What We're Drinking with Thanksgiving 2018

I have always loved Thanksgiving. It's a holiday that's mostly about eating, drinking, and family. It's still relatively uncommercialized. And it's about giving thanks, which I feel like puts a celebration into the right perspective.

The idea that there is a "right" wine for Thanksgiving seems to be on its way out, and that's just fine. The meal, after all, is diverse, with a panoply of flavors (and participants) that encourages a diverse collection of wines. I do think that there are wines that it's probably good to steer clear of: wines that are powerfully tannic tend to come off even more so when they're paired with some of the sweeter Thanksgiving dishes, and wines that are high in alcohol tend to be fatiguing by the end of what is often a marathon of eating and drinking. But that still leaves you plenty of options.  With a traditional turkey dinner, I tend to steer people toward richer whites and rosés, and fruitier reds relatively light in oak and tannin.  There are a lot of the wines that we make that fit this broad criteria, so if you want to stay in the Tablas Creek family, you could try anything from Roussanne and Esprit Blanc to Dianthus Rosé to Counoise, Grenache, or Cotes de Tablas.  Richer red meat preparations open up a world of Mourvedre-based reds, from Esprit de Tablas to Mourvedre to our Panoplie.  But there's a wide world of wines out there, and I know that while our table will likely include a Tablas wine or two, there will be plenty of diversity represented. I thought it would be fun to see what a broad cross-section of our team were looking forward to drinking this year.  Their responses are below, in their own words, in alphabetical order.

Janelle Bartholomew, Wine Club Assistant
This year my family is especially grateful considering all the turmoil California has been through in the last month.  It will be just our little family of 5 celebrating together this year, so our wine list in small.  While I cook and listen to my children play (or argue, more commonly) I will be sipping on some lovely Delamotte Champagne… bubbles make everything better. For dinner I have saved a bottle of 2012 Coudoulet de Beaucastel to share with my husband. Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Neil Collins, Executive Winemaker
Once again it is time to carefully select those wines that will accompany turkey on the table. As is always the case these days the first bottle on my list will be a Magnum of Esprit De Tablas Blanc, the new and luxuriant 2016 perhaps? or the 2012?. The cellar crew and I shared a magnum of Beaujolais Nouveau from Domaine Dupeuble, I bought an extra for thanksgiving! The Lone Madrone Demi Sec Chenin Blanc will certainly be present. I have been saving a Brick House Pinot also. I tend to like some bubbles around also perhaps from The Loire Valley. We have a lot of guests coming this year, guests with varying levels of wine geekiness so the post Thanksgiving list will surely make more interesting reading than my pre list. Is there any better moment than friends and family around a table laden with wine food and chatter? Not for me there isn't! Neil..

Darren Delmore, National Sales Manager
I’m going all central coast this year on wine, as my family is celebrating with close friends in Ventura who own an awesome wine-focused restaurant called Paradise Pantry. We’ll be starting off with the 2010 Esprit de Beaucastel Blanc, which is at an incredible stage of its life and mind blowing in large Bordeaux glassware. For my contribution of reds, I pulled a 2008-2010 vertical of Pisoni Estate Pinot Noir; a powerful iconic SLH estate for the varietal. The fruit and tannin intensity coming from this own-rooted slope rewards some short term cellaring and should be at their pleasurable peak, along with the flavors and richness of what Paradise Pantry's chef-owner Kelly Briglio is making for the feast. Happy holidays! 

Brad Ely, Cellar Master
This year, as every year for Thanksgiving, my family and I will be starting with sparkling. There is nothing like bubbles to ease some family tensions and put everyone in the festive spirit. I usually go domestic for this and buy a few bottles of something very drinkable that everyone can enjoy like Mumm, Roederer, or Schramsberg. Then for the meal we will definitely have a food oriented rosé, like our Tablas Creek Dianthus. I find rosé to be a very versatile pairing with the multitude of flavors on the Thanksgiving dinner table. For red, we will be drinking a Cru Beaujolais from Fleurie and a Red Burgundy from Marsannay. Reds on the fresh side that complement the different foods without overpowering anything are my go to wines and these two should fit the bill just right. Cheers!

Evelyne Fodor, Tasting Room Lead
I am looking for something autumnal, unexpected, and “very French.”  My first pick is the 2015 Le Peu de la Moriette Vouvray of Domaine Pichot. The grape is Chenin Blanc from the Loire Valley.  To me, Vouvray stands for Fall; the way rosé makes me think of Summer.  This one has a yellow leaf color, herbal flavors and a Pink Lady apple fruitiness that will fit perfectly with my butternut squash soup.  

