Recipe Thursday: Holiday Sparkle

With the forecast ahead looking merry and bright, there’s no better time to start popping the bubbly. A Holiday party is not complete without a glass of bubbly in one hand, and a carefully nestled hors d'oeuvre in the other. Today, we are going to share a few fun appetizer ideas for the Holidays (courtesy of Food Network), and festive sparkling wines to go along with them.

Photo: Food Network

Enter the cosmic sparkling creations of Vignoble des 2 Lunes, an organic and biodynamic estate in Alsace. Their ethereal Pinot Blanc, "Comète," is a great way to kick things off. Serve it with Spinach and Goat Cheese Tartlets – the notes of lemon will brighten up the flavors in the tartlets. Next is the " Clair 2 Lune," a rich, yet delicate sparkling wine made from Pinot Noir. Serve this one with baked brie – the flavors of fine red fruits accent the buttery cheese beautifully. Finally, we have a dry sparkling rosé of Pinot Noir, the "Poussiere d'Etoile." This one is perfect with Fig and Blue Cheese Bruschetta – ripe fruit characteristics help balance out the tanginess of the blue cheese.

Wines of the Week - Vignoble des 2 Lunes

Today's triple threat of bubbles comes from Vignoble des 2 Lunes, an organic and biodynamic estate in Alsace. Their take on Blanc de Blancs is the "Comète," a Pinot Blanc with slightly riper notes of peaches and pears along with bright lemon. Next up is the " Clair 2 Lune," a Blanc de Noirs from Pinot Noir that is rich yet delicate. And since no sparkling limeup is complete without some pink wine, last is the "Poussiere d'Etoile," a super-dry sparkling rosé of Pinot Noir that shows strawberry, raspberry, and rhubarb notes.

Vignoble des 2 Lunes is a 14-hectare Demeter-certified estate in the heart of the Alsatian wine country. Owned and operated by the Buecher family for seven generations, sisters Amelie and Cecile Buecher have brought their own unique vision to the Domaine, walking a fine line between a drive for modernization and respect for antiquity. Amelie and Cecile have focused on protecting the health and balance of their vines. In 1997 they stopped spraying with pesticides and in 2007 achieved biodynamic certification from Demeter. In the cellar, the vision of the Domaine is to preserve the work that has been done in the vineyard. The sisters have also introduced a line of Crémants in addition to the traditional still wines and continue their work of upholding the fine quality of the estate.

Want to taste some of the most delicious wines made in California today? Get your tickets to #PalmSpringsWineFest this Sunday. Link in bio #whitcraftwinery #potek #palmsprings #californiawine #notwobuckchuck #naturalwine #blog

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Recipe Wednesday: Thanksgiving!

What’s the best wine for Thanksgiving that will go with turkey and all the fixings? Choosing a single wine can be difficult, given the variety of dishes and flavor profiles in a typical Thanksgiving feast. Your best bet is to have several options. In general, however, light, fruity and refreshing whites will complement most dishes, while reds with just the right amount of tannins and a little fruitiness go a long way.

Photo: Taste of Home

A great place to start is with a few wines from a producer you know and love, such as a lovely trio from Drew Family Wines. Kick off the feast with a dry sparkling Brut Cider, perfect to whet the appetite alongside delicious appetizers. Then, move into the main feast with a couple of red options: an earthy Pinot Noir to enjoy with lighter sides, and a silky Syrah to match up with heartier dishes. The variety of these wines will carry you from first toast to night cap.

P.S. Looking for some (very) last minute Thanksgiving ideas? Check out Taste of Home’s 50 Thanksgiving Recipes Ready in 30 Minutes or Less.  

Wine(s) of the Week - A Trio from Drew Family Wines

With what is perhaps the biggest meal of the year quickly approaching, we have taken the cue to supersize our Wine of the Week selections as well. For a quintessentially American holiday, we are featuring three wines from one of our domestic producers, Drew Family Wines out of Mendocino, California. Start your celebration with the delightfully dry Brut Cider, a festive-feeling bubbly that is perfect for a toast. Then, when the Thanksgiving meal hits the table, transition into a pair of reds that will not only complement the food, but are also different enough stylistically to please even the pickiest of palates. On the lighter side, the "Mid-Elevation" Pinot Noir shows notes of fragrant red fruit and earth, while the meatier Syrah-led blend "The Ornbaun" conjures dark fruit, olives, and silky structure.

With over 25 years in the wine business in Central and Northern California, Jason Drew brings a vast depth of knowledge and a holistic perspective to his winemaking. Drew focuses on small lot coastal Pinot Noir and Syrah from Anderson Valley and the Mendocino Ridge. For his sourced fruit, he has long standing partnerships with several local vineyard growers who share his passion for sustainable and meticulous farming practices. Single vineyard sources are chosen for their climate, clonal selection and complexity of soil type. Winemaking practices remain focused on traditional methods that include whole cluster and native yeast fermentations, hand punchdowns and no fining or filtering.

Recipe Thursday: A Simple, Elegant Pairing

The simplest of recipes are often the most delicious. With only six ingredients – fish (white fleshed fish works best), milk, flour, butter, lemon and parsley – classically prepared sole meunière not only comes together in a flash, but it also makes for a truly elegant dinner. Most of the ingredients you likely already have on hand, so your effort should be spent on picking up the highest of quality and freshest fish you can find from the market.

Photo: Chez Bonne Femme

Pair it with a lovely white burgundy, such as Jean-Charles Fagot’s Saint-Romain Blanc, and you have yourself a match made in heaven. The wine boasts just the right amount of minerality, and is beautifully balanced with white flower and stone fruit. The perfect accompaniment to sole meunière.