Tag Archives: red wine

A Guide to Choosing Thanksgiving Wines

Hosting a Thanksgiving Dinner is a big deal and picking the wines to be served can be a nerve-racking challenge. To take some of the difficulty out of it, we’ve come up with this handy guide to help navigate the choppy seas of choosing wine for Turkey Day.
  • Serve wines that you like. Thanksgiving Dinner isn’t the best time to serve wines that you’re not familiar with. We recommend serving wines or at least varietals that are tried and true. For example, though Beaujolais and Gewürztraminer are widely considered to be perfect Thanksgiving pairings, it’s best not to serve them unless you know that you and your guests will like them. Also, if there’s wine left over from your dinner, you want to make sure that you like the wines because you’ll be the one drinking them the days following your Feast. Remember: if you’re a rewards member, we can look in your purchase history and tell you exactly when and what that bottle of wine was that you loved.
Every day I’m hustlin’!
  • Do some research a few weeks before your dinner. So it’s been decided that you’re hosting – Great! Hopefully you’ve been given a few weeks notice so you have some time to try out potential wines for your Thanksgiving Dinner. You will see special orange tags all around the store with wines that we have chosen especially for the big dinner and we have a giant wine display that features wines that we feel are perfect pairings for Thanksgiving. Lastly, if you have any questions, ask any of us, we are really good at making wine and food pairing recommendations.
  • How much wine will you need? The short answer is more than you think. Let’s break it down: One bottle = four glasses — Each guest will have at least two glasses of wine (even if there will be cocktails and/or beer available), so at a bare minimum you will need one bottle for every two people attending. So for example, if you’re having 10 people over you’ll need 5 bottles of wine. Remember, this is a feast and while Aunt Mary insists that she’ll only have one glass, chances are high that this is the one time of the year that she’ll get crazy and have two.
  • How many different wines should you get? At the bare minimum two: one white and one red. However, there is a world of wine out there and this is the time to enjoy all of your favorites. We are big fans of starting with Sparkling, even an inexpensive one is great to share while you’re watching the game, standing around the kitchen or with pre-dinner snacks. When you finally sit down to dinner, we like recommend having a couple of different styles of whites and reds open – wines that are of contrasting styles, for example a light Pinot Grigio and a rich Chardonnay or an elegant Pinot Noir and a robust Rhone.
  • What pairs with Turkey? The best answer is “What ever you like to drink!” We think Turkey is pretty easy to pair wine with because the flavors are not super strong or pronounced. However, pressed to choose wines to pair with just Turkey, we’d recommend (in no particular order): Beaujolais Nouveau, White Burgundies, Pinot Noir from Oregon, Gewürztraminer, Red Rhones (Cote du Rhone, Chateauneuf du Pape, etc.)
Feel free to visit us, call, or email us for help with wine for Thanksgiving. We’re all here to help!
Cheers!
General Manager
Bottles Fine Wine, 141 Pitman Street, Providence, RI
(401) 372-2030
info@blog.bottlesfinewine.com

 

Signature Sausage Stuffing Recipe and a Thanksgiving Wine Pairing

sausage stuffing recipe & thanksgiving food & red wine pairing
Photo: David Dadekian

Thanksgiving is one of our favorite times of the year. Family, friends, great food, and best of all, delicious wines. Edible Rhody magazine is featuring several classic Thanksgiving recipes, and among them is a Signature Sausage Stuffing by Kaityln Roberts at Easy Entertaining. We recommend this red Rhone blend from California, Tablas Creek ‘Patelin de Tablas.’ It’s a great wine pairing idea! Happy Thanksgiving!

Tablas Creek Vineyard Esprit

Paso Robles, CA
An American wine with French sensibilities. A blend of Syrah, Grenache and Mourvedre combine to produce a perfect pairing with your Thanksgiving Dinner, especially with Southern Style Sausage Stuffing. Both spicy with black pepper and brimming with ripe fruit, this could very well be a new favorite wine for all seasons. 90 points Wine Advocate. www.tablascreek.com

Signature Sausage Stuffing
Kaitlyn Roberts, executive chef/owner,
Easy Entertaining Inc., Providence
2 tablespoons butter
1 pound sweet sausage, casing removed
1 cup diced red onion
1 cup diced celery
1 cup diced carrots
4 cups bread (corn, brioche or high-quality white bread), cubed into ½-inch cubes*
2 tablespoons fresh parsley
1 cup homemade or sodium-free turkey stock
¼ cup pure maple syrup
Kosher or sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Heat oven to 350°. Heat butter in large pan over medium heat. Add sausage to pan. Break up into small pieces and cook fully. Remove sausage from pan, leaving butter and drippings. Add onion, celery and carrots to pan and sauté until slightly softened. Add bread and parsley and toss lightly. Season to taste. Place bread into a 9- by 9-inch baking dish. Whisk together the stock with the maple syrup, drizzle over the bread and bake for 30–40 minutes. Serve warm. Makes 8–10 servings as a side dish. * Use day-old bread or spread cut cubes on a baking sheet and bake at 300° for 15–20 minutes to dry.