Another pick from the Loire Valley will also land on my table.  I found this 2012 Chinon, Les Petites Roches from Charles Joguet at Kelly Lynch in Menlo Park for $23 (the grape is Cabernet Franc). It is lean, floral and has the right amount of acidity to cut the fat of the meal. I loved its faint earthy undertones on my palate. I will put it in the fridge for 30 minutes before opening because I like my reds on the cooler side.  Both Vouvray and Chinon will flow with the food instead of being the centerpiece of the meal. 

Chelsea Franchi, Senior Assistant Winemaker
Aside from helping with chopping and dishes, my only Thanksgiving responsibility is to bring some wines that (hopefully) everyone will enjoy and make sure glasses stay full.  My wine packing plan involves the assumption that everyone likes what I like, which is a tactic that I’ve discovered works far better with wine than it does with politics. 

If there were a Day-Drinking Handbook, I’m sure it would require that sparkling wines must be consumed at some point during the festivities.  There’s not (that I know of), but it doesn’t mean we can’t heed that imaginary book’s wisdom.  We’ll start with something that provides everything I love about sparkling wine (dry, bright yet creamy with a fine mousse) and leaves out the thing that’s harder for me to swallow when buying Champagne: the price-tag.  My first sparkling bottle of the 2018 holiday season will be Domaine Huet’s Vouvray Petillant Brut.  It lands solid on the palate but weighs in at less than $30.  For the more serious portion of the dinner, we’ll pull out a 2012 Foxen Pinot Noir from Bien Nacido Block 8.  I’m anxious to revisit this wine as I loved the explosive nose and precise palate when we last had a bottle a few years ago.  If it’s anything like I remember, this bright, spicy and supple wine should be a great accompaniment to the various dishes being passed around the table.  With these two beauties being enjoyed (plus others, I’m sure), we’re bound to be too busy extolling the virtues of what’s in our glass to even think about discussing politics!

Linnea Frazier, Marketing Assistant
Thanksgiving tends to toe the line of mayhem and yet not quite dissolving into anarchy every year in my household. Naturally, the wines on the table help in this regard (sometimes admittedly adding to the anarchy aspect). Being a bubbles oriented family in general, we will probably be honoring American tradition and starting out with something produced Stateside like the 2012 Soter Mineral Springs Blanc de Blancs from one of my favorite Oregon producers. After that our 2016 Counoise and 2015 Roussanne will be no doubt represented and massively appreciated, with some Gamay always tending to sneak in there as well. Cheers!

Eileen Harms, Accounting
We will begin and end our Thanksgiving with a toast to the blessings we have had this year and what the future holds. I think a bottle of Veuve Clicquot Brut and a bottle of Domaine Carneros Brut Rose should do the trick. Not quite sure which will start and which will finish but dinner will include a 2013 Carlson Creek Chenin Blanc.

Misty Lies, Tasting Room Team Lead
You might be surprised but my family can be a bit untraditional when it comes to Thanksgiving meals. We are just not big on turkey but love all the fixings. This year we will be having some family in from Southern California and are going to celebrate the day before by heading down to Ember Restaurant for dinner. For starters I might bring Esprit Blanc to go with the first half of dinner, it will go nicely with their salads and the amazing scallop appetizer they have. I also see they have Six Hour Braised Oxtails on the menu so I will be taking along some bottles of the 2009 Massolino Barolo Parussi.  

Our family wishes you all a great Thanksgiving!

Jordan Lonborg, Viticulturist
In the spirit of giving thanks, I’ll be paying homage with an ‘09 Tablas Creek Tannat because it is hands down one of the toughest, most resilient varietals I’ve yet to encounter. 

Also, Lone Madrone’s “Old Hat” (Neil Collins’ side project). The fruit from this wine is grown by my neighbor David Osgood, a local dry farming legend, and hands down one of the largest inspirations in my life and a huge catalyst as to why I do what I do today! 

