Pinot Gris for Thanksgiving

Pinot Gris for Thanksgiving

by Mary Bailey

Finding a wine to keep everyone happy at Thanksgiving can be an exercise in frustration. Your cousin only drinks beer. His wife only likes red. Your mother-in-law? Well, she’s never happy. And so on.

We say drink what you like and get Pinot Gris on your radar—a wine that is brilliant with the varied flavours and textures found on the holiday table.

Pinot Gris shares a genetic ancestry with Pinot Noir as well as the cone-shaped grape cluster. Although we think of Gris as a white grape, it’s actually a deep purple-grey with reddish tinges when ripe.

You could say there are two main styles of Gris: The Alsatian, big, rich, heavy wines with high alcohol and spicy flavours. The Italian versions, called Pinot Grigio, are lighter, refreshing with finesse and vivacity.

Canadian Gris, especially from British Columbia, often straddle the two styles, not as massive as the Alsation but with a bit more oomph than the delicate northern Italian examples. Delicacy is not what’s needed at the Thanksgiving table. The nuance of a great white Burgundy (or red Burgundy for that matter) will be lost in the cacophony. You need a wine that will knit together all those flavours—gravy, stuffing, brown sugar squash, salad, cranberry sauce and, oh yeah, the roast turkey. The wines below do it with savoir-faire.

Even your mother-in-law will be happy.

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A Sunday in August

2018 A Sunday in August
This wine might not have power to see you through the entire dinner but do start the evening with it. It’s flirty, spritzy, fruity (think candied grapefruit) with a bit of funk due to the fermentation with ambient yeasts and extended skin contact (hence the colour) and, as the wine maker says, “to add to the general feeling of adventure.” He also added eight per cent Riesling to the blend for acid and structure. A bit cloudy due to its unfined and unfiltered nature, it’s the ideal wine to be drinking on the 50th anniversary of Woodstock.

Bench 1775

2018 Bench 1775
Expect subtle flavours of apple and pear along with citrus (La Boule’s lemon tart) in this mid-weight Gris from Naramata. There are some nice mineral notes on the finish too.

40 Knots

2018 40 Knots
This is a quieter, subtler style of Gris with a lovely tight structure, great acidity and some savoury herb notes—bring on the stuffing. Flavours of Granny Smith apple, Okanagan nectarine with moderate weight and a not-so-heavy texture in the mouth. Loving what this winery near Comox is up to with their wines in the 10-12 per cent alcohol range. This Gris comes in at 11.9 per cent.

Blasted Church

2018 Blasted Church
This is the wine to serve to the religious folks at your table. Maybe not. The cheeky label is just part of the fun. Compelling autumnal aromas of honey, spice, pears and stone fruit with fruity tangerine and nectarine in the flavour and a long finish. Well-balanced, not too heavy in the mouth. Fresh.

Burrowing Owl

2018 Burrowing Owl
A classic full-bodied Alsatian-style Gris with a lot of presence and power. Everything is in balance in this well-made wine—from the pear, melon and apple blossom aromas to the complex flavours of citrus and cloves, wet stone and stone fruit. This wine rolls along the palate to a stunning finish.

2018 Cedar Creek Platinum
This is the second vintage of Gris in the Platinum series, all the fruit is from Block 7. A beautiful wine, with lots of concentration and the surprize of a little botrytis adding complexity. It has sweetness impeccably balanced with acidity. Fermentation in concrete egg and wood adds to the texture and overall effect of this wine. It’s rich and spicy, for lovers of full throttle Pinot Gris.

Mary Bailey holds the Wine Sprit Education Trust Diploma and is an ISG certified sommelier. She loves everything about Thanksgiving.