Finally! I can get back to reading wine articles and blog posts without a single mention of Thanksgiving pairings. Seriously, it doesn’t really matter what you drink with your dinner as long as you’re enjoying it. Pairing a wine to white turkey meat? Sure. But you know what? The stuffing I had probably didn’t taste the same as the stuffing you had. It’s not that easy to pick blanket pairings with so many different dishes and sides all cooked completely differently. I went to an awesome dinner last night and had oysters and barbecued lamb alongside all the traditional fare. Still think Zinfandel is the right choice??

Here’s a few bottles from last night. There were plenty more including a great Cornas and Costières de Nîmes that I didn’t get a chance to photograph or write-up.

Caveau du Mont July Bugey Cerdon
Since my post on Bugey earlier this week, I’ve tried two different Bugey Cerdon wines. One from Bernard Rondeau and this one from Caveau du Mont July. These are sweet sparkling rosés made from Gamay and sometimes a bit of Poulsard. They’re essentially soda pop for adults. The reason they’re not gross, and actually quite fun to drink, is because they’re accompanied by some huge acidity (and also usually cost around $15). Strawberry and light red fruits with mouth puckering green apple characters. The Caveau du Mont July is a little bit more delicate and less juicy than the Rondeau, but I enjoyed them both. I got them at K&L in San Francisco.

Lini 910 ‘Labrusca’ Lambrusco Rosso
Sparkling red wine from Emilia – Black current, cranberry, and little rubbery on the nose. A touch of sweetness but also with some mouth-drying tannin. Great fun for food pairing. If I scored wines, it would get a few extra points for the rad labels. It’s available for less than $20 at Biondivino in San Francisco.

Donati Camillo ’08 Malvasia Secco
This is some pretty crazy stuff. Plus, it helped teach me that I should be going around saying mal-va-SEE-ya and not mal-VAY-zeya like I foolishly was. It’s fermented with the skins, without temperature control and bottled unfined and unfiltered. It’s sealed with a crown cap and expected to pick up touch of fizz from more fermentation in the bottle. The colour is dark yellow and if I hadn’t poured this into my own glass, I could easily be tricked into thinking I was drinking hefeweizen. It has very similar citrusy, yeasty, herbaceous characters complete with the fizz. Made biodynamically. Great stuff and for around $25 at Biondivino in San Francisco. Again more bonus points for the label (you’d think that was how I chose my wine).

Domaine de la Tournelle ’07 “Trousseau des Corvées” Arbois
I had to feed my serious Jura addiction with some Trousseau. Very light body, delicate and soft red fruits with a slight sweaty stinkiness. Good, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as Puffeney’s Trousseau. This one runs about $25 at K&L in San Francisco. If you’re in Vancouver, go talk to Matt at Kitsilano Wine Cellar. They just got a Jura shipment of a bunch of labels from Tissot including some single vineyard Chardonnays. Check out Sean from Vinifico’s notes on the Tissot “Singuliar” Trousseau.

Jacques Puffeney ’05 Arbois Chardonnay
I will seriously drink solely Jacques Puffeney’s wines for the rest of my life. I swear to God I’ll do it. That’s probably extreme, but his Chardonnay was brilliant. I’m going to have to find some and explore in more detail soon. It runs around $30, and you’ll be able to get it at Terroir in San Francisco once they reopen. Again, like I said above, if you’re in Vancouver and want to try some of these really cool Jura Chardonnays, go check out Kitsilano Wine Cellar’s current stock. Also check out Shea from Just Grapes’ post on Tissot “Les Graviers” Chardonnay.