Joe's Picks for Thansgiving

Victory Golden Monkey Belgian-style Ale ($13.99/six-pack)

This balanced and complex beer is ideal for your elaborate Thanksgiving meal. With a golden pour and aromas of citrus, apple and Belgian yeast it’s the perfect match for a big feast. At 9.5%, the high alcohol cuts through the fats and provides sweetness and complexity for this pairing.

Quo Old Vine Grenache 2008 ($15)

This may be the perfect wine to serve this year for you and your guests. This exceptional value from Spain offers richness, complexity and a long finish. The palate displays red and black fruit leading to a spicy finish with nice balance and texture. It is a great wine to compliment the many options on the table.

Rodet Bourgogne Blanc 2009 ($16)

Burgundy is my go to when pairing white wines with my Thanksgiving dinner. This well rounded wine offers a pale golden color and a slight floral aroma.  The flavors include citrus and pear notes.  It is an extremely versatile wine at a great price point.  

Josh Genderson's Thanksgiving Wine Suggestions

Toluca Lane Pinot Noir 2009 ($32)

The first thing that comes to my mind when thinking about Thanksgiving is Pinot Noir (and you thought it would be turkey). And in my opinion, there is no better deal at Schneider’s than Toluca Lane Pinot Noir. At only 31.99 per bottle, this beautiful Pinot offers succulent aromas of cherries, roses, raspberries and lavender that you would normally find in a $100 bottle.  A great balance of fruit, earth, and oak makes this the best value Pinot Noir in the store and a perfect pairing for your turkey dinner.

Cloudline Pinot Gris 2008 ($16)

This Willamette Valley Pinot Gris offers peach, melon, and lemon aromas that lead to intense flavors of green apple and citrus fruits. It's lean and slightly grassy with a tart note of green spice.   Crisp and balanced with excellent acidity, this wine is a great substitute for higher priced Alsatian Pinot Gris and will pair beautifully with turkey and all the fixings.

Montaudon Brut Champagne Magnum ($60)

When it’s time to turn Thanksgiving into a party, there is no better option than popping a cork of delicious (albeit well priced) bubbly.  My pick for an amazing Champagne is the non vintage Brut from Montaudon. This rich and toasty sparkler has notes of almond and brioche toast combined with crisp green apple and lime accents.  Delicious!

Stewart's Top Picks

Champy Bourgogne Pinot Noir 2009 ($20)

Nothing pairs better with turkey and all the dressing than a good Pinot Noir.  This burgundy shows notes of cranberry, dark cherry and rose water backed by mouth watering acidity that will keep you coming back for more.

Chateau de Lancyre Rose 2010 ($18)

Although summer has come to an end, that does not mean you should stop drinking rose.  This dry rose has a great nose of fresh cherry and strawberry with a hint of steely minerality.  It will make for a great accompaniment to all of the Thanksgiving offerings.

Jacquart Brut Blanc de Blanc 1998 ($40)

Why not kick start the holiday with a glass of bubbly? This French Champagne is made from only Chardonnay grapes giving it a nose of fresh buttered toast, crisp apple, and pear followed by a finish that goes on and on.  

Terry's Thanksgiving Selection

Here is Terry's selection. He's our wine manager and in house chef, so when it comes to food and wine pairings, he often comes up with some spectacular combinations. 

AzumbreVerdejo 2010 Rueda, Spain ($17)

This is a beautiful, clean, crisp white that is lively and refreshing. It has complex aromas of white flowers, melon and white peach. In the mouth, white fruit and dry pineapple lead to a wonderful oily richness and a lingering finish. This wine will act as a perfect foil for the richness of a Thanksgiving meal or with a first course of roast pumpkin soup.

Pali SummitPinot Noir 2010, Santa Barbara, California ($30)

Pinot Noir makes an outstanding pairing with turkey; the difficulty is finding a good one at a reasonable price.  A good Pinot needs to have the body to stand up to the richness of all the fixings like stuffing and gravy. The Pali Summit Pinot Noir is made to order, offering juicy ripe raspberry and cherry fruit with a feathering of white pepper and spice notes on the finish. This delicious wine is complex and mouth watering.

