Thanksgiving Dinner in the Valley...of the Moon Pinot

Thanksgiving day means family, football, and loads of turkey and sides.  Up until recently it was also a day for drinking beer due to the aforementioned football.  However, Pris has always insisted on wine and she's slowly swung me around to her way of thinking--at least for dinner. The after dinner football is all beer time.

We looked around at what the best selections were for turkey day, and almost everyone brought up Pinot Noir, Lambrusco, or Reisling.  There were a of couple places suggesting rosé or rosé champagne.  That would've been interesting, but Pris doesn't like rosé and I can't drink champagne and stay sober to save my life.  So we went with the Pinot since we like it and haven't really had that much on hand lately.

I grabbed a few different Pinots at Jones Liquor last week and this week so we'd have some variety to choose from.  Of course I went with Mike Jone's suggestions since we've liked pretty much every single one of them.  After a quick sampling in the store, I was set on the Valley of the Moon's 2009 Pinot Noir.

The wine had an excellent fruitful and complex aroma dominated by sweet plum and cherries.  Like most Pinot's it was soft on the palate, and loaded with ripe red fruit.  There is a nice oaky backbone to the Valley's Pinot.  This is tempered by the fruit and a hint of vanilla.  Soft tannins round out the wine and allow for lingering and robust finish.

One of the great things about Pinot is that it will pair well with just about everything, unless its a big steak or some equally big and rich meal.  Turkey is not that bold and this smooth wine paired perfectly with the it.  I was a little worried since the turkey was slightly sweet from the maple/bourbon glaze I cooked it in.  However, the combination of savory and sweet turkey with the fruity and smooth wine were great complements.

I picked the Valley of the Moon 2009 Pinot Noir up at Jones Liquor here in Brownsville for about $19.  You can find it there for sure, if Mike Jones has any left after the Thanksgiving weekend.  I've also seen their wines at H.E.B., but for full disclosure, I can't remember which varietals.  For more information on the Valley of the Moon winery and its wines you can visit:  http://valleyofthemoonwinery.com/main_scaled.html