Ferraton Cotes du Rhone red wineVieux Telegraph red wine
Are you a big fan of Red Rhone Blends? If you love Tablas Creek, then you’ll love these wines as well. They’re both very versatile Rhone wines that will be fabulous with all your Thanksgiving dishes; make an impression on your guests this year!
  • Ferraton Cotes du Rhone – A benchmark Cotes du Rhone from an extraordinary vintage with irresistible aromas and flavors of red and black fruits, red flowers and wild herbs like thyme and sage. A dry wine with lots of character and charm. A tremendous value! $12.99
  • Vieux Telegraph ‘Le Crau’ Chateauneuf du Pape – Deep dark fruit and haunting earthy flavors combine in a super smooth package that will WOW you and your dinner guests. Highly rated (92 Wine Spectator) and iconic, this wine is only now ready to drink and has a core of cherry and red currant with notes of sandalwood, mulled fig and cocoa. $89.99
VISIT



Cheers!
Visit our wine store to shop a great selection of Thanksgiving Wines.
We’re located at 141 Pitman St., Providence, Rhode Island.

Bottles for the Cause at AS220’s Action Speaks Radio!

This year Bottles was a proud supporter of local arts organization, AS220 and their live panel discussion radio show, Action Speaks; Underappreciated Dates that Changed America. For over 17 years, Action Speaks Radio has provided a live venue for the public to engage in thoughtful discussions about history, culture and current events. Panels are recorded, edited and broadcast online and on radio stations across the US. We were happy to provide wine for panelists, staff and volunteers who had helped put each show together this fall season.

Check out more photos below! And be sure to come to their final show of the season 
The panelists reflect on the show’s topic, Las Vegas!

Audience members share their thoughts and questions with panelists.

The show on Pentecostalism, brought in an entire congregation from Truth Tabernacle Church in South Providence, including an organist, a lap steel guitarist, and this woman belting out gospel hits!

A salon-style thank you dinner of locally grown food and wonderfully paired wines.

Lucie Searle, AS220 Capitol Campaign Manager, hosts the thank-you dinner

Kosher Wines for Passover Recommendations

kosher wine store providence



Happy Passover from the Bottles team! We are stocked with a plentiful selection of Kosher wines from all over the world, with many wines under $15 dollars. Looking for a dry Bordeaux, spicy Spanish Tempranillo, a Israeli Cabernet Sauvignon or a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc? Visit us at our Providence, Rhode Island wine store to shop our international selection of Kosher wines for your Passover Seder. And please, if you have any questions, or need help with your wine selections, staff at Bottles are here to help! www.bottlesfinewine.com


kosher passover wine store "rhode island"

 

Over at O’Dwyer’s Creek in the heart of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc country, a team of rabbinical students were given a crash course on winemaking, and entrusted with their own parcel of land to create a great Sauvignon Blanc. The wine with its cool climate varietal’s distinctive fruit flavors was so rewarding for the students and winemaker that they plan to return every year!

Senorio Aldaz Tempranillo is a classic, full-bodied red wine from Spain that pairs well with braised chicken and olives. Enjoy the intense burgundy color, violet tones, lovely open fragrance, and aromas of ripe fruit.

Chateau La Cheze is a traditional French chateau producing this impressive Bordeaux that is dry and earthy, pairing well with a leg of lamb and rosemary.

Hai Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon from Judean hills in Israel has a nice hints of cherry and oak to compliment roast beef and vegetables. 

These are just a few examples of the diverse offerings in our Kosher wine section. Don’t forget something on the sweeter side for the haroset!


L’Chaim!

-The Bottles Team


Perfect Holiday Wines for Gifts, Dinners & Parties

Visit our Providence wine store for wonderful selection of festive wines, great for easy gifts and for all of your holiday celebrations this season. Watch the Bottles Wine Manager, Nick, give his advice and recommendations for wines that are great to give as hostess gifts, bring to parties, and that pair wonderfully with holiday dinners.

If you are in the area, look for our holiday wine display, full of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet Sauvignon. These make great holiday gifts and easy choices for any celebration this season.

BV napa valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon is a recognizable grape, and are generally nice, sturdy, structured wines. BV Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is loaded with classic cherry flavors and sturdy tannins, making it an easy grab if you are attending a party and need a hostess gift.
Pouilly Fuisse marie antoinette

Marie Antoinette Pouilly-Fuisseé will please any white Burgundy or Chardonnay fans. With an elegant label, Pouilly-Fuissé is rich, round, and elegant, with minerals and white flowers.

underwood cellars pinot noir oregon wine

Underwood Cellars Pinot Noir is great for parties, and is from Oregon. Reasonably priced, this delicious Pinot Noir is medium-bodied with dry, earthy fruit.

Feel free to contact us for wine selections, food pairings and anything else!