DYANE LACERDA—WICKED WINES

2020 Pierre Bouree, Bourgogne Blanc, France

100% Chardonnay

I love to highlight unknown regions and ancient varieties, but when a classic hits the mark, its appeal is undeniable. This year I am serving Pierre Bouree Bourgogne Blanc, a white Burgundy from a long-standing producer in the Cote d'Or. The wine over-delivers for its entry-level designation due to exclusive sourcing from plots in Auxey-Duresses and Gevrey-Chambertin (these are AOC Villages within the region that command a higher price). The wine is pure and elegant with perfectly balanced fruit, oak, and minerality.  It is early in its maturity and will continue to develop over the next few years. I will savor the 2020 vintage for this Thanksgiving holiday and for many more to come! 

Wicked Wines is a mid-coast based distributor of responsibly farmed wines from independent producers. I have been working for this company as a sales representative for five years. Being in the wine business has inspired me to learn about geography, geology, agriculture, history, and cuisine. I love the experience of the perfect wine and food pairing and sharing that knowledge for others to enjoy.  

DAN TARR—
EASTERLY

2015 Chéreau Carré, Le Clos du Château l'Oiselinière, Le Hale Fouassière, Muscadet de Sèvre et Maine, France

100% Melon de Bourgogne

Most know Muscadet as a light-bodied, bone-dry, mineral Loire white. Less known are the long lees-aged special Cru Communeux wines, which are set up for longevity and complex development in bottle. This wine is a stunning example of village-level Muscadet, aged to perfection, showing off its stuff with style right now. Sure, oysters often make an appearance at my Thanksgiving, but this is more than an oyster wine: rich, creamy, ripe, and lush. And do not let this older vintage fool you - the acidity is absolutely lip-smacking, with bright citrus flavors that can cut through the thickest gravy. Complex aromatics and an elegant texture complete the picture.

Chéreau Carré is a long established Muscadet producer who actually originated the practice of lees-aging, and over generations has collected many of the most prized older vineyards in the appellation. Le Clos is not actually a walled vineyard, but is a natural "clos" that is closed in by the confluence of the rivers Sèvre and Maine and the surrounding woodlands. The vineyard is a sunny, dome-shaped site, and at the very top is a single block of 80 year-old vines, the source for this bottling. After primary fermentation, the wine is aged for 3 years on the lees in underground glass-lined concrete vats, then for five years in bottle. 2015 is a spectacular vintage, and it's the current release from the winery. Not a moment too soon -  it's ready to open & enjoy with your holiday feast!

Originally from Hancock County, Dan got an early start in wine through his work in restaurants in Portland many years ago. A move to the midcoast—to learn bread-baking and farming with Chase’s Daily—led him to meet Jack & Tammy Scully of Easterly Wine. Dan has been part of Easterly since 2011, where he now heads up the team. He lives in Belfast with his partner Nicholas. 

Ned Swain—Devinish Wines

2020 Georges Descombes, Morgon Vieilles Vignes, France

100% Gamay

I think this would be excellent for Thanksgiving because it's rich and exuberantly fruity with lots of mouth filling dark berry flavors, but it's not too heavy and it's pretty polished texturally. This drinks like a much more expensive wine than it is. Also Georges is a living legend and the wine is rare, so that's all a cool conversation piece.

Aroma: bright juicy deep red raspberry and a little bit of cooked cranberry. It has a beautiful big and refined aroma: it leads with fruit but there's some beautiful red rose as well. It just smells so perfect. There's not a whole lot of different complex notes I can pull out it's just so integrated and gorgeous

Taste: juicy concentrated almost over ripe red raspberry right at first then juicy, dark but fresh plum on the mid palate, a hint of cardamom and cinnamon in the finish. It has this perfect balance of smooth concentrated but juicy fruit with supporting slightly crunchy minerality and acidity.

Devenish Wines always been focused on wines that taste like where they come from, wines that have passion in them, generally from smaller producers. In the past few months we've become even more focused on the context of wine; the idea that it's not just the taste of the wine that matters.  I believe that the person making the wine, why this person is there making wine, who presents the wine to you, where you experience the wine; all of this matters. Context. You don't go to fancy restaurants and take the food out back into an alley to enjoy it without the distractions of fine service, linen table cloths, and candle light; why would you ignore all the details about a wine, such as the climate of the vineyard, how long the winemaker's family has been there, their culture and relationship with their land; when all these things have a big impact on the wine and your experience of it?

