CoolVines Suggests Wines that Complement Thanksgiving Dinner

With Thanksgiving less than a week away, CoolVines is offering some wine suggestions to pair with the turkey and the trimmings. The Central Avenue wine shop is featuring a choice of six-packs that cater to both the classic and avant-garde palate.

This year's Classic 6-Pack Includes:

German Gilabert Rosato Cava (Rosé/Sparkling) - This is a special project custom made for Jose Pastor. The wines comprised of mostly of Trepat, a local varietal, and some Garnacha. All vines are farmed organically in the Penedez region. 

Carabella Pinot Gris 2011 (White/Medium-Bodied) - "It is all about vineyard site" is the belief of winemaker Mike Hallock. Carabella is located in the newly designated Chehalem Mountains AVA in Oregon's Willamette Valley it's the culmination of a twelve year search for the perfect location. Carabella Vineyard is a 49 acre site.  Winemaker Mike Hallock makes wines exclusively from Carabella Vineyard fruit.  

Michel Gassier Nostre di Pais Blanc 2010 (White/Full-bodied) - Nostre Pais Blanc is a blend of 90% Grenache 5% Roussanne and Viognier, aged on its lees for six months, with some barrel fermentation. It comes across as a top-flight white Chateauneuf du Pape rather than a less expensive Costieres de Nimes. 

Chasseur Cazar Sonoma Pinot Noir 2011 (Red/Light-Bodied) - Made by Bill Hunter, this is the sister bottling to his Chasseur label. Slightly higher in alcohol content than many Pinot Noirs, this one emphasizes earth, complexity and depth over sheer fruit or power. Aged in French oak -- try it with roast chicken or turkey.

Amador Foothill Winery Zinfandel 2010 (Red/Full-Bodied) - If we were asked to reccomend exemplarly Sierra Foothill Zinfandel, we would look first at Amador Foothill Winery. Its various Zinfandels represent Amador Zin at its best: concentrated, powerful, yet astonishingly graceful.

Domaine La Manarine Cotes du Rhone 2010 (Red/Full-Bodied) - Gilles Gasq honed his skills as an assistant to Paul Jeune, famed proprietor of Domaine Monpertuis in Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Now, from his own "petite" domaine in the arid clime of Southern Rhone, Gasq creates this lush, spicy, highly aromatic wine.

$92.00 (retail value $108 - You save 15%!) Click Here to Purchase

This Year's "Geek 6 Pack" Includes:

Patrick Bottex Bugey-Cerdon "La Cueille" Rosé (Rosé/Sparkling) -La Cueille is lovely wine-geeky Kermit Lynch selection from Savioe in France. This sparkling Rose wine is 90% Gamay and 10% native grape Poulsard made in the méthode ancestrale, a rare technique that experts believe predates the méthode champenoise. The resulting wine is delightfully refreshing with bright fruit, a beautiful rosé hue, and a touch of sweetness.  

Pacherhof Kerner 2011 (White/Medium-Bodied) -From Italy's most northern wine growing region, the Eisack Valley, comes this delicious white wine made from the obscure Kerner grape. Beautifully aromatic, with tropical and white stonefruit flavors, minerality, and great balancing acidity.  

Occhipinti Aleatico Alter Ego 2011 (White/Medium-Bodied) -Andrea Occhipinti is an avant-gardist: he is the first in Italy to vinify a dry Aleatico (usually its sweet), and also the first to vinify a white wine from Aleatico (a red grape). His Alter Ego exhibits compelling aromatics, which lead to ripe orchard fruit and mineral flavors. One of the most unique we've ever encountered.   

Kirchmayr Zweigelt 2011 (Red/Light-Bodied) -Zweigelt is a red wine grape variety developed in 1922, at the Federal Institute for Viticulture and Pomology at Klosterneuburg, Austria, by Fritz Zweigelt. It was a crossing of St. Laurent and Blaufränkisch. This crossing was necessary because of the difficulty that Austria had with ripening red grapes. A fresh light bodied red Zweigelt is an wonderful substitute for European Pinot Noir and pairs well with variety of cuisines.

Vercesi del Castellazzo Pezzalunga Rosso 2011 (Red/Medium-Bodied) -Pezzalunga is a blend of 35% Barbera, 35% Bonarda (Croatina), 15% Uva Rara, 10% Pinot Nero, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. The grapes are hand harvested in different periods and vinified separately with no addition of sulphur dioxide.  This wine is bright ruby in color; its bouquet and flavor profile is well fruited, elegant and well-balanced. This red is delightful with all traditional dishes.  

Domaine des Soulanes Cuvee Jean Pull 2010 (Red/Full-Bodied) - This is estate has been handed down from father to son, until Jean Pull, for whom this cuvee is named, sold it to his friends and co-vitners Daniel Laffite. Daniel Laffite and his wife, Cathy, run the estate located near the border of Spain. This blend of Grenache and Carignan is robust and rustic full of ripe fruit balanced by spicy tannins.    

$102.00 (retail value $120 - You save 15%!) Click Here to Purchase

For more information, call CoolVines at 908-232-5050 or visit www.coolvines.com