Dinner: Thanksgiving at Home

This Thanksgiving was hosted at my parents' and included my parents, brothers, grandma, uncle, and great aunt, and the family of my brother's friend. We practically avoided politics the entire time and the food was amazing. But the real star of this Thanksgiving was my online Geography of Wine class. My family thought it was hilarious that I was actually taking an online wine class that involved drinking wine.

Me and the fam.
Left to right: Uncle Bill, Mom, Aunt Wayna, Dad, Me, Gabriel, Grandma, Nathaniel.
Photo taken by my brother's friend's Dad. 

For this dinner, my mom did most of the cooking and I supplied the wine. The Wednesday before, I went wine shopping at the Wine Gallery in South OKC, less than a mile from my house. This was the first time that I had been to a liquor store and needed to get a shopping cart. When checking out, rather than putting it in the sack, the cashier let me take a box because I had bought so much. Check that off my bucket list!

This was definitely more difficult than the other dinner pairing I did. This time, I had all the food out at once, and the wine wasn't served glass by glass. It wasn't just my mom and I so I couldn't be obnoxious, taking ten minutes to try the wine, then the food, then the food and the wine. It was Thanksgiving, so I was expected to be eating, enjoying being with my family, and talking. Also, I hadn't bought enough wine for everyone, so it wasn't like they could all do it with me. Hey, I'm a college student! What do they expect! However, I loved the food, the wine, and being with family.

My mom's delicious food, featuring my dry Riesling.
And yes that's three rolls. Bread is my thing. 

I started with the dry Riesling. According to Wines.com, this is best to pair with turkey. I chose a 2015 Chateau St. Michelle. It comes from the Colombia Valley in Washington State. At the Wine Gallery, this cost $11.99.  This dry Riesling was more fruity than I anticipated, but crisp and light. This wine didn't seem to greatly affect the food, and was not terribly affected itself by the food. It was absolutely delicious and so refreshing that it was hard to stop drinking it. When I tried it with the turkey specifically, I thought that the Riesling made the turkey more moist and made the fat more noticeable. In turn, I thought that the turkey made the Riesling much sweeter and brought out vanilla and peach flavors.

Next I tried a Sauvignon Blanc with the Green Bean Casserole. I found very few resources for pairings with Green Bean Casserole. I found a great chart for pairing, but it only  listed green beans under "things that are difficult to pair with wine". I tried this because I read an article that suggested two foreign wines with green bean casserole, but after scouring the shop for these wines, I realized that every wine that the internet suggested was not found in this store. I finally found one random site that suggested Sauvignon Blanc. I said "why not" and bought a Yellow Tail Sauvignon Blanc from Australia for $8.89.
This was an interesting pairing because it definitely affected the wine, but in so many different ways with every bite. When I first tried it, I thought it completely clashed with the food and I figured I had terrible internet advice (always a good reminder: don't believe everything you read on the internet). However, the more I continued eating and drinking it together, the more complex it got. I think the biggest reason for this is because while the green beans with the sauce (sour cream and cream of mushroom) did one thing for the wine, the sharp cheddar cheese and Ritz crackers baked with it did something completely different.
The Sauvignon Blanc itself was very grapey, the way I think people who first try wine imagine it would taste. The green beans made it much cripser and lighter. The cheese and crackers made it smoother and richer. Depending on the ratio of crackers/cheese to green beans, it tasted different. While it turned out to be an interesting pairing, it's not something I would recommend to people.

The final pairing of this meal was Pumpkin Pie with a Sparkling White Zinfandel. According to wines.com, it's best to pair desserts with sweet and/or sparkling wines. This was a sweet, pink wine is by Beringer and cost $12.75 at The Wine Gallery. By itself, I didn't enjoy this wine very much. I thought it was too bubbly, to the point that I could hardly taste it. The smell was fruity, like strawberries and oranges. With the pumpkin pie, it didn't change much. The fruity flavors were slightly more prominent, with more of a cherry flavor. The pumpkin pie was not affected. If it was, it was the fact that the bubbles managed to even overshadow the food it was paired with. I had to have another piece to eat without the wine so I could truly enjoy my favorite part of Thanksgiving. This was my least favorite pairing.

Overall, I am glad that I could entertain my family while getting points for a class, but I would prefer to do my assignments while taking my time, and I would prefer to do Thanksgiving without having to drink wines I don't enjoy as much. Now next Thanksgiving, I can have my Dry Riesling only and finish with a Cabernet Sauvignon as I nurse a turkey hangover.