Thinking of Thanksgiving

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The leaves are turning from green to burnished gold at my new Dry Creek Mountain Vineyard. Our first vintage is resting in the cellar, and we can’t wait to see how this new wine evolves as it ferments and ages over the next year or so, before its official debut.

This is our first Thanksgiving on the new property as well, and we’ll have the usual amalgam of Hanna family and dear friends. Though we’re rejoicing at the recent rain, I do hope we have a respite for Thanksgiving day. I love roasting one of the turkeys out on the grill or in the wood oven, even if it’s a little chilly out.

In true fashion, I’ve already decided on the wines we’ll serve with our Thanksgiving meal. We’ll start with Hanna Russian River Valley Colombard. Its lemony tang is just perfect with a cheese and charcuterie board, and delicious with a salad of winter greens, fennel, persimmons and pomegranate arils. The main event will feature Hanna Russian River Pinot Noir, the ideal medium bodied red wine with cherry and toast flavors perfect for turkey and wild mushroom stuffing. Hanna Sonoma Valley Zinfandel will share the table, perhaps the ultimate Thanksgiving wine, with its big berry and spice flavors that can stand up to otherwise challenged wine pairing ingredients like butternut squash, sweet potatoes, and allspice.

While it will be our first Thanksgiving in our new home, the turkey method will be old hat. First of all, don’t buy big birds. The breast meat dries out before the dark meat gets cooked. Instead, I do two 12-pound turkeys, roasting one in the oven inside, and the other on the grill. Three days before Thanksgiving, I dry brine the turkeys with a mixture of kosher salt, lemon zest, thyme, rosemary and black pepper. The birds go in a plastic bag on top of a rimmed baking sheet, and every 8 hours or so, I massage in the brine and flip the birds (sorry, couldn’t resist…) On Thanksgiving day, I pull the birds out an hour or so before they go in the oven so they’re not ice cold. I drape the turkey breasts with a Hanna Chardonnay and melted butter bathed cheesecloth. The birds go in 425-degree ovens for 45 minutes, get basted, then I back down the heat to 325 degrees for the balance of their cooking time, until a meat thermometer in the thigh registers 165 degrees. Let the turkeys rest for a solid 45 minutes, then carve and serve.

I hope you have a joyful Thanksgiving! You’ll find the suggested Thanksgiving wines below. Please order soon, so we can make sure Hanna is on your holiday table.

Cheers! Chris

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Recommended Thanksgiving Wines

Mix and match from the suggested wines below for your Thanksgiving dinner and receive a shipping discount on any purchase of 3+ bottles. Applicable orders shipping via UPS Ground will receive complimentary shipping, while 2-Day Air orders will receive $15.00 flat rate shipping. Please use the applicable promo code when placing your order.