Thanksgiving Back Up the (Red) Truck
2008 Belle Pente Dundee Hills Pinot Noir
The Ideal, All-American T-Day Pour
(Priced to Pour Generously)
Inevitably, we get a lot of frantic calls this week: "I need wine for Thanksgiving. It needs to work with sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts and Aunt Ida's thick, cheesy gratin. Aunt Ida doesn't really like wine. Uncle Orin is a wine snob.
... Oh, and can I get it delivered tomorrow?
Yes.
Yes, we have the perfect red wine for you, an Oregon Pinot from the heart of the Dundee Hills with all the versatility you need for this most complicated of holiday tables.
This year, even if Thanksgiving is just three days away and you’re not ready for it, we are. Yes, we love this holiday; we live for these kinds of wine pairing challenges. We’ve been thinking about this since, easily, early August.
So today, check one item off your week’s to-do list by simply replying to this email or calling the store to order our semi-official T-Day red wine. This is the ideal all-American wine to pour (generously) this Thursday with turkey - and everything else on the table.
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While holiday wine-pairing angst can sometimes be too much to handle, The New York Times' Eric Asimov puts it simply: “Choose wines that are versatile enough to be delicious with many dishes, the crazy-quilt buffet that must satisfy all ends of the guest list and will encompass every conceivable variation on sweet, sour, salty and bitter.” As he wraps up, “the most important quality for good Thanksgiving wine is freshness.”
Oregon Pinot Noir, like Belle Pente’s 2008 from Dundee Hills, satisfies this to a tee with its straight-up fantastic balance of ripe red fruit and earthy, savory elements, its exceedingly fresh and mouthwatering acidity and overall clarity. This is bold enough to stand up to the "crazy-quilt buffet," yet not so commandeering that it demands center stage; its juiciness and versatility won't offend Aunt Ida, and its pedigree is clear enough to satisfy even the strictest of wine "geeks." (We should know.)
We can’t help but admit that when it comes to Pinot, we’re fiends for Burgundy, but this year we felt like being a bit patriotic. And while loads of “New World” wines claim to work in an “Old World” style, Belle Pente’s really does remind us of Burgundy with its spine of minerals and acidity.
Belle Pente (which, appropriately, means “beautiful slope” in French) works biodynamically and with very small yields from some of the best vineyard sites in Oregon. The Dundee Hills AVA is known for its lava-based red “Jory” soils, which have excellent drainage and lend the wines a profile of distinct minerality along with very clear, very bright raspberry, red cherry and exotic spice notes.
The 2008 vintage was phenomenal here, with a dry and warm September and October that helped grapes ripen slowly, evenly, perfectly. Winemaking techniques at Belle Pente are strictly non-interventionist, with gentle, minimal handling of grapes including use of a gravity-flow winery.
This wine is in stock and ready for pick ups and local deliveries (or shipments in the Northeast) today; non-local Manhattan and outer borough deliveries are possible tomorrow and Wednesday. Please refer to our delivery maps for free delivery minimums. To place your order, please email us at offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463. Give us your maximum order (after a few hours of listening to Aunt Ida, Uncle Orin is likely to start drinking - heavily), and we'll do the best we can.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Joe Salamone
Wine Buyer
Crush Wine & Spirits
NET | No further discount