CAT OSTER—SOPO

2020 Tranche, Pape, Blue Mountain Vineyard, Walla Walla Valley, Washington

Grenache, Syrah, Cinsaut, Mourvèdre

18 years ago when we started SoPo we were accused often as being the house of Rhone varietals. Personally I am a fan so when got the opportunity this Fall to represent Tranche from the foothills of the Blue Mountains in east Walla, Walla, it felt right. The vineyard climbs as high as 1265 feet and provides a heart-thumping, bird’s-eye view of the entire Walla Walla Valley. The unique aspects of terroir which give each wine a sense of place—such as soil, elevation, aspect and rainfall—make the Blue Mountain Estate Vineyard truly one of a kind. Tranche, is devoted to crafting expressive, aromatic and beautifully defined wines. From deeply textured reds that convey the unique character of the land, to elegant whites and rosé that offer a new-World interpretation of classic Rhône blends. It was hard to choose between the Red and White for a Thanksgiving suggestion as they are both perfectly crafted for the holiday meal.

A single vineyard blend of four grape varieties native to the French Rhône region—Grenache, Syrah, Cinsaut, and Mourvèdre. Grapes were harvested from late September to mid-October with bright acidity, pure aromatics and spicy fruit flavors. Components were vinified individually and underwent malolactic fermentation in large French oak puncheons. The final blend was assembled and returned to barrel for 22 months’ maturation. This is an aromatically compelling blend, with an excellent intensity to its sweet, spicy fruit flavors. The spice and fruit will help cut balance out the heavier, full-flavored items on all tables. Our table has a Turducken almost every year, a lot of bird to balance. The spice will play well with all the various seasonings used.

Cat Oster is Head Wrangler at SoPo—a good title for any small business owner constantly chasing. My love affair with wine started young via my parents and their love of food, wine and travel (maybe also sneaking bottles of wine from them as a young adult). Those three things are my loves today. I have worked in the food and wine business in many forms and places from restaurants to supplier to wholesaler. We started SoPo 17 years ago. When I look at a wine I remove my personal preferences and say is this a good example of place and if it is, is it a good value for that?

JAIME MCMAHON—CENTRAL

2022 Joseph-Jibril, Cabernet Franc, North Coast, California

100% Cabernet Franc

I chose this wine for Thanksgiving Day because for many years I worked in the hospitality industry on this holiday and was away from my family. However, I did have the opportunity to celebrate with co-workers,  acquaintances and the best of friends. It is with these people that I have my fondest memories of coming together to share food, wine, and camaraderie. In the theme of coming together we have two winemakers, Bobby Huff and Jaam Moynihan, who started off as colleagues, then became friends who deepened their relationship by branching out to make their own wine label. The result I’m very pleased to say, is a well cultivated Cabernet Franc (my favorite grape). It leads with blackberry fruit, herbaceous notes and finishes lively with integrated tannins. I think it pairs well with my best-loved Thanksgiving dish, classic stuffing with sage & sausage. This wine is approachable and friendly, which is why I recommend sharing it on this most important and special day when we want everyone to savor, enjoy and have a good time exactly where they are.

Maine Native, Jaime's passion for wine stems from many years in the hospitality industry. She's worked in Los Angeles, Dallas, Philadelphia, with most of it running events in NYC at a fine dining steakhouse. When the opportunity presented itself to move back home and work with family-owned Central Distributors out of Lewiston (where her father grew up), she decided it was the right time to welcome a new challenge. Her wine sales portfolio sees her discovering Maine businesses from Portland area , Yarmouth and up through Freeport. She loves to learn about what wines really engage you, what wines will appeal to your customers and provides honest and caring consultations to her accounts.

LAURA ZIMMERMAN—CRUSH

2019 Steininger, Riesling Sekt, Kamptal, Austria

100% Riesling

The Steininger Riesling Sekt Reserve from the Kamptal region of Austria brings an elegant sparkle to the table with its unique combination of freshness and richness. The Steininger Family, renowned for their sparkling wines, has crafted this sparkler using the Riesling DAC Kamptal as its foundation. (Sekt, akin to Champagne, undergoes the traditional method of fermentation in Germany and Austria). This Riesling Sekt Reserve is delicious, creamy and perfumed with notes of apricot, white peach and lemon curd.  Its infectious acidity dances on the palate, pairing beautifully with turkey, buttery mashed potatoes and indulgent casseroles.

Originally from Philadelphia, Laura Zimmerman has been living and working in Maine for twenty-two years. A veteran of the hospitality industry, Laura has been a sales representative with Crush Distributors since its inception in 2009, helping bring the company to the forefront of the New England distributor market. Her experiences meeting producers and their families, learning about different winemaking traditions across the globe, and all the unforgettable moments she's collected over the years remind her daily that it's about more than what's in the bottle.

PLEASE NOTE

• Purchasers must be 21 years of age or older and be present with an ID upon delivery.

• Price includes 5.50% Maine State sales tax and Maine’s fifteen-cents redemption deposit per bottle.

• If your billing address is different from your delivery address, please include your delivery address in the comments section at checkout.

• *Delivery is by Wine Wise—not third-party carriers. Our delivery area is Cape Elizabeth, Cumberland Foreside, Falmouth, Gorham, Old Orchard Beach, Portland, Saco, Scarborough, South Portland, and Westbrook. We have a larger delivery area for Wine Club deliveries.