Holiday Food + SR Wine Pairings
Welcome to our very first blog! We want to connect with you after your visit, and entice you to come again soon, so stay tuned for future posts where we'll talk about wine tastings, making wine, drinking wine, pairing wine, and all things wine!
For my first post, I want to focus on Thanksgiving. For us here at SR, it's a most special time of year. The days are bright + sunny, the falling leaves reveal the rolling hills of the vineyard, guests are visiting with their out-of-town families, and we get to share all the love and heritage of our space!
Personally, Thanksgiving is my FAVORITE holiday! It's completely centered around family, food and fellowship. We'll be closed on Thanksgiving day so our WHOLE huge family can converge upon the SR grounds for a full day of hunting, cooking and eating, and maybe even some napping- this is the family event our friends ask to be invited to! The Shore family is a family of cooks so we eat well. Tracy (you may recognize her from the wine bar) always makes a ginormous bowl of mac 'n' cheese, Jennifer makes the turkey, Sweet Kate (Neil's 98-year-old mother) makes her famous chocolate pie, and all the other aunts, uncles and cousins bring the rest of the goodies. Side note: you have to claim Sweet Kate’s chocolate pie early as it's hard to slice it into 50 pieces!
All this talk of food, I promise we don't forget the wine! The Carlos Muscadine is the family favorite, and it's the perfect selection to go with turkey, stuffing, and all the fixin's, with our favorite being the delicious combination of Carlos' sweetness and a buttery turkey… Let’s just say we try not to count the number of bottles we go through between the 50 of us!
But most importantly, Sweet Kate loves spending this day with her boys, grandkids, great grandkids, and great great grandkids. We always get a family photo, so here's last year's with as many of us as we could round up!
Cheers, and have a blessed Thanksgiving with the people who mean the most to you!
With Love,
Sanders Ridge Winery
Check out all 15 Holiday Food + Wine Pairings below!
2016 Stainless Chardonnay
Citrus salmon or skillet seared chicken breasts with basil & tomatoes (add a splash to the sauce while cooking).
2016 Viognier
Spicy seafood dishes - my favorite is an Asian inspired Sea Bass with notes of honey, chili, ginger & soy sauce.
Trillium
Just drink this while cooking dinner! It's almost too good to pair, but if you must add food I recommend a nice cheese board that has a fruit stilton and an herbed cheese as it's main players- we have apricot cardamom & bruschetta cheese spreads on our “Build A Board” Menu now that pair perfectly with this wine!
Barrel Chardonnay
Roasted pears with blue cheese, spiced nuts & honey drizzle. Or, Thai food with coconut curry.
2015 Cabernet Franc
Spicy shrimp (with some andouille sausage) & grits... all. day. long.
2015 Merlot
Chocolate, dark chocolate. Maybe some with coco nibs, dried cherries or espresso beans, too.
2015 Cabernet Sauvignon
STEAK! But not a filet- go with a ribeye or something with a nice ribbon of fat that will balance the spice on this rich red wine.
Noble Blush
Sip it on the porch on a hot summer day, get it SUPER cold so its refreshing strawberry notes pop. Add a bowl of strawberry shortcake.
2017 Sweet Muscat Canelli
Light mango mousse or sabayon (a wine based dessert with a mousse consistency) topped with tropical fruits - mangos, strawberries & kiwi.
Sangria
Nope, no food required. Just add berries for color and an orange slice to the edge of the glass.
Sweet Kate
Chocolate cake (must have dark chocolate icing) with a raspberries & blackberries on the side.
Carlos Muscadine
THANKSGIVING TURKEY! With stuffing and green beans.
Peach Mango
Drizzle this over homemade pound cake.
Pineapple
Make a pina colada with it- mix equal parts pineapple wine and the pina colada mix, shake well and add a splash of La Croix coconut sparkling water (the bright bubbles keep it from being overly sweet).
Blackberry
Replace the liquid in a brownie mix with the wine. Make a blackberry compote to top off and add a dot of whipped cream and sprig of mint. OR, make a sangria with it - 1/3 passion fruit juice, 2/3 blackberry wine & a splash of blackberry sparkling water.