CELLAR CLUB NOVEMBER 2020

November 3, 2020

Written by Emma Blahut

November 3, 2020

Written by Emma Blahut

In some ways, choosing a single wine for Thanksgiving dinner is difficult, given the great variety of foods and flavors. There are sweet and rich yams, tart cranberries, buttery mashed potatoes, stuffing made with any number of ingredients, and spiced pumpkin pie for dessert! You may want to serve a little of several different types of wine so guests can taste a wine with each dish. Or you may want to pick one good all-purpose wine.

The most important consideration is the wine's taste, how it complements what you're serving, and what you like. This month our cellar club members can enjoy two different wines that will be welcome on any Thanksgiving table!

Thank you for being a member of

The Cellar Club!

Wine Pick #1:

Cottanera Barbazzale Catarratto 2018

Randazzo, Mt. Etna, Sicily, Italy

For nearly 60 years the Cambria family has strived to coax precious fruit from the hard yet fertile soils of Sicily’s Mt. Etna. Europe’s largest and most active volcano is home to some of the most interesting and delicious wines we’ve tasted in recent years. At Cottanera, the vineyard work is nearly all done by hand with entire families participating and according to local tradition, has the skilled gentleness to realize the potential of the land without changing its unique character and generosity. This lively white wine is a perfect guest at the Thanksgiving table and will pair wonderfully with the myriad dishes and, of course, turkey. Its crisp acidity, minerality, and floral notes whet the appetite and will enhance the bounty of the table.

Wine Pick #2

Viña Maitia Aupa Pipeño 2020

Loncomilla, Maule Valley, Chile

Winemaker David Marcel left his native France at 22 and found both love and opportunity in Chile. After stints with some of the larger scale wineries, he decided that his passion was for wines made far more artisanally. This ethos led him to some of Chile’s most ancient lands and grapes, in particular, Pais. Planted by Spanish missionaries as early as the 1500s, wines made from Pais have never been considered anything more than simple quaffers but given serious attention and care they deliver wines of complexity and finesse. Sourced from heritage vines, dry-farmed and ungrafted, in the granite rich soils of the Secano Interior region, the wine sees native yeast fermentation in cement tanks with little to no sulfur added resulting in this deliciously-fruited, lighter-bodied red of utmost cut and clarity.

CHEESE PAIRING OF THE MONTH:

Jasper Hill Farm,

Alpha Tolman

Alpha Tolman is inspired by the classic Alpine cheeses of Switzerland and has a buttery, fruit, and nut flavor when young. As this cheese matures, it gains bold meaty and caramelized onion flavors. The texture is dense and pliant, easily portioned, and ideal for melting which makes Alpha Tolman a great choice for fans of Appenzeller (or fondue!). Perfect for a chilly November night, follow the lead of Swiss or French raclette – melt Alpha Tolman onto a plate of fingerling potatoes, cured meat, and natural sour pickles.