ValsotilloReserva 2004 Ribera Del Duero, Spain ($75)

This wine is a work of art! It is big yet elegant, a velvet hammer that exudes cherry and blackberry fruit with leather, espresso and anise. The tannins are big but smooth and mature. The oak influence makes the wine rich, complex and balanced with a seductive, chocolaty  lingering finish. It is delicious with our without food.

Thanksgiving Recommendations

If you didn't grab a copy of the November issue of The Hill Rag then you missed out on our top picks for getting you through Thanksgiving. Don't worry though, as we'll be publishing one every day of the working week till next Thursday, so check back for Josh, Terry, Stewart & Joe's favorites. 


Here are Rick Genderson's. 

Chateau Sociando-Mallet 1982 ($130)
This mature Bordeaux offers up aromas of pure, sweet, roasted nuts, along with mineral-laced black currants. Medium to full-bodied and structured, it’s earthy fruit and complex flavors makes it a real winner at the Thanksgiving table. 


Rodet Rully 1er Cru Chateau Bressande 2007 ($20)
This 100% Chardonnay from Burgundy possesses a ripe apple and pear bouquet leading to flavors of spiced apple and lemon/lime tinged minerals.  Soft and round in the mouth, it works beautifully with the Thanksgiving meal.


Mont Ferrant Brut Blanes Nature Nature 2004 ($20)
This is a top quality Cava from Spain.  It is a delightful sparkling wine with crisp citrus and pear aromas leading to almond, nut and that lovely toasty, yeasty quality that is hard to find outside of Champagne.  It is perfect as an aperitif.  

Wine of the Week – Cuvee de Pena 2008 Red

Cuvee de Pena 2008 Red

Grape(s): 40% Grenache, 38% Carignan, 12% Syrah, 10% Mourvèdre

Region: Vin de Pays des Pyrénées-Orientales, France

Style: Light-Medium – juicy and fruit forward

Alcohol: 14.1%

Price: $11.99 Reduced $7.99

This wine is a true steal, offering light, fresh, and appetizing fruit. Red and black cherries meld together on the nose with a subtle spice component and continue on in the mouth with good length and fine tannins.

Designated Vin de Pays des Pyrénées-Orientales, the wine comes from a cooperative winery in the charming little village of Cases de Pene, just 10 miles north west of Perpignan, in the most southerly part of France.

The quartet of grape varieties; Grenache, Carignan, Syrah and Mourvedre, typically grown in this part of the world are known for making some big and heavy long lasting wines, but as this example clearly demonstrates, they are also more than capable of producing interesting lighter versions without the need of any oak ageing. One of the huge advantages of stainless steel over oak is the big cut in the cost, allowing producers like Chateau de Pena to bottle high quality grapes at phenomenally low prices.

While I could imagine sitting down to one of the regions classics, such as duck cassoulet, it is also compatible with a wide range of food and great for quaffing on its own too. Enjoy!

Felix Milner

Wine of The Week - Tait Ball Buster Barossa Valley 2009

Tait Ball Buster Barossa Valley 2009 ($19.99)

In the time I’ve worked at Schneider’s of Capitol Hill, I’ve come to expect great things from our Australian wines. Along with Chile and Argentina they consistently offers high quality without necessarily breaking the bank. The Ball Buster, a blend of 73% Shiraz, 15% Merlot, and 12% Cabernet Sauvignon, is from Barossa Valley and made by exceptionally talented wine maker, Bruno Tait. The 2009 vintage does not disappoint.