John Morris, Tasting Room Manager
My wife announced yesterday that we're having a Cajun turkey for Thanksgiving.  While I haven't taken the time to research precisely what that entails, I know one thing:  it's going to be spicy.  In my mind I go immediately to whites and roses.  Sure, light-bodied, low-tannin reds will work, and I may pull out a bottle of our Counoise just to test my theory, but I suspect my initial instinct will prove correct.  I'm going to lean heavily on Tablas Creek this year, so opening a bottle of both the Patelin de Tablas Rosé and Dianthus seem elementary.  For whites, the options are much greater.  An Esprit de Tablas Blanc of any vintage would be sublime, but I'm a little concerned it's elegance would be overshadowed by the heat.  After some tinkering in my minds eye, I'm going with the 2016 Cotes de Tablas Blanc (more saline and mineral than the effusive 2017) and the 2017 Picpoul Blanc, which has this great spice component that offsets the juicy fruit and welcome acidity.  Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  

Gustavo Prieto, Tasting Room, Cellar, and Vineyard
I have in mind it's to start with some bubbles, a Vouvray, Domaine Pichot 2011, I like Chenin and it's always a fun way to start the festivities. After, continue with Tablas Dianthus Rosé 2016 and for the dinner table an older vintage of the Esprit de Beaucastel Blanc (04?, 05?). I love Esprit Blanc's and I always find them very complex ready to take on such a mix of flavors like thanksgiving dinner. And for the red drinkers the Qupe 2011 Pinot from the Sawyer Lindquist vineyard in Edna Valley farmed Biodynamically, only 1.5 acres planted. I never tried this Pinot before but I'm curious to taste this wine from a cooler area. 

Suphada Rom, Sales & Marketing
Thanksgiving is the ultimate family meal and bottle share. I’ll bring a few different options, like the Gamay/Pinot Noir blend from Guillot-Broux, a perfect accompaniment to my tangy cranberry sauce (and for my post-Thanksgiving sandwich!) I’ll keep the Pinot Noir trend going through dinner with a bottle of Frederic Savart Champagne. His Blanc de Noirs (l’Ouverture) is my favorite because its got a freshness I love when it comes to champagne, and a richness I am always pleasantly surprised by. My fiancé Cameron and my parents love rosé and we saved some 2017 Patelin- I’m sure a bottle will make it onto very crowded but cozy dinner table.

Randy Thurman, Facilities & IT
I usually drink some Papa’s Pilar rum or a nice bottle of Esprit that we have been saving for special occasions. The rum reminds me of camping trips with my dad and sitting by the camp fires listening to old stories and smelling the smoke from cigars. The wine reminds me of visiting my mother and father in law when we have had huge spreads with a large group of family. Usually 20-30 people and we sometimes drink large magnums of wine. Has been some J Lohr, Tucker Cellars, Paraiso Vineyards by the smith Family and of course several bottles of Tablas Creek. Usually a bottle of Dianthus and something white like a Viognier or Picardan is opened along with a bottle of Esprit. I usually rotisserie over a Weber charcoal grill an apple juice-brined turkey coated in butter and herbs and stuffed with apples, oranges, lemons, and onions for about 4 hours on low heat. Always juicy and comes out like a smoked rotisserie chicken. I have also used a similar method to smoke large prime rib roasts as well.

And as for me...
Typically, my choice is to open the largest bottle I have to hand at Thanksgiving gatherings. There's usually a story behind a big bottle, and the randomness of "just open it" adds a certain amount of pleasurable discovery to the gathering, as well as the festivity that large bottles bring per force.

Of consideration for us, this will be our first Thanksgiving without my dad, and I'm sure we will spend a good chunk of the day thinking and talking about him. So it's with pleasure that I think I've found the perfect bottle to both celebrate his memory and pair with the meal. It's a magnum of 1987 Calera Selleck Pinot Noir, brought by Calera's founder and winemaker (and longtime friend of my dad's) Josh Jensen to the celebration of my dad's life this spring. It checks all the wish list elements for me: Pinot Noir, particularly with some age, is a great pairing for turkey (check), Calera is an iconic producer (check), it was brought by a friend and is a wine to which we have a personal connection (check), and it's a magnum, so there's going to be enough to go around the table (check). I'm sure that it will be preceded by some Dianthus, and we'll likely break out some whites for those who'd prefer that with their turkey, maybe our 2017 Marsanne, which is my favorite white we've got right now. And none of these wines will demand to be the center of attention: they will be dining companions with which you can have a conversation, to tell (and help you tell) stories around the table. After all, that's what it's all about.

Wherever you are, we wish you a happy, healthy Thanksgiving, and that you be surrounded by good food and great company.