batch of domestic Pinot Noirs. Of course there were some hits, some homeruns (go Pedroia and Varitek! ahem, sorry…) and some horrible misses. But for the most part, the wines are solid across the board. You simply need to know what style you prefer (ligher, earthier, meatier/fleshier, coca cola or beets, etc.) and ask your wine buyer which one is likely to suit your palate – but I argue 2006 Pinots largely don’t suck.

The 2007s, on the other hand, struggled out of the gates last fall. It was a rainy year here in the States, with varying results depending on when the grapes were harvested and how badly the rains fell in a given (sub)appellation. When we started tasting through these wines in anticipation of Christmas last fall, many were a bit rough around the edges, still tight and green and a bit disjointed, showing very little fruit at all. We suspected they just needed some time to ’settle in’ and would improve in as little as six months.

Wouldn’t you know,  it’s been just about that time? Today, with some bottle time under its belt, the O’Reilly’s Pinot Noir is more reminiscent of its fan-favorite 2006 counterpart; the Siduri ‘07 Pinots are absolutely sudductive; the ‘07 Dobbes Family Estates Assemblage Cuvee (and their less expensive offering under the “Wine by Joe” label) are solid, solid wines; and…. the list goes on!

This Wednesday I encourage you to get out and about and try your own grouping of Pinots from both vintage years (whichever part of the world you prefer) and see which strikes your fancy!

Have you had your own 2006 vs. 2007 Pinot Noir taste-off yet? Were they from the same vineyard, or different selections all together? Tell us your impressions!

How many times have you driven or walked by a quaint little place in your neighborhood and never popped in? Sometimes the greatest gems are right in your backyard. And yet often enough we find ourselves wanting to get “out” and end up exploring elsewhere.  Funny creatures we are….

Well, I’ve learned my lesson. Pop on over to Wicked Local today to learn more about my adventures closer to home – and find out about a pretty great Pinot Noir to boot!

White wines aren’t just a summer thang. (One of the best turkey wines is actually Pinot Gris from Alsace or Oregon!) And this time of year it can be really fun to expand your white wine horizons by looking into fabulous white blends. Think of old favorites like Evolution 9. Conundrum. Luna Freakout. The list goes on and on! The trick is finding fun white blends that have a little extra oomph to get you through the colder nights. A little residual sugar might not hurt either (think Anne Amie Cuvee Amrit!).

Since last week we talked about the awsome red blend SNAFU put out by the Local Wine Company, its only fair for me to let you in on the goodness that is their white wine blend: ‘06 JuneHog Oregon White. Yum. Oh wait, but I’m getting a bit ahead of myself…

Ever heard of Mueller Thurgau? Mueller is another one of the man-made varietals we’ve talked about lately. Back in the late 19th Century Dr. Thurgau created this hybrid varietal. His goal was to create a grape with the intensity of Riesling but with the ability to ripen earlier; he used Sylvaner to achieve the latter.  He didn’t quite get an A+ on his project, but he didn’t do too badly either. Mueller wines are fruity, but low in acidity. They are medium sweet, too, and very smooth.  This varietal makes up the greatest component of the JuneHog, coming in at 33% of the wine’s juice.

The next largest component of the JuneHog is Gewurtztraminer, or the “spicy white grape” that actually got its start in Traminer, Italy, but happens to have a German name. Go figure! Gewurtz is sweet, spicy, fruity, full-figured and has gorgeous floral aromas. (Trade “secret”: Gewurtz is actually sweeter than Riesling!) This grape brings 22% of the juice to the JuneHog blend.

The third largest component of this fun blend is Pinot Gris (21%). Recall from earlier posts Pinot Gris is the genetic mutant of Pinot Noir. Alsatian-style Pinot Gris is full bodied and offers ripe-fruit sweetness on the palate.  These wines are down right lovely on their own, let alone in a blend!

Pinot Blanc clocks in at 16% of the June Hog blend, which gets finished off with just a touch of Riesling (5%, if I’ve done the math right). I’m not sure how much time we’ve spent on Pinot Blanc together. But the thing to know is when winemakers don’t oak it, or stir it on the lees or otherwise “interfere” with it, PB offers terrific apple and almond flavors. As such, it can be one of the softest yet lightest (read: high acid) white wines on offer. A treat on their own and perhaps even better in some blends.

What do all these various components mean for the JuneHog experience? Let’s put it this way: this is the wine I want to drink on a cool fall day when I’m sitting in my Adirondack chair on some beach or even on my front porch – glass of wine in hand, a blanket at the ready and my book propped on my lap. Something mouthfilling yet clean you don’t have to think twice to enjoy. Warm sun, crisp air, relaxation. (Snacks optional – but with this wine you won’t go wrong with the pairing you choose!)

What’s your favorite fall white (blend) this year?