In the glass, the wine exhibits an appealing deep purple color. The aroma is a pleasant blend of dark chocolate, honcho pepper, and cranberry. Upon tasting, you’ll immediately notice that the wine is full bodied, with a moderate level of acidity. On the palate, there is an opulent display of blackberry, baked plum, and dark chocolate. There are definite notes of cinnamon and vanilla, on what is an impressive and lengthy finish for a wine at this price point. At $19.99 it’s a steal, ideal with grilled meat, yet is sophisticated and balanced enough to be appreciated on its own.

Kevin Ross

Wine of The Week - Poggio Amorelli Chianti Classico 2007

Poggio Amorelli Chianti Classico 2007

Key Facts:

Grape: Sangiovese

Region: Tuscany, Italy

Style: Medium body - vibrant red cherries and violets

Alcohol: 13.5%

Vintage: 2007

Price: $24.99 $17.99

From one of the most famous regions of Tuscany, producer Poggio Amorelli is located in one of the most picturesque places in the heartland of the Chianti, the village of Castellina in Chianti.

Their 2007 vintage is a great expression of the regions traditional style. Made from 100 percent sangiovese, it delivers intense aromas of red cherry, violets and just a hint of vanilla imparted from its maturation in oak. One of the hall marks of this style is the streak of vibrant acidity and savory fruit and subtle spice quality, making it a great wine to pair with a wide range of food, not just its typical companions, such as pasta and pizza. Its silky texture and medium body reminds me how well this would work alongside turkey and all the trimmings for Thanksgiving. At such a reasonable price, this is definitely going to be one of my picks on the table.

Felix Milner

Wine of The Week - Chateau de Bel 2009

Chateau de Bel 2009 Bordeaux, France ($19.99 reduced to $15.99)

Anyone with an elementary knowledge of wine knows that purchasing anything from Bordeaux can be an expensive undertaking. Unfortunately for most people, that often means that Bordeaux is enjoyed only on special occasions. It’s for this reason that I was anxious to try Chateau de Bel, a modestly priced red which retails for only $15.99.

Beautiful dark-cherry red in the glass, the wine was rather closed upon opening but after a few minutes it’s fragrance opened, displaying notes of ripe plum and oak. Upon my first sip, I noticed tastes of dark blueberry, plum, and modest amounts of oak manifested by cedar and warm sweet spice notes. Tannins were bold but not overpowering and overall I thought Chateau de Bel is an amazingly well structured, balanced wine. Considering it is under $20, it makes for an excellent everyday drinking wine for any Bordeaux lover. This is a great wine for those cooler nights curled up on the sofa, and though it would work well with grilled meats and hearty pasta dishes, I enjoyed a couple of glasses with a mouthwatering wedge of sharp cheddar.

Kevin Ross

Wine of The Week - Bodegas Olivares Panarroz 2009 Jumilla, Spain

Panarroz 2009 Jumilla, Spain $9.99

It might start looking like we are being subsidized by the Spanish wine industry, given the number of wines I’ve featured from Spain in the last couple of months. But the answer is really down to the fact that I keep finding a growing number of very pleasurable and relatively inexpensive delights. This week’s pick is a case in point. Panarroz is a delicious blend of Monastrell (Mourvedre) 60%, Garnacha (Grenache) 20% and Syrah 20%. I’m not quite sure where the name rice bread comes from, but the delightful fresh fruit on the nose and palate seem to make more sense especially given the astounding price, coming in at under $10. I recommend picking up a bottle to try and I would be surprised if you didn’t come back to grab a case, as I think it makes a great standby, week night wine. It’s direct and youthful character, partly due to the absence of any oak ageing, means it is very versatile. Great for quaffing on its own, it would also work well with pasta, chicken, and even some meaty fish.

Felix Milner

Wine of The Week - El Agosto Mencia 2010, Bierzo, Spain

El Agosto Mencia 2010, Bierzo, Spain ($24.99)

After taking stock of Gines Fernandez’s Mencia for the first time and with an interest in try something a little different, I decided to take home to try.

