Every once in a while at a few of our ABC stores throughout the state, our wine consultants get to have a bit of fun first learning, then teaching our wonderful guests about wines.  The two I will focus on will be the French wines “stand alone” tastings.  They are called “stand alone” because they alone speak of one style of wine, or one region.  This past weekend, out consultants got to open a few bottles of red Bordeaux.  This is the perfect time of year for this.  The holidays are about to begin…and the first big family dinner is less than a month away.  What do you have with Thanksgiving?  While it is hard to appease all people, you hope you can get close—and with this most recent red Bordeaux wine tasting, you get three possibilities to taste and they all go with turkey/ham/stuffing…even cranberry sauce.  These three Bordeaux include:  F Theinpoint (2011), Ronan by Clinet (2011) and Ch. Feret Lambert (2010).  They are all blends with a Merlot predominate.  They have rich, dark berry flavors and a tinge of tannin on the finish.  These wines were meant to be enjoyed with food.  What better food than what you share with family.  Plus, you can get any of these three for under $20.00 at your local ABC.

If red isn’t your thing, I can hope you checked out the white Bordeaux tasting at some of our stores last month!  Again, white wine is great for food; fresh and crisp flavors of limes, lemon, honey and white flowers.  It goes well with turkey and can give you a fresh look at what to open with your family.  You can even buy the white to start the night with apps and nibbles, and keep the red for the meal.  The whites we tasted last week were F Thienpont (2012), Michel Lynch (2012) and Ch Martinon.  Bordeaux whites have Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon blends.  These wines have the great acidity but not so much that you lose the white flower floral note.  Again, these are under the $20.00 price.

Turkey better watch out this year; we are aiming to get the best pairing for you and your family!  And don’t worry, if you didn’t get to make it out this weekend, we do several throughout the year, and as always, ask your local wine consultant for his/her favorite. They’ll love to impart what they have learned!

Kathleen Anderson, Northwest Florida wine supervisor

Follow me on Twitter @abcwinekat