Our Critic's Top Wine Picks

By Condé Cox

The tender, juicy meat of a well-cooked Thanksgiving turkey cries out for cranberries, pumpkin pie, and a glass brimming with fine wine. For just the right kind of turkey-enhancing tang, turn to the often overlooked gewürztraminer wines, which dole out that special kind of piquancy recognizable only after it crawls up into your nose, like the scent of cloves.

Derived from the German word gewürz, which means “spice,” gewürztraminer is a white wine that has a rich, viscous texture at its best. At its worst, it can be thin and watery, but it consistently offers up a spiciness that pairs perfectly with our national holiday fowl. Here are a few locally available gewürztraminers to complement your fall feast.

All wines available at Liner & Elsen Wine Merchants: 2222 NW Quimby St

Domaine Weinbach (Alsace, France) $68 and $50 “Cuvée Laurence” or “Cuvée Théo” One of these perennial favorites always graces my family’s Thanksgiving table. Both are long, persistent, graceful, and satisfying wines that seamlessly fill out the taste of turkey.

Montinore Estate (Willamette Valley) $13-18 One of the best values among Oregon wines, this gewürztraminer conveys the alluring scents that are typical of its variety—cloves, honeysuckle, and spring flowers.

Trimbach (Alsace, France) $42 “Cuvée des Seigneurs de Ribeaupierre” A reliable source for great Alsatian wine varieties, the Trimbach family has been making wine since 1626. This special bottling is rich and complex, with a panoply of spicy flavors.