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Thanksgiving Wine Picks From A Southwest Florida Chef And Sommelier

Author Gina Birch

Thanks to True Myth for inviting me to review one of their wines.  They provided me with a bottle of free wine in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

What wine do you serve for Thanksgiving? For people who appreciate the art of food and wine pairing, the question can be a conundrum. It’s challenging to find a wine versatile enough to compliment the menagerie of flavors on a typical table. For some guidance this year, and for Wine Wednesday, I asked experts from Fort Myers and Bonita Springs for a few suggestions. Here are some Thanksgiving Wine picks from a Southwest Florida chef and somm, short for sommelier.

A Chef’s Thanksgiving wine picks

Harold Balink, chef/owner of Harold’s Restuarant in Fort Myers is known for his seasonal wine dinners where he takes great care to match flavors. When it comes to Thanksgiving he says, “Kongsgard The Judge Chardonnay and St Cristia Vacqueyras are all time perfect Thanksgiving wines.”

The Judge is a famous cult wine from Napa Valley that is not easy to find and not easy on the wallet either. St Cristia is an elegant red blend from France’s Rhone Valley. Les Meysonniers is a white wine from the Rhone.

A sommelier’s Thanksgiving wine picks

Dianna Leach is the well-known sommelier at Angelina’s Ristorante in Bonita Springs. For her feast she says, “We generally start off with a bottle of Champagne while I’m cooking. Ken (her husband) says it keeps me happy even when someone is foolish enough to come into the kitchen.”

What she serves with the meal can vary. However, she is partial to Chablis like Louis Michel 1er Cru Butteaux, and rose. “Rose is the best Thanksgiving wine ever because it goes with everything on the table,” she says. When it comes to red wines, her choice is a new world pinot noir.

Additional Thanksgiving wine picks

For an off the beaten path suggestion try Frescobaldi Vigna Montesodi, Chianti Rufina. Chianti has never been top of mind for me when it comes to Thanksgiving. However, after enjoying a Frescobaldi Barolo with lamb at Italian restaurant last week, it got me thinking. We also enjoyed a bottle of chianti with a sausage dish and it was beautiful. The spicy sausage brought out flavors of eucalyptus and  berry in the wine. This is for my friends who make sausage stuffingBottle of chianti

Last week I checked in with Cindie Barker, manager of Blue Coyote Supper Club in Fort Myers who raved about the merits of zinfandel for Thankgiving. That info here. At the end of the day, open what makes you happy and toast your friends and family this Thanksgiving.

Make A Toast With These Five Festive Thanksgiving Cocktails

It’s Thanksgiving week and if you are hosting a gathering of friends and family, we’ve got some ideas to help in the beverage department. Even if you are attending a gathering and tasked with contributing something, this might help. Thanksgiving is a time to express gratitude. It’s a time to break bread and raise a glass. Make a toast with these five festive Thanksgiving cocktails.

You might think whiskey and bourbon cocktails would be well suited for sipping before or after Thanksgiving dinners. They are. However, here you will find some different suggestions and ideas here. Both tequila and rum can have that same warm and rustic feeling that whiskey adds to adult beverages. Many are aged in barrels and have similar, comforting caramel, vanilla and smoky flavors.

Thanksgiving Cocktails

The cocktail pictured above is from 21SEEDS Tequila. It’s called Thanksgiving Punch. This one is a drink that would appear to be near perfect for Southwest Florida’s weather as well as holiday fare. Here is the recipe:

1 bottle of 21SEEDS Valencia Orange Tequila
3 Cups Apple Cider
3 ounces lemon juice
2 ounces orange juice
3 ounces simply syrup

First, dry shake all ingredients together. Next, pour the mix over ice in a rocks glass. Last step, garnish the cocktail with  a dried orange slice, or a slice of fresh orange. One more thing, add a full cinnamon stick and then serve.

In addition to these unique holiday cocktails, if you are looking for some different wines to serve, here is one idea to try. Click here for yet another off the beaten path grape that is perfect for the flavors of the season.

  • Pumpkin Spice Martini

    Pumpkin Spiced Martini in a tall coup glass

    I want to make this just because how gorgeous it looks in this glass. It also sounds good too. Another tequila based cocktail but it is one that is infused with flavor that once again, sounds really good.

    1 oz 21SEEDS Valencia Orange Infused Tequila
    1 oz Pumpkin Puree
    0.5 oz Pumpkin Spice Syrup
    0.5 oz Baileys Salted Caramel

    Rim with Maple Syrup and crushed Graham Crackers and garnish with Whipped Cream, Pumpkin Pie Spice, and a Cinnamon Stick

  • Kaua’i Spice Mulled Wine

    two rocks glasses filled with mulled wine and a cinnamon stick on a tray in the woods
    You just can’t go wrong with a mulled or spiced wine recipe for the holidays and into the winter months. This one is by Sarah Stephens – Foraging for Cocktails

    1 (750ml) bottle Pinot Noir
    12 oz Kōloa Kaua‘i Spice Rum
    6 oz local honey
    4 oz tangerine juice
    20 cinnamon leaves
    10 allspice leaves

    Heat ingredients over medium heat in a saucepan until warm. Serve in a mug and garnish with tangerine
    wheels, cinnamon leaves, and allspice.

  • El Pueblo

    Cocktail with a bottle of tequila on a table outside

    This recipe is a riff on a the classic Old Fashioned. It uses tequila instead of bourbon. El Pueblo was created by Javier Ramirez.

    2 parts Cantera Negra Reposado Tequila
    0.25 part Ancho Reyes
    0.5 part Brown sugar simple syrup
    2 dashes of chocolate bitters
    Garnish: Orange peel

    Combine all ingredients into a mixing glass. Stir for about 20 seconds. Pour over a large ice cube. Garnish with a flamed orange peel.

  • Hot Buttered Rum

    Two Cocktail glasses with cinammon sticksHot Buttered Rum cocktails are not only good for Thanksgiving, they are good all holiday seaon long and into the winter season as well. Check this one out.
    1.5 oz. Dos Maderas 5+5 Rum
    1 Tbsp. butter
    1 tsp. Demerara sugar
    1 pinch of cinnamon
    1 pinch of nutmeg
    Build in a heated mug or Toddy glass. Add your butter, sugar and spices. Fill halfway with boiling water. Add your Dos Maderas 5+5 Rum. Top with hot water. Garnish with an orange peel studded with several cloves and some freshly grated nutmeg.

Gina Birch brings the sunshine to Sunny 106.3 every weekday morning from 6-10. She has worked in radio, television and print in Southwest Florida for nearly 30 years. During that time, she has become an advocate for numerous charities including those that support animals, children, women and wellness. In addition, she has written for numerous local, regional and national publications about food, wine and travel. Those are her longtime passions...along with shoes.

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