Thanksgiving WINE on a BUDGET!!!

Thanksgiving is a time to get together with family and friends, eat a lot, and if you're a wine lover, drink a little bit too. If you're really crazy about wine, often your family and friends are not as geeky as you are. Sometimes their eyes roll when you start talking about wine. I think this happens a lot at Thanksgiving. You're gonna have a lot of different people, not everybody's gonna be into wine. So this isn't gonna be a wine geek out episode. These are bottles here that are affordable, that are good, that should draw people in to like wine, and something that can be enjoyed with food, non-fussy, something that can satisfy you, the wine geek, and your family and friends. What wines to pair with Thanksgiving dinner can be a difficult thing to answer because there are so many dishes. You have all the casseroles, some green bean casserole, maybe you have some cheesy rice casserole, the mashed potatoes, you have the cranberry sauce, you have the turkey that's pretty gamey, then you have all the sweets at the end. So a lot of times you need to have several different wines to try. Here I have several different bottles. Six bottles here are under 20 bucks. One is 25 and one's 29. I know it'd be a great time to open up champagne, but not everybody loves champagne. Sometimes if you're a wine geek, maybe you don't wanna share champagne with people that are maybe not as appreciative of me. I don't mind doing that, but if you want a budget-friendly option, first we have the Zardetto Prosecco Brut. This comes in at 15 bucks. I've seen it even cheaper than that. I think Prosecco is friendly, it's inexpensive, almost everybody likes it. There's a touch of sweetness, although this is brut, so it'll probably be on the drier side. I don't hate on Prosecco. It's friendly, it's delicious, and I'd rather have you try things maybe besides the most common brand out there, La Marca. Personally, if you're gonna go really geeky, I like Cofondo Proseccos, which means on the bottom. They're Proseccos made with lower technology and with sediment on the bottom, but those are also geeky. Those are sometimes wines that people, casual wine drinkers, don't like or can't really understand that much. Let's go with a Prosecco Normale. Let's open this bad boy. Oh, I didn't do that right. I should've had as little noise as possible. Prosecco made from the grape Galera in Northern Italy. The second you get the bubbles by putting the base wine in a big tank, which they call the tank method, then a second fermentation happens. That's why you get carbonation, then you bottle it. Let's give this a smell. They're just refreshing, nice wines. It has some mineral flavors, so you're gonna get a lot of lemon, white pear, white Asian pear, a little bit of mineral-type flavor. It's just nice. This Prosecco really hits the spot for me. This is quite good, actually. It is brute, so it's more on the drier side of Prosecco, although there is a hint of sweetness, so it can satisfy a lot of people. I think people that are casual drinkers generally want the Prosecco to be a little sweeter. If you're a wine geek, you want it on the drier side. This is a happy medium. As far as Prosecco goes, I think this is excellent. I give it an 88-point type of score, and at 15 bucks, really hard to beat that. I think that's a really good choice. Really, I much prefer that to some of the more mass-produced Proseccos out there. Let's move on. Again, I said this is not a geeky episode. We're gonna go with things that people generally know, so everybody is happy. This is the Caldegal Piemonte Sauvignon Blanc 2023. This is under 20 bucks. I think it's around 18 bucks in the US, if you can find it. Sauvignon Blanc is always, always friendly, always welcome. A lot of people like the New Zealand style, so if you want to find value, there are brands out there like Whitehaven, Bobbitch, even Kim Crawford, well under 20 bucks, that bring a lot of thunder. For the high-end Sauvignon Blancs, yes. I like Pouilly-Fumé. I like Sancerre from France. I really like the Northern Italian Sauvignon Blanc as well, because they offer a lot of value for money, and I look for brands like Terlon from Alto Adagé. Those come in at around 20 bucks. Also in Piedmont, they're making better and better Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay these days. Let's give this a taste. This house's claim to fame is Moscato D'Asti, which we have at the end of the episode here for the sweets, but I'm excited to taste their Sauvignon. I think it's good. I think Italian Sauvignon Blanc, for me, they're unmistakable for the variety, but it's not over the top like some New Zealand examples. I just find them really enjoyable to drink, and they're always dependable. Sauvignon Blanc, you're basically not gonna go wrong at most price points. Let's give this a smell here. Typical of the variety, although it's a little more slaty, a little more minerally, this is a good compromise. It's not too over the top. I definitely get a little bit of a guava, a little bit of green guava, a little bit of kiwi fruits, a little bit of lemon, lime. This is the type of Sauvignon I want. This reminds me of Friuli or Alto Adagé, really. Rich palate, a lot of tension. Sauvignon Blanc is known for that sourness, that spike of acidity. A