Due to its similarities, the Mencia variety was long thought to have been Spain’s cousin strain to Cabernet Franc, but recent DNA profiling has established the two are not linked. The grape is enjoying a gradual resurgence in popularity as young winemakers discover old vines and their potential to produce truly excellent wines, which is fuelling the development of a number of styles in this region. Some of the biggest examples see extended oak aging and need the best part of a decade to mature before reaching their prime. Others, like El Agosto, are made for near term drinking.

A dedicated and meticulous team hand harvest low yielding, old bush trained vines which are carefully cultivated on the hillsides of the sub region of Bierzo, in North West Spain. The grapes are fermented in small, plot specific tanks as they reach optimum maturity. Eight months in French oak has given backbone to this wine’s supple and delicious fruity quality. On the nose there is a display of soft plum and raspberry with a hint of mint. The palate takes on a burst of fruit, expressing a raspberry and blackberry compote with depth and somewhat grippy tannins.

Felix Milner

Wine of The Week - Domaine Dublere Bourgogne Blanc Les Millerands 2009

Domaine Dublere Bourgogne Blanc Les Millerands 2009 ($24.99)

This past Sunday, I sat down to taste a bottle of white Bourgogne Les Millerands from producer Domaine Dublere. The winery was started by Blair Pethel, a former political journalist from Washington, DC. After multiple trips to the region, he was so enchanted by Burgundy that he decided to quit his job, move to France, and begin producing wine. I was especially looking forward to trying this particular Chardonnay, hoping that a fellow Washingtonian could effectively capture the essence of Burgundy.

After pouring a glass, I first examined the color of the wine. It was about the color of straw, not too light and not too dark with a slight golden hue. Upon smelling my glass, I immediately noticed that this is not an overpoweringly fragrant wine, but it does have very pleasant hints of both oak and vanilla.

On taking my first sip, I observed that the wine was medium bodied, which I initially interpreted as a light cream taste. As with the aroma, the wine’s flavors are delicately present but not overpowering. The wine exhibited a nice acidity in the beginning which gave way to a restrained yet definitive mineral and oak taste. After the mineral and oak subsided on my palate, I was left with a clean, crisp finish which lasted well over thirty seconds. As the wine warmed up a bit in my glass, a faint nutty taste also materialized. It was enjoyable to sit and sip this wine on a Sunday afternoon while imagining the vineyard at this time of year.

Overall, I was very pleased Domaine Dublere’s entry level Chardonnay. offering good quality at such a reasonable price, given Burgundy’s high land and labor costs. The balance of the various flavors in the wine was excellent and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking to venture into white Burgundy. I have no doubt that I will be trying more of Blair Pethel’s wines in the near future.

Kevin Ross

Wine of The Week - Máté Mantus Merlot 2007

Máté Mantus Merlot 2007, Tuscany Italy ($29.99)

Not content with his success as a writer, photographer, and ship builder (which he of course wrote about very successfully), around ten years ago Ferenc Máté turned his hand to making wine.

After sailing around the Pacific with his wife Candace in the boat they built, the couple finally chose to settle down in Tuscany, Italy. To begin with Ferenc renovated a beautiful 13^th Century Friary nestled in the hill of Montalcino and then set about building a winery and growing vines on the surrounding land.

With the help of Fabrizio Moltard, agronomist to Angelo Gaja, Ferenc chose grape varieties that suited each field of the small, 15-acre estate. Mate Winery makes a variety of remarkable wines, with their Brunello at the apex, reaching sensual heights. They also make a few “international” varietals, including a Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Merlot.

I took home a bottle of the Merlot last week and was thoroughly impressed. If there is anyone out there who turns their nose up at Merlot, this is a wine to persuade them otherwise. The soft plum and sumptuous dark fruit on the nose are more akin to a Pomerol than any other Merlot I have tried.

Like Pomerol, Ferenc grows his Merlot in plots where the soil has a high proportion of clay. The combined facts that Merlot is happy to have wet feet and needs long warm days and cool evenings to ripen, explains why it works so well here. Montalcino enjoys a warmer, more arid climate than Chianti zones to the north, receiving several inches less rainfall every year. With less rainfall the roots stays well irrigated by the highly absorbent clay soil throughout the ripening period.

