Every year, Cinnamon and I cook up an early Thanksgiving dinner, which I try and tell everyone is a work project. All of my friends and colleagues see right through me; I love Thanksgiving, and I would be happy to have it three or four times if I could. Turkey, gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce, yams, mashed potatoes, and all manner of vegetable side dishes crowd the table, which is packed with friends and family too, and we take a collective moment to reflect on how great life is and speak out loud our thanks. It is a perfect occasion.

That crowd of food on the table calls for wines that are flexible and work well with all the varied flavors. For me, that means rose Champagne and red Burgundy. I can’t recommend the Aspasie Brut Rose and the 2017 Domaine Bart Marsannay “Les Echezots” strongly enough for this job. Both of these have some robust character and fruit but are not at all heavy or tannic. Wines that have too much tannic grip taste metallic with turkey, so many people choose white wines like Gewürztraminer or red wines like Zinfandel, which are also good choices. My family prefers wines with vibrant, cleansing acidity, and red to savory black fruit. The Aspasie and Bart fit the bill perfectly and exceeded our high expectations.

The Aspasie Rosé can transition from aperitif to main course wine with grace and goes with just about anything, even crazy aunt Betty’s marshmallow yams. It is made in the most painstaking way possible by Paul-Vincent Ariston and comes exclusively from estate vineyards in Brouillet in the north-west corner of Champagne. Most producers make their rosé Champagne by adding a small amount of red wine to their regular brut non-vintage before bottling. Not Paul. His is composed of half each Pinot Noir and Meunier, and half of the blend is macerated with its skins to get the maximum red fruit flavor and aroma. He then adds a small amount of ancient vine Meunier that he makes into a red wine to dial in the wine without it becoming heavy. I don’t know of a single another producer that goes to the trouble of using both of these methods. The results are a Champagne that has both red fruit depth and complexity, but without sacrificing any brut refreshment and minerality. The maraschino cherry generosity and chalky cut of this wine not only exist at the same time, but they are also married perfectly.

Les Echezots is one of the highest elevation sites in Marsannay, with parts of the vineyard at over 900 feet, right up next to the Bois des Francs forest. It is the last plot that the Bart family harvests because of this high, cool location. It benefits from a breezy exposition, which keeps rot and other maladies away from the grapes and always makes their brightest wine. To keep the fruit pure without sacrificing vinous, savor, the wine is made in 600-liter demi-muids instead of the standard sized Burgundy barrel that is only a third that size. We decanted it about an hour ahead and found it to have fabulous tart black cherry fruit, a touch of new leather and the catnip, and betterave douce flavors and aromas that drive us crazy for Burgundy. I found myself taking lusty gulps of this after the king trumpet mushroom and wild rice stuffing and white truffle butter gravy covered turkey.

I wish a happy Thanksgiving to you and yours. We are all truly blessed to have the opportunity to enjoy this most special of holidays.

A toast to you!

Gary