hard 89 points on this. I think it's delicious, actually. I'm gonna second my initial opinion. Man, Sauvignon Blanc from Northern Italy, not too explosive. It's not gonna clash with a lot of food. I would love to have this because this has some body. I would love to have this with green bean casserole. I think it just would go excellent. One of my favorite dishes. As a kid, I used to be addicted to cream of mushroom soup, the Campbell's kind. It was just something simple I could make really quick. I'm not ashamed to admit that. Let's move on. Chardonnay. Everybody loves Chardonnay, bigger Chardonnay. This is the Wente Vineyards Chardonnay Arroyo Seco Riva Ranch Vineyard from Monterey, 2022. This comes in at 19 bucks. I believe this is barrel fermented or barrel aged. I haven't had Wente in a long, long, long time. I know they're widely available, so why not? I think that barrel fermented Chardonnay is great because it can go with turkey. It's big enough, but it can also go with some of the greasy casserole dishes. Like I love cheesy rice and broccoli. I know it doesn't sound great, but I've always used to love that casserole as a kid. Let's smell this. Smells pretty decent, actually. And it's not overly buttery. I'm surprised that Chardonnay is barrel fermented at this price point. Could just be big oak monsters and buttery. This is not. Got a touch of oak. Definitely got kind of a lime flavor to it, but you definitely get the pineapple, the melon that Chardonnay's known for. You get a kiss of oak, but I am really impressed that this wine is not overly oaky. I'm like really impressed. It smells really good. Got a kiss of oak on the finish. This is the type of wine that everybody is going to like. You get a hit of oak on the back end. Nobody is gonna confuse this with white burgundy. You definitely know that you're drinking a California Chardonnay, but it's not too buttery. The finish is pretty good. This has character. I would probably give this 90 points. I think this is worth seeking out. Really good choice for an inexpensive barrel fermented Chardonnay. I like that. Go with a variety of dishes. Let's move on. Probably the most versatile. These next two wines are maybe the most versatile wines I have here. I think that rosé is fantastic for Thanksgiving. Yes, I know it's getting colder. That doesn't mean you can scrap your rosé. And I like darker rosés. This one is from Spain. This is the El Pueblo de Lara. This is made by Penalba Lopez. I think they're owned by Torre Melanos, producer of very good quality, inexpensive Ribeiro Del Duero. I think this is more of a natural on 2022. I've seen this at about 19 bucks in the US. Something like this might be hard to find. Look for something like Tavel from the south of France, or just look at the color, or maybe a Vin Gris from the south of France. Cypress, the rosés are darker, although Cypriot rosés aren't super readily available. The Negro Amaro Salento Rosados from Puglia, also good, because they have a little more flavor. They have a little more structure. I mean, turkey with cranberry sauce, I think should be great. Let's give this a taste here. I think that simple, crispy, normal rosés that you know would be okay too for Thanksgiving, because people enjoy them. But I think this is a good talking point. These wines are darker in color. They can go with richer foods. And it's just fun to bring something like this. This might actually spark a conversation. If you're a wine geek, you want people to be more interested in wine. Some of your family members were like, wow, I've never seen a rosé that deep in color like we see here. It's like a strawberry rhubarb type color. Ah, nice. When you have these darker rosés, you definitely get the big strawberry notes. There's a little bit of pepper, earth. This is extremely complex. Oh man, this smells, this smells like it could be more of a natural wine, which I'm fine with. Exactly what I'm talking about in darker rosé. More substance on the palate. There's just a touch of tannins, the stuff that makes your mouth go. But very soft, almost pinot noir like. I believe this is probably made of tempranil. Non-filtered, no sulfites added. So you got health conscious people, biologically farmed. Something like this is, I mean, this is really, I'm 91 points on this. I think this is outstanding. It's still got a spine of acidity. Again, turkey, cranberry sauce, and you have all the stuffing, everything mixed together. This would crush. This is a super versatile wine, also a natural wine. And it's a clean natural wine, so I think this is super delicious. Let's move on. That was impressive. I've never tasted this one. Okay, pinot noir, also a very versatile grape variety. Something that a lot of people like. I'm gonna give you something that's outside of Maomi. Go for something that has more character, more truth and variety. This is the Stoller Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2023. This comes in at 25 bucks. I've seen it sometimes under 20. I think Stoller has the biggest single block of pinot noir in Willamette Valley. Has a screw cap too, so you can't go wrong with that. Let's switch over to my Rovesia Pinot Noir Burgundy glass. I haven't used this in a while. Affordable glass. I'll leave a link in the description box for this too. This is my first 2023 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir that I've had. I had a lot of 21s, which I thought was a great vintage. 