Thoughts of Thanksgiving

Kirsten and I were up on the hill in early October for the last days of harvest. There was a noticeable buzz in the air and up and down the valley there was a sense of urgency! The weather was cooling and large semi trucks with empty bins crawled slowly up Pine Mountain Road coming back down full to the brim with grapes. This is truly a magical time and a time of hope as winemakers and growers reflect on the season and look forward to the new vintage to be made. Our vineyard yielded 57 tons of cabernet sauvignon, our biggest harvest to date, and winemaker, Bill Arbios, is very pleased with the quality of the grapes. So now we can turn our full attention to planing Thanksgiving as it will be our first one spent on the vineyard. The leaves on the vines are turning and we are looking forward to sharing time with our family, having the kids home from college, and gathering in our cozy hillside setting.
This past year has had it's share of challenges and this break is a chance to give pause and count our blessings. I love choosing the wines to compliment our traditional Thanksgiving feast.

For starters I love a sparkling wine or a light Sauvignon Blanc, some of my favorites are:

Roederer Estate Brut - Anderson Valley - $20
This sparkling wine is classy elegant and soft.
or try the

Iron Horse 2004 Sparkling Brut - $30

This is a classic Brut with a crisp finish.





Perhaps because we are feeling such a strong connection to Cloverdale, we have really been enjoying the


Wattle Creek 2008 Sauvignon Blanc - $19
This wine has wonderful flavors of citrus and herb. The grapes are from Mendocino but the winemaker is a neighbor!

With the bird I recommend the following:

- Rodney Strong Russian River Valley 2007 Reserve Chardonnay ($25)
Spiced aromas with flavors of pear and oak.

- Gary Farrell Russian River Valley 2007 Chardonnay ($35)
Bright aromas of lemon custard and hazelnut!




- Mueller Russian River Valley 2007 Pinot Noir - Emily's Cuvee ($44)
Rich samplings of cranberry, bing cherry and ripe raspberry
This is their new label!



- Paul Hobbs Crossbarn Pinot Noir Russian River Valley 2007 ($44)

Accents of earth and bing cherry

- Inman Family Russian River Valley Pinot Noir 2006 ($45)
Aromas of sweet cherries, cola and baking spice (and yes, this is family!)


and last but not least.....

- Seghesio Family Vineyards Sonoma County Zinfandel 2008 ($25)
Dark, ripe cherries and a velvet finish



Enjoy any of these choices as I believe that they are great representations of the art of crafting fine wine.

Happy Thanksgiving!