Turkey Day - wine suggestions

For someone living in the UK, I don't think about Thanksgiving very much (except in the generic sense of giving thanks). I'm always surprised when someone asks me this time of year "what are you doing for Thanksgiving?" I've lived in Europe for 23 years now and I don't think I've "celebrated" Thanksgiving with a traditional American turkey dinner in all that time.

So, why am I thinking about it now? Probably because I was thinking about wines to have with turkey because I'm in the process of preparing a Cajun-brined Smoked Turkey Breast (yum!) and was thinking about what to drink with it. So here are some ideas -

Zinfandel is particularly great with turkey. The bright, berry character of Zin seems to blend well with all the diverse flavors of a typical turkey dinner. If you're going to have a Zin, look for a Seghesio and, particularly, their Sonoma County Zin. It's good value and absolutely delicious.

Another great wine for turkey is a good rosé. The best rosé for this IMHO is one that tends to be closer to a red than a white (most rosés don't know what they want to be when they grow up). So look for some of the full-bodied Portuguese rosés like the Redoma Rosé from Dirk Niepoort or the CARM Rosé. Similarly, some of the Austrian rosés made from their indigenous grapes work very well with turkey. Here, look for the Brundlmayer or Jamek Zweigelt Rosé or, perhaps, a Schilcher Rosé from Franz Strohmeier.

All of these wines, except the CARM which is sold out, are available at http://www.ultimatewines.co.uk.

So, enjoy your Turkey day, and give thanks.