22 was a little fruitier and plumper. Let's see how 23 is, although I've heard a lot of great things from producers about 23. I bring them to Europe often, and my European wine rating friends are pretty impressed. They don't even know the price, and they're always really impressed with the wine. Stereotypical pinot noir. Bright raspberry, cherry flavors, kind of a cool whip aroma. Just a touch of earth. Not overly earthy. This is more on the fruity side. Some people might actually think that this might be something from like Sonoma or Santa Barbara County. Just pure fruit flavors. Smells good. Very good. Soft, has some slightly gritty tannins. Great acidity. This has got enough acidity to go with stuffing, and it's got enough punch to go with the turkey. Man, I would love the brown meat, the leg with this. I think that's just a match made in heaven. You could even have some pinot noir. It's got enough sweet fruit. It's a dry wine, but sweet fruit to go with something like pumpkin pie. 90 points. I think that's delicious. I think that's something really worth seeking out. Maybe I'll stick with the big glass for the reds. Let's move on here. This is a grape variety. That's the only kind of wild card here. This is the Garzon Tenat Reserva 2022 from Uruguay. How cool is that? Comes in at 18 bucks. My shop where I work at, we have it for 16.99. Garzon is a one producer in Uruguay that I know that you're gonna be able to find. It's well distributed. Tenat, a grape from France. Mataron, which is not really a famous wine region, except for wine geeks. I've loved this wine in the past. I think it punches way above its price point. I have not tasted this vintage yet. Tenat is a pretty tannic variety. Usually the wines of Mataron need a long, long, long time, a lot of age to really soften up. When I've had this wine in the past, I felt like it just does well right out of the gate. That's why I really like it. Let's give this a little bit of a taste here. Tenat has that blueberry fruit, like rich blueberry fruit, a little bit of cherries, a little bit of inkiness, a lot of leatherness, which I kinda like, man. Again, for me, smells like it'd be perfect with the turkey and stuffing. This wine is so well done. You've got the fruitiness that a lot of people are gonna like, but you got the leather and the nuances that somebody like you or me is gonna go gaga over. This is the type of wine that just punches way past its price point. 91 plus points for me. What I love about this wine is Tenat, the Tenants can be pretty aggressive, usually, especially the wines of Matterhorn. You get the Tenants here, but they just kinda massage the palate. And man, with turkey, gamey meats, even if you do a roast chicken for Thanksgiving, I think that this is gonna kill. It's not overpowering, and it has nuance. It's just a flat-out delicious red wine. Okay, another variety. I think it's a classic Thanksgiving American wine. Zinfandel from California. This is the Ancient Pinks Zinfandel. Santa Margarita Ranch, 2021. This comes in at 19 bucks. Also a talking point if you're a wine geek, because you hear a lot of people say, Zinfandel, I thought it was always that pink stuff, white Zinfandel. You can explain to them, no, it's actually a red wine grape. White Zinfandel, the Franzia stuff was actually a mistake. It was Zinfandel that didn't ferment all the way through. Poor extraction, had some sweetness, and people liked it, so they stuck with it. But real Zinfandel, also known across the pond as Primitivo in Puglia in Italy. Sardonic Kastelinski in Croatia. Tribidrag in Croatia. Kratosia in Montenegro. Let's give this a taste. I started working retail, and one of the guys that I work with, he's been in retail for, I think, 30 or 40 years. He is crazy about Zinfandel. He loves it. In fact, I'm gonna give him this bottle after I'm done tasting it. That's why I'm corbing this, to share some of these with other wine lovers. Let's give this a smell. Zinfandel, yes, they're starting to get pretty pricey, especially the Ridge stuff. But man, I still think you can find value. The stuff like Bogle and stuff like that, stuff you can find in the $9 to $16 to $20 range, still offers a lot of punch. Let's give this a smell here. This is rich, ripe, and in your face. Dark blueberry, stewed cherry, dried plums, a little bit of earth. I mean, this smells like a big boy. Red Zins generally are gonna be jammier, a little bit bigger. I think perfect for the turkey, cranberry sauce, and stuffing. You put all this together. You start out with some of these for some of the casserole dishes. Now, you know, the Pinot Noir can go both ways. Now we're moving into the meat only, oop, we're moving into the meat only dishes. As somebody that doesn't love Zinfandel, red wines that much, I think this is the perfect balance of rich, ripe fruit. It's affordable, 19 bucks, has some earthy, brambly complexities, has soft tannins, so it's not gonna bother a lot of people. A lot of people are really gonna like this. I am 90 plus on this, and this is coming from somebody that doesn't like bigger, jammier wines. I think this is really well made, and this is a crowd pleaser. This is the type