This wine would work well with any number of rich tasty dishes. I tasted it alongside a Burger from Five Guys, and although it probably isn’t a food match normally associated with fine wine, the result was sensational.

Felix Milner

Wine of The Week - Toluca Lane Pinot Noir 2009

Toluca Lane Pinot Noir 2009 ($31.99)

Pinot Noir is rarely inexpensive, even when you consider large producers who churn out a couple of hundred thousand cases a year, their price still hovers around $20-25 a bottle . The reason, to a large extent, is a result of the cost of production. Pinot is a hard grape to grow, thin-skinned and temperamental, it thrives in climates that offer warm days and cool nights and well-manicured vines that allow sunlight and ventilation without excessive exposure require lots of labor. This drives up the cost of production before the grapes have even made it to the winery. One of the most successful ways of producing Pinot Noir, as far as quality is concerned, is to grow in tiny parcels, like those of Burgundy. Except of course, making wine in tiny quantities often comes at a high price, or so you would think.

Toluca Lane, is a boutique winery we’ve been lucky enough to offer to our customers for a number of years. They have a small patch of land in Eola-Amity, Willamette Valley. After setting up in the late 90s in one of the most scenic parts of the country, Geoffrey and Lane Crowther bottled their first vintage in 2003. As a husband and wife team, they take great care of their 2.4 acres under vine, producing a modest 300 cases a year.

Pinot grows so well in this area because of two natural components. The shallow Nekia soils composed of volcanic basalt provide great drainage, helping regulate the vines hydration producing small concentrated grapes. Secondly a break in the coastal range, known as the Van Duzer corridor, allows ocean winds to cool the afternoons and evenings. This large diurnal range, the difference between the hottest and coolest part of the day, helps maintain the natural acidity which is an essential component to reaching balanced ripeness.

The Toluca lane retails for $32.99, which in my mind is exceptional value for a wine that has had so much care put in to it. The nose is a classic combination of fruit, earth and herbs. Lots of bright cherries and violets lift from the glass at first, but after a few minutes the nose displays more earthy characteristics of cedar and juniper. The palate is as balanced as the nose, with lots of ripe juicy fruit and a scrumptious mouth feel. The 2009 vintage is beautiful right now and will develop elegantly for the next few years.

Felix Milner

Wine of The Week - Las Pizarras del Jalon 2008

Bodegas y Viñedos del Jalón Las Pizarras del Jalon 2008 ($23.99)

Bodegas y Viñedos del Jalón S.A. is a group of three bodegas within the Denominación de Origen Calatayud. It is named after the river Jalón, a tributary of the Ebro, which wends it way through the middle of the region.

The Government of Aragón, through it's Instituto Aragonés de Fomento, along with investment from a few major financial institutions, established the company in 1999. As one of the region’s, if not the country’s, most high tech wineries, it has succeeded in consistently producing wines of stunning quality.

Made from Garnacha (Grenache), a grape now becoming synonymous with the region and accounting for nearly two-thirds of production, the unoaked 2008 Las Pizarras del Jalon is sourced from vines ranging in age from 70-100 years. Inky purple in the glass, it smells like a wine from the Rhone Valley in France (think Chateauneuf-du-Pape). Opulent scents of lavender, black cherry and violets jump from the glass. The absence of oak by no means limits its depth and character, with lots of lively fruit and soft tannin on the palate.

Delicious with thin slices of Spanish ham, this wine also works well with hearty stews or an after dinner cheese board.

Wine of The Week - Domain Dublere Savigny-les-Beaune Les Peuillets 2009

Domain Dublere Savigny-les-Beaune Les Peuillets 2009

Knowing the weekend wasn’t going to be the most productive ever, with little more to do than clear the garden and wait for the wind and rain to arrive, I started out on Saturday by putting an omelette together and opening a bottle of Domaine Dublere’s white Savigny-les-Beaune Les Peuillets 2009.

