Thanksgiving Wines
Jane always loads up this column with not only wine advice but friendly food tips as well. From turkey (fried, baked, roasted) to ham, chicken and desserts, she covers the gamut on wines to showcase the food.

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2008 Calendar
Want to see the ALL the remaining courses in 2008? Download a schedule.

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Certified Specialist of Wine Training Program (1 Seat Remaining)
Sunday, October 12th (AWS Wine Room, Roswell)
Instructor: Michael Bryan

Get the confidence that comes with having a "wine expert" credential. Includes 18 hours of training sessions, 250-page Study Guide, online study modules, quizzes, and exam. Almost 100 enthusiasts have gained this credential through us since November 2007. >>>> More Info (Discounts for Trade Personnel)

Old World vs New World
Tuesday, October 14th (AWS Wine Room, Roswell)
Instructor: Jane Garvey

Sure you can drink it, but can you pair it? Can you speak it? Come to terms with it in a special tasting that helps you express yourself in the world of wines. Don't be left standing there holding the bottle--get more confidence and find more pleasure in every sip. >>>> More Info

School Nights @ Park Tavern: Big Hunkin Reds
Monday, October 20th (The Piedmont Room @ Park Tavern)

There is nothing better in Autumn than big, chewy, lush, mouth-coating fruit explosions.

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Southern Hemisphere Wines
Thursday, October 23rd (AWS Wine Room, Roswell)
Instructor: Jane Garvey

Chile/Argentina, New Zealand/Australia, South Africa: Jane Garvey has traveled to all of these destinations multiple times--join her for a fun & information-filled tasting.
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95+ Point Wines
Thursday, October 30th (AWS Wine Room, Roswell)
Instructor: Paul Kelly Wheeler

So many wine critics, so many wines. How do they come up with these scores? We'll talk about that. But we'll also be tasting eight (8) specially selected wines which all have prominent wine critic scores of 95 points or higher.

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School Nights @ Park Tavern: Wine & Chocolate
Monday, November 3rd (The Piedmont Room @ Park Tavern)

Two aphrodisiacs together? This is always a popular pairing--inciteful and delicious. Bring a friend and get decadent!

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Janes Monthly Dozen: Thanksgiving Wines
Wednesday, November 12th (AWS Wine Room, Roswell)
Instructor: Jane Garvey

Join us for a full thanksgiving feast (turkey & fixins') with eight of her top wines from the October 2008 wine review. Taste and learn how these chosen pairings work! >>>> More Info

Subscriber Margaret Stephens snapped a shot of Croatia's most important grape, Plavic Mali, grown on these steep slopes. She visited the "other" Grgich winery while there.	Our students in the Make Your Own Wine Program are harvesting Seyval Blanc grapes last month. They'll be harvesting Cabernet Franc this month.	Kara Eads, who is in the program with her husband Sam, took this picture of the van Vlaardingen's. Says Kara of this day, "It was the longest and hardest we've worked on this project. In the end, we decided to keep our day jobs."

• COPIA to Host Sensorium November 6-8, 2008
  Copia: The American Center for Wine, Food and the Arts, will host a new, provocative symposium exploring the relationship between wine, food and sensory perception at "Sensorium at Copia," November 6-8. Sensorium at Copia will challenge many of the closely held conventional wisdoms regarding wine quality and wine and food pairings, and it will offer dynamic new insights from renowned scientists, researchers and wine experts as well as world-class professional chefs. >> More Information
• The #1 Liquid Investment these Days
  It's simple supply and demand that is driving up prices. There are scores of new wine drinkers, mostly in emerging economies such as China and Brazil but also in wine bastions like the U.S. and Europe.
  And there are only so many bottles of 1982 Chateau Cheval Blanc or the 1995 Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon left in the entire world and no more will ever be made. That powers the prices for some cult wines as well as those from certain estates and vintages. Some Napa Valley wines like those from the Harlan Estates are bought and sold as investments, but for serious fine-wine collectors the first-growth wines of Bordeaux and Burgundy are the most important. >> More
• New French Gadget Allows Free Flowing Wine from your Computer!
  A short movie on a website run by a Dutch fellow with a good sense of humor. >> The Movie
• On America's Newfound Love of Wine
  Known as Dr. Vino, Tyloer Colman says the current economic downturn is unlikely to inspire Americans to drink less. He spoke with U.S. News about why wine is still considered a drink for elites and why the United States had so much trouble making wine. >> More
  And in a related story, not only are Americans buying more wine, but they are socking it away in storage areas, cellars, make-shift closet-cellars, and wine fridges. The wine storage industry was $15 million 10 years ago, today it is a billion dollar business. >> More
• Bungling Italians Turn Water into Wine
  A town where wine gushes from an ornate fountain in the main square is the ideal place to live for many people. But a town where it pours out of the taps and into the kitchen sink is a place not very far removed from heaven. A story right out of hollywood involving one of the few distinguished wines around the Rome area, Frascati. >> More
• Do Platters of Freshly Shucked Kumamoto Oysters Rev Your Motor?
  With every good Pacific Northwest oyster is a fresh, clean wine to savor. Seattle's top food and wine folks gathered to choose the Top 10 Oyster wines. The two wines that won the last two years running are the Chateau Ste Michelle Sauvignon Blanc and the Willamette Valley Vineyards Pinot Gris. >> The Others
• Virginia's Wine Industry Maturing
  If Thomas Jefferson could see his dream of world class wines fulfilled in Virginia. We served a Kluge Cru this past week in class--the students rushed out to buy it all immediately afterwards. Kluge is but one of the many success stories in Virginia. >> More