of wine that everybody, all the casual wine drinkers, especially if they like red wines, are gonna like. I'm impressed, let's move on. This is the only expensive wine in the bunch because I had it around. I think the grape variety is great with Thanksgiving dinner, and you can find affordable ones, but I really wanted to taste this because this is a more expensive example. Montepulciano from Southern Italy, namely Abruzzo. This is the La Valentina Spelt, 2019. This is the Montepulciano di Abruzzo, or the Zerava, 29 bucks. Only wine that's a little more expensive. Yes, you can get fantastic Montepulciano di Abruzzo's for 10, 15 bucks. You wanna step up and have complexity? Well, let's see how this shows. In the past, my criticism of Montepulciano is that the inexpensive wines are so good, sometimes I don't feel like there's a point to taste or buy the more expensive examples. It's a grape that produces wines of deep color and good wines, even at high yields. Not to be confused with Vino Novo di Montepulciano, which is made of Sangiovese and from Tuscany. I know, I know, we can't get things figured out. Wine's super complex, I get it. Let's give this a go. 2019, got a bit of bottle age on it. So you're getting a Zerava with some age on it, 29 bucks. Let's give this a smell here. Typical Italian, wow. Montepulciano, I have a problem with sometimes because I think it's too overly fruity and jammy. This smells refined. I really like this has like this sweet tart, cherry type flavor. It's not overly candy, but you get kind of a candy. I know it's contradictory, I don't know how to explain it. A little bit of that sugary candy flavor, but it doesn't smell like overly jammy. Like this smelled really powerful. A little bit of earth, leather. It's got like this traditional Italian-ness to it. This is surprisingly smooth, even smoother than the Pinot Noir. It's refined, there's a spike in the mid palate. I wasn't expecting to like a Montepulciano so much. 92 plus points because this still can age a little bit longer. I think the flavors of Montepulciano can go with the turkey, the stuffing, the cranberry sauce, but this is a little more serious. And yes, you're springing a little bit. This is the type of wine that's gonna really satisfy you, the wine geek, but also is gonna please a lot of general wine drinkers, like family, friends. They can drink it, not think about, but for you, it has enough complexity. I am really impressed. And this is coming from a guy that's not a huge Montepulciano lover. Okay, sweets. Last year when I did a video, I brought up Madeira, some sweet sherries, or even Tawny Ports is great to finish the meal with. Sometimes those wines can be a bit heavy and alcoholic. I noticed when I used them last year, a lot of people didn't like drinking them because of the high alcohol. So let's start out with something light. You're already full, you've been eating all day, maybe you don't want something so heavy. I think Moscato D'Asti is the perfect, perfect way to finish, or even start the meal. This is the Categol, same as the Sauvignon Blanc. This is the Lumine. Moscato D'Asti 2023 also comes in around the $17 range. You can get a lot of Moscato D'Asti's for next to nothing. Moscato D'Asti's are interesting because they're sparkling wines, but they are topped with a cork oftentimes. This comes in at 5% alcohol. So super light, sugary. I actually think that Moscato D'Asti's get a bad reputation. You're not any less of a wine drinker, or even less of a man if you like Moscato D'Asti. I really like them. They're light, refreshing. It's just like adult soda. These are wines from Piemonte, Northwest Italy, where Barolo and Barbaresco is located. The Italians have been doing these wines for a long time, so they know what they're doing. Let's give this a little rinse because I had some Rosato in it. You're gonna get just a little bit of bubbles. Let me see if it can pick that up. Just a little bit of fizziness, if you can see right there. Fizzante, as they say in Italian. Let's give this a smell. Flowery, smells like yellow flowers. Smells like lemon, like sweet canned peaches. Maybe even a touch of mineral. Moscato D'Asti's are pretty sweet, which this is. But it has acidity, has brightness. It literally, sometimes Moscato D'Asti's on the palate can taste to me like Cabernet Rieslings. That's why I like them. Cabernet Rieslings are gonna be a little bit more, have a little more bracing acidity. But man, this with lemon meringue pie, awesome. Pumpkin pie, awesome. Fruit pie is awesome. I don't know about chocolate pie. That might be a little bit difficult. Maybe you'll need something like a Sherry or a Madeira for that. 89 points, hardcore. This is why you don't always have to listen to scores. You gotta know your own palate or the person you're listening to. Like, this is the greatest wine in the world, but it's just stereotypical, well-made, well-done Moscato D'Asti, and it brings me a lot of pleasure drinking it. I think that you should actually pick up maybe two bottles of Moscato D'Asti, depending on your family size, because I guarantee this wine will finish off really quick. Again, this was for the general consumer. I'd love to hear geeky suggestions. What are some of the geeky grape varieties that you like to use? Drop it in the comments below.