Light straw in color, the nose took me away from the dismal rain outside to the sunshine of citrus, flowers and a hint of lees. Direct and uncomplicated on the palate, it exhibits lively grapefruit and lime flavors that are levelled off with minimal oak and calm round malolactic acids through the mid palate. Served practically at room temperature it went beautifully with the rich soft egg, tart goat cheese and buttered English muffin, but its versatile nature would make it a great partner with a variety of fish and seafood dishes.

Savigny-lès-Beaune is a large appellation that mostly produces red wine (85%) and a little white. The 22 Premier Crus, which come in two styles, are divided by the river Rhoin. The south-facing clay soils to the north, where Pethel gets some of his Pinot from the small Les Talmettes vineyard, express more delicate characteristics, whereas the sand and gravel soils to the south, on which Les Peuillets lies, are generally more forward and round.

Blair Pethel of Domain Dublere, is a North Carolina expat, who for a time was a financial journalist here in D.C.. He has demonstrated an incredible aptitude for both Jeopardy (he won the game show twice) and winemaking. Pethel has been making his own wine in Burgundy since 2004, after apprenticing with a few of the regions top winemakers, Patrice Rion and Jean-Marc Pillot and qualifying in viticulture and oenology with a year's course at the famous Lycée Viticole of Beaune. He and his family have settled into Burgundy very well, making extraordinarily good wines that represent both typicity of the grapes and the terroir of the region. We are very glad to be friends of Blair’s, accepting his warm hospitality on our annual trips to Burgundy, and thrilled to have the opportunity to directly import and represent his wines on the east coast.

Wine of The Week - Kilikanoon Blocks Road Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

Blocks Road Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 ($29.99)

I have long been a fan of Coonarwarra Cabs but it wasn’t until recently I considered trying a Cabernet from much further north in Clare Valley, a region neighboring Barossa and Eden Valleys which is, as far as red wine is concerned, the homeland of Shiraz. Today’s wine of the week, Blocks Road is from Kilikanoon, based in the heart of Clare Valley, a region also known more for producing Australia’s finest Riesling, but which, as I now know, also produces, terrific Cabernets too.

Kilikanoon is one of a growing number of producers in South Australia making wines that directly compete with their old world counterparts. The style of founder and head winemaker, Kevin Mitchel, is informed by a relationship with a couple of producers in the Loire and Rhone valleys in France, where he has managed to take time off and assist with their vintage. Kevin and his team (including his family) have done a cracking job with their Cabernet, where this influence is readily apparent. Careful pruning and harvesting of the vines has enabled the most interesting qualities to be extracted from the grapes. Achieving a balance between ripe fruit and herbaceousness in the Cabernet grapes helps a wine hold on to its sense of terroir.

Fresh blackcurrants and plums are neatly woven together with an array of garden herbs and garrigue. Precise and integrated on the palate, the 14.5% alcohol is very well hidden, as it is by no means overpowering. 24 months in a mix of small, new and old, French-oak casks has given this wine good depth and a velvety mouth feel. There is lots of life on the finish, marked by a bright acidity, something which combined with all its other attributes gives it great cellaring potential over the next 5 to 10 years.

Blocks Road is the best of both worlds, new and old. There are still bales of Ozzy charm oozing from the glass and yet somehow it has a lightness and restrained quality you would more readily attribute to something from the Gironde. However no matter what comparisons you can draw, this is simply a stunning wine that anyone interested in seeking out a relative bargain should try.

I opened this wine on Sunday afternoon with a group of friends to go with a leg of lamb I grilled on the barbeque, see recipe here,accompanied with the tomato and potato gratin listed below it. The two were sublime, I highly recommend trying this dish out with a few glasses of Blocks road while you still have the barbecue out in the remaining few weeks of Summer.

Felix Milner