This Saturday we are pouring a flight of delicious wine from the north of Italy (ok, we’ll dip down to Tuscany, but let’s not get picky).  These wines are good for drinking anytime, but it just so happens that they are all great pairings for the Thanksgiving meal.  Forget what the pilgrims drank, match up some of these great wines with your good food. 

2012 Cantina Sassarini, Cinque Terre  $20
60%Bosco withAlbarola and Vermentino
Cinque Terre (Five Lands) sits on the northwest coast of Italy with steep mountains covered by bands of vineyards that slope down towards the sea in the Province of La Spezia. To cultivate every 2.5 acres of vines on these dangerous slopes takes about 3,000 working days, but it is worth it.  This distinctive white is dry, with notes of salt, a full fruity mid body and lingering aromatics.   It will beat out the Chardonnay on T day.

2012 Tenuta Col Sandago, Wildbacher Brut Rose  $20
Tenuta ColSandago, nestled among the hills of the Conegliano Valdobbiadene DOCG, in Veneto, is the only vineyard in Italy to grow Wildbacher (wild stream), an Austrian grape that makes great rosé.  The Brut Rosé is an elegant, pale pink sparkling wine with a delicate floral nose, notes of strawberry and raspberry, a fine creamy mousse and refreshing finish. Excellent with the big bird.

2012 Campodelsole, Durano, Sangiovese di Romagna  $10
Campodelsole (field of sun) in Emilia Romagna sits on a hill with the mountains behind and the sea in front.  The area has been farmed and inhabited since before the Roman times. Replanting in the vineyard requires workers to stop numerous times to pick Roman pottery and amphoras out of the field.  The Durano is the winery’s young and fresh Sangiovese, full of fruit and a perfect quaffing wine for an Autumnal banquet.

2011 Terre di Gioia,Marzemino  $15
Marzemino Gentile is an indigenous grape in Trentino in the Alto Adige. Mozart mentions the wine in Don Giovanni.  The Marzemino has medium body, a dark ruby almost purple color but with a delicate and unmistakable nose of violets. The taste is fragrant of wild cherries and bilberries.  The wine is a perfect referee for the cranberry/stuffing smackdown.

2009 Canneto, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano  $23
Canneto’s estate vineyard is 20hectares of vines in the heart of Tuscany with 15 hectares enrolled for their Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, but only the best make the cut.  The wine is aged in a mix of Slavonia oak casks and French oak tonneaux for two years before release. The Nobile is a delicious Sangiovese, combining structure and dry-extract with a fruit forward, and a hedonistic, finely balanced mouthfeel.  Great with gravy.