I am not a huge fan of Turkey. In my mind, they are kind of like Cuban sandwiches… you know, some people are crazy about them, but even when I try the ‘best’ one ever, they are just good, never great. I don’t think they are supposed to be great, just good. Wait…but…you never tried a fried turkey!! Yes, I have. So for Thanksgiving, I have always liked to step outside the traditional choices (unless spending the day at relatives) and that almost always means DUCK! This year, I roasted duck, along with a few other dishes we prepared and selected wines specifically for. Jim Greeley, my colleague here at ABC Fine Wine & Spirits, was my cohort in cooking!

We started with a cool glass of 2006 Chauviniere Muscadet Granit de Ch. Thebaud, a couple of fabulous cheeses, a St. Nuage triple cream from Burgundy and a Meule de Savoie. Add a little sunshine and some crusty bread…

Next, we sautéed the duck’s liver in oil and butter, added a little dry sherry and spread it over toast while we sipped the sherry, a Palo Cortado. During this pairing, I began the next dish, Risotto alla Milanese with Crimini mushrooms. Rich and creamy, we chose Azelia 2000 Barolo San Rocco. The risotto was fine, and the Barolo was out of sight, although in a very New-World style, rich and oaky, which was probably not the best Barolo for the risotto dish. I had a bottle ready of Paolo Scavino Carobric 2001, but we left it alone and stuck with the Azelia. All this took place while the duck and quartered potatoes roasted.

When the duck was complete, we had already tapped into the next red, the 2002 Charmes-Chambertin from Rene Bouvier. We needed a bit of the Burgundy alongside the next cheese, Epoisses. The duck was nice and medium-rare, and the Charmes-Chambertin didn’t last very long at all, so we had no choice but to open a Merode Corton Clos du Roi 2005. This bottle was just a bit off, but we managed to have a glass in spite of it.

Once the duck was finished, we had one small task to see to before our tanks were full. Jim brought a bottle of Chateau Chalon, the famous, rare Vin Jaune of the Jura region of France. We saved a couple of other cheeses for this fine wine. Gruyere and another similar cheese, I believe from the Basque? What a pleasure it is to taste one of the famous wines of the world for the first time! It could not have been better, and not in better company!

Cigars and Cognac ended the day long feast, and it was a great day! Only 364 days left till next Thanksgiving!

Shayne Hebert, Central Florida Wine Supervisor. Follow Shayne on Twitter: @ABCwineshayne