Erin’s Thanksgiving Picks

Apéritif with pre-dinner pass-around snacks/appetizers:

MARTINI & ROSSI RISERVA SPECIALE AMBRATO VERMOUTH DI TORINO


An outstandingly smooth, aromatic, premium-quality vermouth that can be enjoyed on its own over ice or as a refreshing spritz by adding your choice of soda or tonic water and garnishing with olives, capers, or lime.

Moscato Bianco wine is the base for this hand-crafted Riserva Especiale Ambrato (white) vermouth to deliver distinct and highly fragrant floral and honeyed notes to complement the infused botanical character of yellow cinchona bark bringing a balancing bitter flavour to the expression.


Turkey Dinner wine pairings:

CLOSSON CHASE ‘THE BROCK’ CHARDONNAY VQA

Niagara River, Ontario


Quality-driven from its inception in 1998, only 1000 cases of this Niagara-grown Chardonnay are made each year. The Closson Chase approach is one that focuses on freshness and balance in search of a seamless integration of fruit and delicate oak spice for a wine that reflects the benchmark wines of Burgundy, France – the region that set the standard for both quality and style of ‘oaked’ Chardonnay.

Generous fruit character with heavier nutty tones will stand up nicely to the flavour intensity of a traditional turkey dinner while the tangy, brisk acidity will help cut through all that gravy and balance out the inherent richness of the quintessential Thanksgiving dinner.


MERCATOR VINEYARDS UPPER RIDGE MARQUETTE

Wolfville, Nova Scotia


The Marquette grape is a cold hardy red wine grape that is the answer to some of the most elegant and versatile wines coming out of Nova Scotia. Stylistically, this grape is a marriage of the juicy approachable style of a Gamay and the focus and finesse of a Pinot Noir from classic, cool-climate origins.

The ideal red wine to complement an often overwhelmingly rich Thanksgiving dinner, Marquette brings a perfect balance of weight, freshness and structure to counter the weight of the food and keep guests from falling asleep at the table. This Upper Ridge expression has pronounced black cherry and chocolate notes with a hint of anise spice and warm, earthy undertones.


Dessert wine pairing:

VINARSTVÍ LUDWIG NEUBURSKÉ BOTRITIS – GOLD COLLECTION

Czech Republic


Neuberské (Neuberger) is a white wine grape most often compared to Grüner Veltliner and/or Riesling. This is a wonderfully balanced and complex sweet, dessert wine with distinct honeyed and dried fruit character that will complement the spice and flavour intensity of a traditional Thanksgiving pumpkin pie.

We can give thanks to an ambient beneficial mold (botrytis) that thrives in very specific vineyard sites to deliver this highly concentrated miracle of molecules that is sure to mystify anyone new to this category of botrytis-affected wines.