Jane's Monthly Dozen: Thanksgiving Wines
by Jane Garvey

Thanksgiving brings an abundance of foods to the table, from sweet to sour and from rich to richer, all to be enjoyed at the same time just as if it were on a classic Victorian table. Our table even has a dish of kimchee, which, incidentally, is great with turkey. (No, we're not Korean, but the reason is a very long story.)

If you are of Italian heritage, your meal may well start with a lasagna that could be graced with crushed toasted chestnuts. Anything goes when it comes to individualizing Thanksgiving or making your family's particular ethnic heritage part of the affair. The feast and the company are what matter, so don't stress over the wines. Provide wines that will appeal to a broad palate profile.

Turkey--or some fowl--typically is the mainstay, of course. Turkey--as well as chicken and pork--benefits greatly from being brined before being roasted as it just explodes with juices. (Hint: Be careful not to salt the surface again before roasting, however.) Deep-fried Cajun turkey may be the best way to cook this bird, as the meat is juicy and flavorful at the end. But it's still a good idea to brine it before immersing it completely in the oil.

Stuffing (cooked within the bird) and dressing (cooked in a pan) may well be the most important element in deciding what wine to serve. Steer clear of white wines if your stuffing or dressing has sage in it. Include dried fruits in stuffing for duck to enhance the flavor of the meat. The Romans used to feed figs to ducks before slaughtering them to influence the flavor of the meat, and they were surely on to something. Cook duck with figs and you'll get the idea.

For small parties, cook a boneless rolled breast of turkey stuffed with prosciutto or Serrano ham and Fontina cheese, or lay a bone-in breast that you've brined over a pan of dressing so it can influence the flavor of the stuffing. It's sort of like roasting a whole bird stuffed but this way you don't have leftovers ad infinitum. Split Cornish hens down then back and grill them over wood, brushing on melted dark fruit jam thinned with red wine just at the last. Go for a red wine if you do this. Or stuff them with a crabmeat stuffing and pair that with a Viognier.

Goose is more for Christmas, but if you do one, include dried fruits or apple in the stuffing. Make sure the wine with this has good acidity to cut through the richness of the goose. Its specific color would depend on the stuffing. With apple, do a Riesling Spatlese or Auslese. IF your goose is stuffed with a sausage dressing, get a full-bodied red wine. For the duck, stuff it with a raisin bread stuffing or one with chopped dried figs and go for a full-bodied Italian red wine.

And if you do have leftovers, consider wine with those fine meals, too. Curried turkey on rice or curried turkey salad deserves a good Gewьrztraminer.

And for the dessert, often overwhelmingly sweet, consider a fortified wine, especially if the dessert has dried fruits in it. Grandma's lemon pie may taste great with a late-harvest Sauvignon Blanc. Anything with pumpkin will do nicely with a late-harvest Gewurztraminer. Pecan pie and an Oloroso or Cream sherry make a splendid pairing. They'll also go nicely with firm, aged cheeses. Add some walnuts and Porto would get my attention with those cheeses.

But if you're not in an adventurous mood and will have your turkey stuffed with old-fashioned plain bread and celery stuffing--and that IS delicious--also consider a Pinot Gris (not Grigio, however) or Pinot Blanc with your turkey. Chardonnay, especially the oaky versions, won't do well with the meat's gamey character.

Whatever the meal, enjoy the wines. Make them good ones, without breaking the bank. The choices below range from the inexpensive to the special celebration pricing, so there's something for most pocketbooks and tastes.