Thanksgiving

Today is Thanksgiving and I am counting my many blessings.

I am grateful for all that I have.  I'm thankful that I live in this country in as crazy as the direction as it is going.  After all, where else can a person who comes from nothing become someone great other than in the United States??  I've visited many countries and the answer is, nowhere else.

This Thanksgiving so many people are suffering because of the superstorm that hit the New York region.  They have lost everything that was near and dear to them, including their homes.  It's a stressful thing when things that you hold dear are taken away, but one must remember, they are just things and can be easily replaced.  One thing I have learned is that one's health is irreplaceable.  So is one's family.

So today, I'm splitting the cooking duties with my mom.  I'm cooking the meats and she's making the sides.  The desserts are split up amongst the rest of the family.  Sounds fair.

What wine to serve?  Well, I chose the Guigal Cotes du Rhone Rouge from the Rhone region.  It is a blend of syrah, grenache and mouvedre.  In the Rhone region, reds are typically a blend of 4 grapes, each of which adds its own element to the blend.  Syrah provides the structure, grenache the alcohol and mouvedre the spice.  There's a hint of sweetness on this wine, which will work well since I am also serving a skirt steak chimichurri alongside my turkey.  The sweetness will marry well with the sweet potatoes and accent the spices from the chimichurri marinade.  This wine is a full bodied wine and while it has complexity, it's not too complicated for a long day of eating and drinking.  It's smooth and it will work with a broad spectrum of flavors which is typical of a Thanksgiving meal. The price is under USD$20 which makes it a good value for all that is packed in the glass.



Then for dessert, I'm serving a dessert wine called Bigaro.  It's a blend of moscato and brachetto from the Piedmonte region in Italy.  The taste?  Like strawberry soda quite frankly.  The alcohol content is 5%.  My folks are sweet wine drinkers.  This goes back to their Ruinite days.  Inasmuch as I've tried to convert them, they will be forever sweet people.  Sweet drink for sweet folks!  The foam will cleanse our palates and a great way to end the meal.

Enjoy your families today and remember what's really important. 

Links:
http://www.guigal.com/en/
http://www.amazon.com/Elio-Perrone-Bigaro-2011-750ML/dp/B005J0P2EA